B'nai Israel Synagogue is a

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 ...

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

, United States. It is 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 ...

by its original name Chevra B'nai Yisroel Synagogue in 2007.

History

19th century: Foundation of an Orthodox community

The first Jewish community in Council Bluffs was 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 in 1881 named Bikur Cholim. It had 25 charter members, without a rabbi or a building. with They held services in rented facilities.

1900–1949: Two synagogue buildings

Chevra B’nai Yisroel Congregation was organized in 1903 with 14 adult male members. They acquired the present property and built a frame synagogue the following year. On March 5, 1930, the building was destroyed in a fire. Members from the congregation saved the Torah, sacred scrolls, and other religious items. A building committee was formed and plans were made for a new synagogue. Architect J. Chris Jensen was chosen to design the new building. The

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

from the former synagogue was recovered and was etched with an inscription for the new building. The new synagogue was completed on January 11, 1931. It seats 500 and was built for $26,000 (about $400,000 in 2020 values)

1950–1999: Conservative then Reconstructionist Judaism

The rabbis in the 1950s and 1960s were Louis Leifer (1949–1953), David Korb (1953), J.A. Wachsmann, Jay Karzan (?–196?), Allen Kaiser, and Emil Klein (1967–1969). The congregation continued to grow and changed from Orthodox to

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 ...

Judaism. English was now used in services and men and women could now sit together. Previously the women and children sat in the balcony. The congregation officially changed its name to B'nai Israel in November 1953. An addition was designed by I.T. Carrithers in the early 1960s to add more space to the front and back of the older building. Only the back addition was built. Soon after the addition was built the congregation began to decline in numbers. By 1980 plans were made to disband the congregation and sell the property. The membership, however, was determined to remain in place and recruited new members. In 1989 Rabbi Sharon Steifel became the first Reconstructionist rabbi at B'nai Israel. She was followed by Sheryl Shulewitz (1991–1994) and Ruth Ehrenstein (1994–?).

21st century: Monthly services and nondenominational Judaism

In the 21st century, the synagogue no longer has a rabbi and is no longer affiliated with a movement. It holds one service per month, attended by local Jews and by members of other Omaha congregations. Many of these Omaha Jews who attend services or support operations previously moved away from the Council Bluffs area resulting in use and

existence value Existence values are a class of economic value, reflecting the benefit people receive from knowing that a particular environmental resource, such as Antarctica, the Grand Canyon, endangered species, or any other organism or thing exists. Existenc ...

derived from the continued operation of B'nai Israel.

Architecture

The exterior of the synagogue is covered in

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

, rough-cast brick. Classical

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and galvanized iron

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

top the building. The building sits on a raised basement and the three doorways into the sanctuary are reached by a set of concrete steps. Inset panels of the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

and the tablets of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

inscribed in Hebrew are located above the doors. The interior is two stories tall with a balcony, which had been reduced in size during the 1960s renovation. The congregation has seven Torahs, two of which were saved in the 1930 fire. The Ark is composed of dark wood paneling and classical

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

. Louvered doors lead to the cabinet where its scrolls are kept.

References

External links

* {{Synagogues in the United States 1903 establishments in Iowa 1931 establishments in Iowa 20th-century synagogues in the United States Conservative synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1903 National Register of Historic Places in Pottawattamie County, Iowa Orthodox synagogues in the United States Religious buildings and structures in Council Bluffs, Iowa Synagogues completed in 1931 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Unaffiliated synagogues in the United States