Congregation Beth Israel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Congregation Beth Israel () is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, Wisconsin, a suburb north of Milwaukee.
Founded in 1884 as Congregation B'ne Jacob, the congregation split, re-amalgamated, and went bankrupt before re-organizing as Beth Israel in 1901. The synagogue building it constructed on Teutonia Avenue in 1925, and sold in 1959, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Led by Rabbi Jacob Herber, it was the only synagogue in Milwaukee associated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
==Early years==
In 1884 Congregation B'ne Jacob was formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By 1886 it had split into two congregations, Moses Montefiore Gemeinde and Anshe Jacob. In 1891 they re-amalgamated, creating Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, and the following year hired Solomon Isaac Scheinfeld as the congregation's first permanent rabbi.History, Synagogue website. Scheinfeld had been born in Lithuania in 1860, and had moved to Milwaukee soon after receiving semicha in 1890.Hintz (2005), p. 65. He stayed less than a year before moving to Kentucky.
The congregation completed a new synagogue building at 462 Fifth Street in 1893, but was unable to afford the mortgage, and in 1900 the courts foreclosed on the property. The following year the congregation was re-organized as Congregation Beth Israel and re-acquired the synagogue building on Fifth Street, and in 1902 Scheinfeld was re-hired as rabbi. He served as Beth Israel's rabbi until his death in 1943.
During his tenure as rabbi, Scheinfeld established a maot chitim (literally "money for wheat") fund, to provide for the needs of Milwaukee Jews too poor to afford food for the Passover Seder. That fund continued after his death as the "Rabbi Solomon I. Scheinfeld Moath Chitim Fund", and in 2003 distributed $20,000 worth of food to 600 families.Cohen (2003).
==Teutonia building==
Beth Israel sold its Fifth Street building in 1924, and, after meeting in temporary quarters for a year, constructed a new building at 2432 North Teutonia Avenue.NRHP State listings: WISCONSIN - Milwaukee County. However, as the Jewish community of Milwaukee migrated north to suburbs in the 1940s and 1950s, the location became inconvenient. In 1957, a property was purchased at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, and construction began on new facilities there in 1959.Congregation Beth Israel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin records, Historical Note, Jewish Theological Seminary. The Teutonia Avenue building was sold in 1959, and vacated in 1960. On March 5, 1992 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
==Move from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism==
Beth Israel was founded as an Orthodox synagogue, and its rabbi, Solomon Scheinfeld, also served as chief rabbi of the United Orthodox Congregations of Milwaukee. However, the congregation had done away with separate seating for men and women in 1920s or 30s; at the same time Beth Israel also instituted English language sermons.According to Congregation Beth Israel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin records, Historical Note, Jewish Theological Seminary, this happened in 1926. According to History, Synagogue website, in 1937 "High Holiday English Services [were] instituted, with mixed seating allowed." The congregation eventually became fully egalitarian,Mission Statement, Synagogue website. and associated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
==1960s to 1990s==
Beth Israel's current facilities were built in three phases. In 1962 a new school building was completed, and the congregation began holding services there. In 1966, the sanctuary building and social hall were completed and dedicated, and in 1980 work on the sanctuary was completed.
In 1970, Herbert Panitch joined Beth Israel from Congregation Agudath Achim in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He served as rabbi until his retirement in 1995.Rubin Schwartz (2006), p. 264, footnote 107.Sandin (1995).
==Events since 2000==
Toronto native Mitchell Joshua Martin, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary's Cantor's Institute, joined as cantor in 2002.Cohen (2002). Jacob Herber, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the University of California, Davis, became rabbi of Beth Israel in August 2003.Meet the Clergy, Synagogue website. Funded by congregation members and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Herber traveled to Uganda in July 2008 to assist in the Abayudaya in converting to Judaism.Heinen (2008).
, Beth Israel was the only synagogue in Milwaukee associated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism,Synagogue website. and had 700 member families.What is THI, Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee website. The rabbi was Jacob Herber, the rabbi emeritus was Herbert Panitch, the cantor was Fortunée Belilos, and the president was Ralph Schapira.
==Notes==
==References==
* Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* Contacts, Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* History, Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* Meet the Clergy, Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* Mission Statement, Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* What is THI, Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
* Cohen, Leon. "Sing along with (Hazzan) Mitch", The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, August 23, 2002.
* Cohen, Leon. "Scheinfeld fund gives more than Passover food to needy", The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, April 11, 2003. 
* Heinen, Tom. "Wisconsin rabbi to aid in Ugandans’ conversion", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 5, 2008. 
* Hintz, Martin. Jewish Milwaukee, Arcadia Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0738539724 
* Congregation Beth Israel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin records, Ratner Center, Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Accessed August 21, 2008.
*WISCONSIN - Milwaukee County, State Listings, National Register of Historic Places website. Accessed August 21, 2008. 
* Rubin Schwartz, Shuly. The Rabbi's Wife: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life, New York University Press, 2006. ISBN 0814740162 
*Sandin, Jo. "A new battle", The Milwaukee Journal, March 16, 1995.
==External links==
*Congregation Beth Israel's building on Teutonia Avenue, Jewish Museum, Milwaukee.
*Congregation Beth Israel's building on Green Bay Road, Jewish Museum, Milwaukee.
*"Bodies of knowledge: Educational exhibit headed to Milwaukee has drawn crowds, concerns", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 16, 2007.
Category:1962 architecture
Category:19th-century synagogues
Category:Buildings and structures in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Category:Conservative synagogues in the United States
Category:Religion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Category:Religious organizations established in 1884
Category:Religious organizations established in 1901
Category:Synagogues in Wisconsin