Temple Israel is a

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 ...

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 Providence Road, in the Shalom Park district of South Charlotte,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, in the United States. One of six synagogues in Charlotte, Temple Israel serves more than 650 member families. Its third and current synagogue building was complete in 1992 in the

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style, feature floor to ceiling stained glass windows in the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. The

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 ...

since July 2020 is Michael Wolk, who took over from interim Rabbi Howard Seigel. Seigel succeeding the long serving rabbi of 24 years, Murray Ezring. The

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

since 2018 has been soprano Shira T. Lissek, previously of Park Avenue Synagogue, New York.

History

With the great wave of immigration of

Jews 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 ...

from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

occurring in the late 19th century, new settlers came to Charlotte. This group also was deeply religious and brought with them their own customs and attitudes. In September 1895, these new citizens organized the first formal Jewish congregation of the city of Charlotte. This congregation was the forerunner of what is now Temple Israel. They called themselves Agudath Achim, Hebrew United Brotherhood. The group was headed by Harris Miller, Benjamin Silverstein, and Mr. C. Lubin. By 1915, now "Temple Israel" had constructed its first building and the number of families grew to more than 100. Two

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

s existed at the Temple, one Orthodox and one

. Eventually, the younger members persuaded the congregation to adopt a stance of worship leading more toward "Conservatism." This gave way to mixed seating and more use of English in the service. In 1948 Temple Israel, together with Temple Beth-El, erected a monument to Judah P. Benjamin, "Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State of the Confederate government... as a Gift to the North Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy". By 1949, Temple Israel had outgrown its building on Seventh Street and relocated to the Dilworth neighborhood of South Charlotte. By 1955, Temple Israel boasted the largest membership of any Jewish congregation in the Carolinas with more than 350 member families. In 1985, the synagogue adopted an

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

policy for worship, granting women full rights at services to read from the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, lead song, and lead prayer. In 1991, Temple Israel broke ground in Shalom Park of South Charlotte and began construction on its current building; completed in 1992. In 1994, Rabbi Murray Ezring became Temple Israel's 19th Senior Rabbi, and later served as Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Michael Wolk joined Temple Israel July 1, 2020 as its 20th Senior Rabbi.

Affiliates

In serving the greater Charlotte metropolitan area, Congregation Emanuel in Statesville is affiliated with Temple Israel. The Emanuel congregation is without full-time clergy, so Temple Israel provides rabbinic leadership, monetary support, and resources to help support this congregation.

Notable clergy

Frank Birnbaum William Franklin "Frank" Birnbaum (1922–2005) was a well-known 20th century chazzan within Conservative Judaism, Conservative Judaism in the United States. Serving congregations and performing concerts across America, his music was well known ...

, cantor, served from 1973 until 1986. Known for his famous songwriting and vocal ability, the Annual Cantor's Concert is named in his honor.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Israel (Charlotte, North Carolina) 1895 establishments in North Carolina 20th-century synagogues in the United States Ashkenazi Jewish culture in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte metropolitan area Conservative synagogues in the United States Culture of Charlotte, North Carolina Jewish organizations established in 1895 Modernist architecture in North Carolina Modernist synagogues Synagogues completed in 1915 Synagogues completed in 1949 Synagogues completed in 1992 Synagogues in North Carolina