Temple 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 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 ...

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 801 West Michigan Avenue in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in the United States. Formed in 1862 by Jews of German background, it grew out of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, which had been organized in 1858, and was the second Reform congregation in Michigan. After meeting in downtown Jackson in two different buildings, the congregation moved to its current site, on Michigan Avenue, that was dedicated in 1949 and remodelled following a fire in 1971. The congregation's cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery in continuous use 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 June 2009. Dr.

Jonathan V. Plaut Jonathan V. Plaut (October 7, 1942 – April 17, 2012) was an American Reform Judaism, Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Temple Beth Israel (Jackson, Michigan), Temple Beth Israel in Jackson, MI. Biography He was born in Chic ...

, the son of the late rabbi Dr. W.

Gunther Plaut Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar. ...

, joined as

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 ...

in 2000 and served the congregation until his death in 2012. In September 2011 Rabbi S. Robert Morais became Beth Israel's rabbi.

References

1862 establishments in Michigan 20th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Michigan German-Jewish culture in the United States Jackson, Michigan Jewish organizations established in 1862 Reform synagogues in Michigan Synagogues completed in 1949 {{US-synagogue-stub