Congregation Beth Israel 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 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 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, in the United States. The congregation, founded in 1854, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas; and it operates the Shlenker School.

History

The congregation was founded in 1854 as an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

''kehilla'' and legally chartered in 1859. The Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation in Houston opened in a former house that had been converted to a synagogue. In 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to Reform Judaism, sparking the foundation of Congregation Adath Yeshurun, now known as Congregation Beth Yeshurun. Hyman Judah Schachtel was a past

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 ...

. Beth Israel's Franklin Avenue Temple building was completed in 1874. The temple was at Crawford Street at Franklin Avenue in what is now

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...

. In 1908 the congregation moved into a new temple at Crawford at Lamar Street, in an area that was a Jewish community. After the congregation left the Lamar site, the New Day Temple occupied it. The Grove at

Discovery Green Discovery Green is an public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south. The park is adjacent to the George ...

occupies the former Lamar site. Maximilian Heller was rabbi of the congregation from 1886 to 1887. A new temple at Austin Street and Holman Avenue was dedicated in 1925. Originally it was considered to be a part of the Third Ward.Wood, Roger. '' Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues''. 2003,

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...

. 1st ed., p. 73. Rabbi

Henry Barnston Henry Barnston (August 23, 1868 – December 11, 1949) was a British-born American rabbi. Life Barnston was born on August 23, 1868, in Dover, England, the son of Rabbi Isidore Jules Barnstein and Eva Mendelsohn. He was born Henry Barnstein, bu ...

served as the Congregation's rabbi from 1900 to 1943, after which he served as rabbi emeritus until his death in 1949. The Moderne style, 1924-built Austin Street building, designed by congregant

Joseph Finger Joseph Finger (7 March 1887 – 6 February 1953) was an Austrian American architect. After immigrating to the United States in 1905, Finger settled in Houston, Texas in 1908, where he would remain for the duration of his life. Finger is best ...

, was listed on the U.S.

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 1984 and was awarde
Recorded Texas Historical Landmark
status in 2009. In 1943 Temple Beth Israel announced that people who espoused

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

ideals, observed the laws of ''kashrut'' or favored the perpetuation of Hebrew as a language were not allowed to be members, so Emanu-El was formed by people who disagreed with the decision. As of 1967 Beth Israel accepts people with Zionist beliefs. In 1966 the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

purchased the 1920s temple building on Austin Street. (Research in curriculum and instruction). HISD began using that building—at first—as an annex for San Jacinto High School since the school's population was increasing. In the years leading to 1967, the Jewish community was moving to Meyerland. To follow the community, in 1967 the congregation moved to a new temple on North Braeswood Boulevard. The former temple building on Austin Street became the first home of Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and was renamed the Ruth Denney Theatre. When the high school moved to new quarters, the building became a performance venue for Houston Community College's Central Fine Arts division and was renamed the Heinen Theatre. The historic building is located in Midtown Houston. Rabbi David Lyon, Rabbi Adrienne Scott, and Cantor Kenneth Feibush currently preside over the congregation of Beth Israel.

Properties

Current property

The current synagogue at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard has a lobby with twelve needlepoints. The design of these needlepoints had inspiration in the

Hadassah Medical Center Hadassah Medical Center () is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem (one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus) as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology ...

Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

windows. The current synagogue facility has been expanded since its initial construction in order to house a Jewish school. The Shlenker School is on the synagogue property. The school is accredited by the

Independent Schools Association of the Southwest The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit association of 89 independent schools located in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, states of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Texas The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...

, as of 2022, more students attended The Shlenker School than previously. An organization called Prizmah stated in a 2021 report that families with a preference for education in a school setting during a pandemic, as opposed to via the internet, often preferred schools that continued offering such.

Cemetery

The cemetery owned by Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Houston. Congregation Beth Israel owns and operates two cemeteries. Its historic West Dallas cemetery, founded in 1844, is located at 1201 West Dallas, just west of downtown Houston. The West Dallas cemetery includes the Temple of Rest Mausoleum, an iconic Art Deco structure designed by architect Joseph Finger. The hallmarks of this building are the exquisite stained-glass windows, the bronze iron work and the beautiful chandelier in the entry way. The other cemetery is located on 1111 Antoine Drive, in west Houston, just north of I-10. The Antoine cemetery was recently expanded and includes a columbarium.

Notable members

* Josh Wolf (born 2000), baseball player in the Cleveland Indians organization and for Team Israel

Gallery

MarkerTxt.jpg, Texas Historic Landmark marker at the former synagogue site

Notes

References

External links

*
Shlenker School

Congregational history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Houston, Texas) Conservative synagogues in Texas Jews and Judaism in Houston Religious buildings and structures in Houston Reform synagogues in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Houston Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Jewish organizations established in 1854 1854 establishments in Texas Synagogues completed in 1925 1925 establishments in Texas Neoclassical synagogues Synagogues completed in 1967 1967 establishments in Texas Modernist architecture in Texas Midtown, Houston 20th-century synagogues in the United States