B'nai Israel Synagogue is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

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 in the historic

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

neighborhood, near

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

and the

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark in Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The Inner Harbo ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, in the United States. The synagogue is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the United States. The spiritual leader of B'nai Israel Synagogue is

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 t ...

Etan Mintz Etan Mintz is an American rabbi, activist, writer, and the spiritual leader of the historic B'nai Israel Synagogue (Baltimore) of Baltimore, the oldest continually active synagogue in Maryland and one of the oldest standing synagogues in America. M ...

. The synagogue building was listed as a Baltimore City Landmark in 1977; and 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 1978.

Architecture

The synagogue building is a subdued

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

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 ...

structure that synthesizes

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

and

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

elements with traditional Jewish symbols. The architect was Henry Burck, whose design was supposedly based on that of the

Schiffschul Schiffschul, officially Khal Adas Yisroel, was a former Orthodox congregation and synagogue, located at Grosse Schiffgasse 8, in the second district, known as Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis on Kristallnach ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The carpentry was done by E. F. Hausen and the interior frescoes by F. Moore. The building was completed in 1876 as a place of worship for the

Chizuk Amuno Congregation Chizuk Amuno Congregation () is a Conservative Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Stevenson Road, in Pikesville, Maryland, Pikesville, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. Principles ...

, founded in 1871 as an

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 ...

congregation. This congregation occupied the Lloyd Street synagogue until 1895, when it moved McCulloh and Mosher Streets, and later to Eutaw Place and Chauncy Avenue. In 1958, the Chizuk Amuno Congregation moved to its present site on Stevenson Road in Baltimore County. The

Aron Kodesh 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 ...

is an architectural fantasy in carved wood, with the cabinet in which the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

scrolls are stored, surrounded by a pair of tall

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s. The building was listed on the

on April 19, 1978. The building is now part of the

Jewish Museum of Maryland The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The museum tells the story of the American Jews, American Jewish experience in the city of Baltimore and throughout the US state of Maryland. Description The museu ...

History

A group of members of

Baltimore Hebrew Congregation The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 7401 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, on the border of Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States. History Originally na ...

believed that the congregation had become too liberal and modernistic. In 1873 they formed a new congregation, Chizuk Amuno. Members of a Russian speaking congregation made of immigrants from the

pale of settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

broke off from a Polish speaking congregation. The "Ruschie Shul" would practice wherever they could: people's houses, the upper levels of grocery stores. In the years between 1880 and 1910, hundreds of thousands of Jews came from the Pale of Settlement, and the longstanding German Jews moved to North West Baltimore. The building itself was built by

in 1876. Chizuk Amuno Congregation sold the building to B'nai Israel for $12,000 in 1895 when it moved to Northwest Baltimore. In 1973, the congregation began raising funds for the restoration of the synagogue. B'nai Israel donated land to the City of Baltimore to build a park near the synagogue in 1975. Named Freedom Park, the park honors victims of oppression.

References

External links

* * , including photo from 1997, at Maryland Historical Trust {{Ethnicity in Baltimore 1873 establishments in Maryland 19th-century synagogues in the United States Baltimore City Landmarks Gothic Revival architecture in Maryland Gothic Revival synagogues Jewish organizations established in 1873 Jonestown, Baltimore Lithuanian-American culture in Baltimore Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Maryland Modern Orthodox synagogues in Maryland Moorish Revival architecture in Maryland Moorish Revival synagogues Orthodox Judaism in Baltimore Polish-Jewish culture in Baltimore Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore Russian-Jewish culture in Baltimore Synagogues completed in 1845 Synagogues completed in 1876 Synagogues in Baltimore Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Synagogues preserved as museums Ukrainian-Jewish culture in Baltimore Synagogues in Maryland

Architecture

History

See also

References

External links