Temple B'nai Israel 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 ...

built in 1905 and located at 213 South Commerce Street in the

Natchez On-Top-of-the-Hill Historic District Natchez On-Top-of-the-Hill Historic District is a Historic districts in the United States, historic district in Natchez, Mississippi that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. History Architecturally, the district ...

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. The congregation is the oldest in the state, established in 1840. The building is listed as a

Mississippi Landmark A Mississippi Landmark is a building officially nominated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and approved by each county's chancery clerk. The Mississippi Landmark designation is the highest form of recognition bestowed on prope ...

since 2002.

Pre-history of the building

The congregation was formed in 1840 during a second wave of Jewish immigration to the area, and it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the state of Mississippi. In 1866, a German immigrant named Samuel Ullman sought for the congregation to adopt Jewish Reform traditions that would include women and children, and his idea which eventually won out. By the 1870s, Temple B'nai Israel in Natchez was also the largest Jewish congregation in the state, and one-third of all

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

businesses in the city of Natchez were owned by members of this temple. From 1899 to 1913, Rabbi Seymour Bottigheimer from Virginia led the Natchez congregation, which provided the first stable rabbi in the community. in 1903, the Temple B'nai Israel was destroyed in a fire, and the congregation made plans for a new building. The

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

congregation temporarily allowed the Jewish congregation worship in their church, while many affluent white Christians from Natchez donated to the synagogue's rebuild fund.

History of the building

The architect of the present building was H. A. Overbeck, he had previously designed a synagogue in Dallas, Texas. The cornerstone for the building was laid in July 1904, and the space was dedicated on March 25, 1905, with Rabbi

Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...

of Cincinnati and more than 600 in attendance. The design of this temple may have influenced Overbeck's similarly designed Hebrew Union Temple, built in 1906 in Greenville, Mississippi. The new Beaux-Arts style building featured arched stained glass windows, a central dome, and an ornate ark made in Italian marble. It was designed to accommodate 450 people seated, with a balcony. The building was part of the history exhibition, ''From'' ''Alsace to America: Discovering Southern Jewish Heritage'' (1998) sponsored by the

Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, or MSJE, is a private, non-profit museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. The museum explores the many ways that Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage ...

. By 2010, only around a dozen Jewish residents lived in Natchez.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Natchez, Mississippi Jewish-American history Mississippi Landmarks Reform Judaism in the United States Synagogues completed in 1905 Synagogues in Mississippi History of Natchez, Mississippi

Pre-history of the building

History of the building

See also

References

External links