page_title: Temple Israel (Memphis, Tennessee)
section_title: Tuska era (1860–1870)
hierarchical_section_title: Temple Israel (Memphis, Tennessee) / Tuska era (1860–1870)
caption_attribution_description: English: Rabbi Simon Tuska of Temple Israel (Memphis, Tennessee)
context_page_description: Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. It is the only Reform synagogue in Memphis, the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in Tennessee, and one of the largest Reform congregations in the U.S. It was founded in 1853 by mostly German Jews as Congregation B'nai Israel. Led initially by cantors, in 1858 it hired its first rabbi, Jacob Peres, and leased its first building, which it renovated and eventually purchased.
  Peres was fired in 1860 because he opened a store that conducted business on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. He was replaced by Simon Tuska, who moved the congregation from Orthodox to Reform practices. Tuska died in 1871, and was succeeded by Max Samfield; under his leadership, the synagogue was one of the founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism. In 1884, Children of Israel completed a new building, and membership grew rapidly. Samfield died in 1915, and was succeeded by Bill Fineshriber, an outspoken supporter of women's suffrage and equal rights for African Americans. The following year the congregation moved to a new building, where membership continued to grow.
context_section_description: Born in Veszprém, Hungary in 1835, Tuska was raised in Rochester, New York, where his father was a rabbi. Simon attended the Rochester Theological Seminary, and upon completion of his studies there in 1858, was sent to the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau to get rabbinic training. He did not graduate from the seminary, instead returning to the United States in 1860 to apply for a position at Congregation Emanu-El of New York, but he was turned down because of his small size and weak voice. He then applied to Temple Israel, where on July 1, 1860, he was unanimously elected and signed a three-year contract at $800 (today $23,000) per year. He proved to be very popular with the congregation; in January 1863, six months before the three-year contract was up for renewal, he was re-elected as rabbi for a ten-year term, and his salary rose to $1,500 per year.
  Tuska reformed services at B'nai Israel, removing piyyutim (liturgical poems) in 1861, adding an organ and mixed-gender choir in 1862, and confirmation ceremonies in 1863. He also shortened the prayer book (adopting Wise's Minhag America version), added a late Friday night service, and created patriotically themed services for Thanksgiving and National Fast Day. When more pews were required to accommodate the worshipers, they were first added to the men's and women's sections, then family pews were added where men and women could sit together. In May 1864, as rabbi of B'nai Israel, he officiated at what may have been the first Jewish wedding in Tennessee; until that year, Tennessee did not authorize rabbis to perform marriages. He was also involved in the broader Memphis community, and participated in interfaith services.
  Tuska supported slavery, describing the abolitionist views of Henry Ward Beecher and others as "rabid", and like most members of B'nai Israel, after hostilities broke out between the Union and the Confederacy, he supported secession from the Union. More than ten members of the congregation volunteered for the Confederate Army after war broke out, and they were given special honors and blessings at a ceremony during Sabbath services. Many Memphis schools were forced to close because of the Civil War; in response, B'nai Israel established the Hebrew Educational Institute in 1864. A secular school, it had 100 students, and taught English, Hebrew, German, and French as well as geography and music. Tuska was one of the school's language teachers. Insufficient funding forced its closure in 1868.
  B'nai Israel had 83 members in 1864. The mortgage on the synagogue building had been paid off by 1865, but by 1867 the synagogue's expenses were exceeding its income. Dues were raised to $4 (today $70) per member per month, and the congregation took out a new mortgage. In January 1870, the congregation moved Friday night services to 7:30 p.m.; previously the services had been held just after sunset, in accordance with Jewish law, which had meant late-night services in mid-summer, and late-afternoon services in mid-winter. (Several years later High Holy Day services were moved to the same time). That year Tuska began giving his Friday night sermons in English, rather than German. At the end of 1870, Tuska died of a heart attack.
caption: Rabbi Simon Tuska
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