Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom is a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 5101 US Hwy 42, in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the United States. Originally the Adath Israel Temple, it adopted its current name following a merger, however is more commonly known as The Temple. Prior to merging, the congregations resided in several buildings. Adath Israel Temple's third synagogue building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974; and the associated

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

was listed in 1982.

History

The Adath Israel Congregation ("Congregation of Israel"), the oldest in Kentucky, was chartered in 1842 in the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

tradition and has occupied six buildings. It is a founding member of the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly 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 establ ...

. Brith Sholom ("Covenant of Peace"), Louisville's third oldest synagogue, was organized in 1880. It was established in the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

tradition for those wishing to pray in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, rather than the English used in Adath Israel. It joined the Reform movement in 1920. In 1976, Adath Israel merged with Brith Sholom. This was motivated by the desire of both groups to improve their physical facilities and to relocate to the eastern part of Jefferson County. For a few years after it was organized as Adath Israel Brith Sholom, it held services in the Brith Sholom building. In 1980, the congregation moved into its new

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

sanctuary on Brownsboro Road.

Adath Israel Temple sites

The congregation's first synagogue was built in 1849 on Fourth Street, which a fire destroyed in 1866. In 1868, the congregation built a new temple at Broadway and Sixth Street. The elaborate

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

d synagogue was created in an Orientalist style that featured twin towers topped by tall domes and a

Torah Ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

with a

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...

topped by a similar dome. The architect was H. P. Bradshaw. Adolph S. Moses served as rabbi from 1881 to his death in 1902. The building was subsequently repurposed as a Methodist church. The congregation's third building was informally known as the "Third Street Synagogue". The

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

structure was designed by architects Kenneth McDonald and J.F. Sheblessy and dedicated on June 3, 1906. The building was listed in the

in 1974 as a result of the strength and prestige of the architects. In 1977, it was sold to the Greater Bethel Temple, an Apostolic Church.

Brith Sholom Temple sites

Brith Sholom first building was at First and Walnut Streets, occupied from 1881 and completed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, which it sold to Congregation Anshei Sfard in 1903. The First Street synagogue was destroyed in 1962 to make way for an expressway. Its second building was at Second and College Streets, completed in 1903, vacated in 1949, and subsequently used as a church. This building was demolished . The congregation's third building was in the Bonnycastle Mansion at Cowling and Maryland Avenues in 1949, completed in the

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

style by architects, Walter C. Wagner and Joseph Potts. It is the only synagogue built in Kentucky between 1950 and 2000, not designed in the

style. Following the 1976 merger, the merged congregation met at the Cowling Avenue site. The building was subsequently sold and used as a Pentecostal church.

Merged site

In 1980, the congregation moved to Brownsboro and Lime Kiln Roads with land purchased in 1966. The temple was designed by a joint venture between architectural firms, Arrasmith & Rapp and Joseph & Joseph, as Arnold Judd and Alfred Joseph Jr., senior partners of each firm, were members of the merged congregation.

Cemetery

The Temple Cemetery was formed from the former Adath Israel Cemetery and Brith Sholom Cemetery and comprises located at 2716 Preston Street, in Louisville. In 1981, the congregation nominated the cemetery for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, that was approved on June 22, 1982.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adath Israel Brith Sholom 1842 establishments in Kentucky 1880 establishments in Kentucky 1976 establishments in Kentucky 20th-century synagogues in the United States Cemeteries established in the 1850s Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism Georgian Revival architecture in Kentucky Georgian Revival synagogues German-American culture in Louisville, Kentucky German-Jewish culture in the United States Gothic Revival architecture in Kentucky Gothic Revival synagogues Greek Revival synagogues Greek Revival architecture in Kentucky Jewish organizations established in 1842 Jewish organizations established in 1880 Jewish organizations established in 1976 Modernist architecture in Kentucky Modernist synagogues Moorish Revival architecture in Kentucky Moorish Revival synagogues National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky Reform synagogues in Kentucky Synagogues completed in 1849 Synagogues completed in 1868 Synagogues completed in the 1880s Synagogues completed in 1903 Synagogues completed in 1905 Synagogues completed in 1980 Synagogues in Louisville, Kentucky Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Cemeteries in Louisville, Kentucky