Temple Society of Concord
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The Temple Society of Concord, commonly referred to as Temple Concord, is a
Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
congregation located at 910 Madison Street,
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
, in the U.S. state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. Established in 1839, it is the ninth-oldest still-active Jewish congregation in the United States. Temple Concord, a member of the
Union for Reform Judaism 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 ...
, is the leading Reform
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in Central New York, and maintains the largest Jewish religious school in the region. Religious services are held every Friday night and Saturday morning, and on
Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
. Religious school and adult education programs take place twice a week. Temple Concord is also the setting for a wide array of educational, cultural and social events the serve then entire Syracuse-area community.


Early history

Temple Concord was founded in 1839 by German immigrants drawn to upstate New York by the new
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
. The small group gathered in a back room of a local store for meetings and worship services. By 1841 they had moved to the second floor of a member's home on Mulberry Street, from where they hired their first religious leader (he was not formally trained or ordained as a rabbi). The group incorporated under the laws of the State of New York on February 24, 1942. and first took the name "Comrades of Peace" and shortly thereafter Keneseth Shalome, which they translated in formal English as Temple Society of Concord. Incorporation papers list Max Thalheimer, Samuel Bernheimer and Joseph Wiseman as trustees.


Religious leaders and rabbis

In its early years the congregation was served by many religious leaders. These men were referred to as "Reverends" and they served as cantors, teachers, Mohelim, and Schochetim. With the exception of
Bernard Illowy Rabbi Dr. Bernard (Yissochar Dov) Illowy (born 1814 in Kolín, Bohemia – d. June 22, 1871 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was a rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism in the United States. Biography Illowy descended from a family of religious scholars; his ...
, it is doubtful that any were formally trained or ordained as
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s. Rabbi Adolph Guttman, who emigrated to America from Hohenems, Austria, was the first modern Reform rabbi, and he shaped the liturgy and organization for decades to come. Congregational Religious Leaders (1841–present) * Abraham Gunzenhauser (1841-1846) * Joseph Goodman * Jacob Levi * Bernard Illowy * Herman Berkenthal * Rev. Deutsch * Rev. Cohen * Rev. Burgheimer * Dr. Adolph Guttman (1883-1918) * Rabbi Benjamin Friedman (1919-1969) * Rabbi Theodore S. Levy (1970-1990) * Rabbi Sheldon Ezring (1990-2009) * Rabbi Daniel Fellman (2009–present)


Synagogue and related buildings

In 1851, the congregation erected its first purpose-built synagogue building at Harrison and Mulberry Streets. The cost was $10,000, a substantial sum at the time. The present classical-style sanctuary at the corner of Madison Street and University Avenue, with an attached social hall, was designed by Syracuse-based architect Alfred Taylor and New York-based consulting architect
Arnold W. Brunner Arnold William Brunner (September 25, 1857 – February 14, 1925) was an American architect who was born and died in New York City. Brunner was educated in New York and in Manchester, England. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wh ...
. The cornerstone was laid on September 19, 1910 and the building was dedicated on September 23, 1911. It was built at a cost of $100,000. The social hall was expanded and a classroom building added in the 1920s. The Hiram and Mabel Weisberg Religious School, designed by Edward C. Roock, was built on the east side of the complex and dedicated on February 12, 1961. File:Temple Concord.jpg, Sanctuary exterior File:Temple Society of Concord exterior 6.jpg, Sanctuary facade File:Temple Society of Concord interior 2019 06.jpg, View of the interior facing the ark File:Temple Society of Concord interior 2019 09.jpg, View of the interior from the
bema A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancien ...
File:Temple Society of Concord interior 2019 05.jpg, The
bema A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancien ...
File:Temple Society of Concord interior 2019 11.jpg, The
ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...
The Benjamin M. Berinstein Memorial Chapel was built in 1997 inside the former 1920s education building. Allen Kosoff, a congregant, was the architect, and John Dobbs designed the stained glass windows. The 1910-11 building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on April 27, 2009.National Register of Historic Places: Weekly List Actions
/ref> In July 2019, members of the congregation voted to sell the building for $9 million, to be converted into student housing.


See also

* Ethnic groups in Syracuse, New York *
List of the oldest synagogues in the United States Synagogues may be considered "oldest" based on different criteria such as oldest surviving building or oldest congregation. Some older synagogue buildings have been in continuous use as synagogues, while others have been converted to other purp ...
* Louis Marshall


References


External links


Temple Society of Concord websiteISJM's Historic Home at Temple Society of Concord, Syracuse (NY)
* ttp://works.bepress.com/samuel_gruber/52/ Samuel D. Gruber, "Arnold W. Brunner and the New Classical Synagogue in America" Jewish History 25.1 (2011): 69-102. {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Society Of Concord German-Jewish culture in New York (state) Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Religious buildings and structures in Syracuse, New York Reform synagogues in New York (state) Ethnic groups in Syracuse, New York National Register of Historic Places in Syracuse, New York