Beth Ahabah ( he, House of Love) is a

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

synagogue in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1789 by

Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the ...

as Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome (Hebrew: Holy Congregation, House of Peace) it is one of the

oldest synagogues in the United States Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

History

When the congregation was founded, there were 100 Jews in Richmond's population of 3,900. After meeting for some years in leased space, the congregation built its first synagogue in 1822. It was a handsome, if modest, one-story brick building in Georgian style. The community grew and in 1841 the Ashkenazi members founded a new congregation called Beth Ahabah. In 1846 Beth Ahabah established the first Jewish school in Richmond, and 1846 built a synagogue at Eleventh and Marshall Streets. The Congregation moved toward Reform in 1867 with discussion of acquiring an organ, the decision to switch to family pews (mixing men and women) and allowing women to join the choir. Beth Ahabah joined the Reform Movement

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established b ...

in 1875. A new building was erected, also at Eleventh and Marshall, in 1880. In 1898 K.K. Beth Shalome formally merged with Congregation Beth Ahaba

On March 4, 1904 the congregation laid the cornerstone for its present building, known as the Franklin Street Synagogue. The building was dedicated on December 9, 1904. The domed, Neoclassical synagogue was designed by the Richmond-based firm of Noland and Baskervill, who also designed nearby St. James' Church and the wings of the Virginia State Capitol. The synagogue has 29 stained glass windows. Most notable is a window on the building's eastern wall created and signed by the

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

Studios in 1923. It depicts Mt. Sinai. The congregation maintains the Hebrew Cemetery of Richmond, including the

Cemetery for Hebrew Confederate Soldiers The Hebrew Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, also known as Hebrew Burying Ground, dates from 1816. This Jewish cemetery, one of the oldest in the United States, was founded in 1816 as successor to the Franklin Street Burial Grounds of 1789. Among t ...

, as well as the original site of the 1789 Franklin Street Burial Grounds, which was the first Jewish cemetery in Virginia.

Beth Ahabah Museum

Congregation Beth Ahabah is the home of the Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives, located at 1109 West Franklin Street. Established in 1977, the museum's focus is the history and culture of Richmond's Jewish community and the Southern Jewish experience. Three galleries feature changing exhibits. The museum is open from Sunday through Thursday.

Notable members

Bret Myers Bret Myers (born April 1, 1980) is an American former soccer player and current professor. Myers played with the Williamsburg Wizards youth travel team, with the University of Richmond, and with the Richmond Kickers. He won a gold medal with T ...

(born 1980), soccer player and professor

References

External links

Congregation Beth Ahabah

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Ahabah 1789 establishments in Virginia 18th-century synagogues Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the United States Ashkenazi synagogues European American culture in Virginia Hispanic and Latino American culture in Virginia Reform synagogues in Virginia Religious organizations established in 1789 Sephardi Jewish culture in the United States Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogues in Richmond, Virginia Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia