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Temple B'nai 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 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 4901 North Pennsylvania,
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, in the United States. Temple B'nai Israel website The congregation is the oldest active Jewish congregation in Oklahoma.


History


Early years

Jewish people were present in Oklahoma City since its founding in 1889 with the first minyan for High Holy Day services being held in 1890, but no formal synagogue was known to be formed for another 13 years, however, in 1901 the Hebrew Cemetery Association of Oklahoma City was incorporated with land being purchased at the Fairlawn Cemetery. The congregation was founded in May 1903 (one year before the founding of Emmanuel Synagogue, first affiliated with the Orthodox movement, later starting in 1946 with the Conservative movement)) but it met at St. Luke's Methodist Church and other local churches until it constructed its own building in 1907. This building was located at 50 Broadway Circle and was dedicated on January 17, 1908 (only about 2 months after Oklahoma became a state). For the congregation's first high holiday services in 1903, the service was led by a student rabbi from the Reform movement's
Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...
in Cincinnati, Harry Friedman, while regular Shabbat services were led by Gus Paul (the city attorney of Oklahoma City). The following year, the congregation hired its first full-time rabbi, Arthur Lewisohn (also a student at HUC), but his tenure was short, and by November he had to leave the position due to his health. He did a few months later in March 1905 at the age of 23. Lewisohn's death did not stop the congregation from holding its first confirmation service for six graduates, said at the time to be the first Jewish confirmation services held in the Oklahoma and Indian territories. The congregation called its longest-serving rabbi,
Joseph Blatt Joseph Blatt was an American rabbi, civic leader, and professor who was the longest serving rabbi of Temple B'nai Israel in Oklahoma City. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1932. Early life Joseph Blatt was born in 1878 in Ohio. ...
in 1906 who served until 1946. Rabbi Blatt is remembered for his classical reform approach, interfaith efforts (including guest speaking at many churches in Oklahoma City), but also for his strident defense of the Jewish community in the face of anti-semitic accusations by the ''Guthrie Daily Leader'' newspaper (accusations that the state capitol's move from Guthrie to Oklahoma City was inappropriately orchestrated by a group of prominent Jewish businessmen in Oklahoma City). Rabbi Blatt responded that the newspaper's claims were slanderous and that they were a “a disgrace to the civilization of our state.” Rabbi Blatt was also remembered for his work in helping to organize congregations in Tulsa, Enid, Shawnee and Ardmore, at times even serving as a kind of circuit preacher of sorts, as well as his opposition towards
Zionism 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 ...
, as recalled by his successor Rabbi Levinson: (he was) "staunchly opposed to Jewish nationalism and died broken-hearted (in 1946) in the thought that the Reform movement had made peace with political Zionism." He was even described as being a "bitter anti-zionist" by Rabbi Randall Falk of Tulsa.


Mid- and late 20th century

Joseph Levenson served as rabbi for 30 years, from 1946 to 1976. Major events during his rabbinate included the congregation's move into its current building (at what was then the edge of Oklahoma City, near NW 50th & Penn) in 1955, as well as a tornado hitting the synagogue in 1970; necessitating significant repairs. It was during the rabbinate of Rabbi Levenson that the congregation moved decided towards a
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 ...
orientation, in contrast to the classical reform's non-Zionist tradition. In 1950, Rabbi Levenson was called for duty as a US Air Force reservist, so Rabbi Israel Kaplan served as interim rabbi seventeen months. Rabbi Levenson also produced a radio program called "Voice of Judaism" in the 1950s and was active in the National Conference of Christian and Jews] David A. Packman served as rabbi of the Temple from 1976 to 2004 His years of service were marked by increased involvement by the congregation in interfaith efforts, most notably Oklahoma City's annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service. Rabbi Packman was also an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in society. Rabbi Packman served as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 2020.


21st century

Rabbi Barry Cohen began his rabbinate in Oklahoma in 2004 and served until 2012. It was also in 2004 that synagogue building was bombed by a member of
Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate group that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded Aryan N ...
but only minor damage was done to the building with no injuries. The assailant was later sentenced to 39 years in prison. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2020, the congregation began holding all of its worship services and educational programming via online streaming services, as well as providing resources to enable members in social isolation to have the needed supplies to celebrate
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
and later the High Holy Days at home. The congregation began indoor in-person services with limited capacity starting on March 5, 2021 and eventually full-capacity later that year.


Current programs

Today the congregation holds weekly Shabbat evening services, monthly Shabbat morning services and a variety of special observances for Jewish holidays. It is led by Rabbi Vered Harris. The congregation also hosts the Erna Krouch Pre-school (the oldest continuously operated in Oklahoma City), a Hebrew school, and a Religious Education program for youth and adults. The congregation also has an active social justice program which focuses on issues related to hunger, poverty, LGBTQ equality and the rights of refugees. Temple B'nai Israel has also had an active program of educating potential adult converts to Judaism, including not only non-Jewish spouses of Jewish members, but also those who had no previous Jewish background. The congregation in the past, under Rabbi Packman, also performed official conversions of children who were raised as Jews but who did not have Jewish mothers.


Torah scrolls

The congregation currently has five Torah scrolls, including the recently restored Bendorf Torah (which had been rescued from a burning synagogue in Jugenheim in Germany and later made its way to the USA)


Building

The current building for Temple B'nai Israel was built in 1955 in a modern style, designed by architect Norman Berlowitz. The building was expanded in 1962 (more Sunday school rooms and Krouch Hall), 2000 (a gymnasium) and 2004 (a chapel addition). The building includes a main sanctuary, a fellowship hall (which can be also used as overflow seating for high holiday services), classrooms, offices, a library, a gym and a smaller chapel. Art and other visual displays are scattered throughout the building. The building is located on a 8.77 acre campus with a pool and a playground.


Rabbis

The following individuals have served as rabbi of Temple B'nai Israel:


Notable members

*
Sylvan Goldman Sylvan Nathan Goldman (November 15, 1898 – November 25, 1984) was an American businessman and inventor of the shopping cart. His design had a pair of large wire baskets connected by tubular metal arms with four wheels.Terry P. Wilson, ''Th ...
(1898–1984) inventor of the
shopping cart A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of #Name, other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a Retail#Types of ret ...
and the
luggage cart Baggage carts, luggage carts, luggage trolleys or trolleys are small vehicles pushed by travelers ( human-powered) to carry individual luggage, mostly suitcases. There are two major sizes: One for big luggage and one for small luggage. Carts ...
* Leo Meyer (1873–1964), Oklahoma State Auditor from 1911 to 1915, Assistant Secretary of State (1907)


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Israel (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Aryan Nations Antisemitism in Oklahoma 1903 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Religious buildings and structures in Oklahoma City Reform synagogues in Oklahoma Jewish organizations established in 1903 Synagogues completed in 1955 20th-century synagogues in the United States Synagogues in Oklahoma 21st-century attacks on Jewish institutions in the United States Neo-fascist terrorist incidents in the United States White nationalist terrorism in the United States