Congregation Shaare Emeth

Congregation Shaare Emeth (transliterated from Hebrew as "Gates of Truth") is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 11645 Ladue Road, in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, in the United States.

Congregation Shaare Emeth
Interior of the synagogue, in 2007
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Rabbi Jim Bennett Rabbi Andrea Goldstein Rabbi Rachel Bearman Rabbi Lori Levine (Education) Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman (Emeritus)
Status	Active
Location
Location	11645 Ladue Road, Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri 63141
Country	United States
Location in Missouri
Geographic coordinates	38°39′23″N 90°26′28″W
Architecture
Type	Synagogue
Date established	1867 (as a congregation)
Completed	1869 (17th and Pine Sts.) 1897 (Lindell Street) 1934 (University City) 1980 (Creve Coeur)
Website
sestl.org

History

Founded in St. Louis in 1867, out of the Orthodox B’nai El congregation, Shaare Emeth constructed its first synagogue building at 17th and Pine Streets in 1869, designed by Thomas Brady and Otto H. Stickel in the Moorish Revival style,^[1][2][3] with tow onion domes.^[4] Rabbi Solomon H. Sonneschein was the congregation's first rabbi, who later went on to be founding rabbi at Congregation Temple Israel.^[5]

The 1869 synagogue was replaced by the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building designed by Link, Rosenheim, and Ittner, completed in 1897. With seating for 1,000 worshippers, the building was notable due to its 25-square-foot (2.3 m²) tower, some 140 feet (43 m) high. Alfred S. Alschuler of Chicago designed the congregation's third synagogue, located in University City, completed in 1934.^[6] In 1980, the congregation moved to Creve Coeur.

Shaare Emeth is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism. It is the oldest Reform and largest congregation in the greater St. Louis area. In addition to religious services, the Shaare Emeth has a religious school, Shirlee Green Preschool, and two summer camps, Camp Micah and Camp Emeth. In 2016, the former Orthodox B’nai El and the Reform Shaare Emeth congregations merged.

Clergy include Senior Rabbi Jim Bennett, Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, Rabbi Rachel Bearman, Cantor Seth Warner, and Rabbi Educator Lori Levine; and Rabbi Emeritus is Jeffrey Stiffman.

Notable members

• Rosa Sonneschein, rebbetzin, editor, and activist for female synagogal rights^[7][8]
• Solomon H. Sonneschein, founding and controversial rabbi^[5]

References

1. Simmons, David J. (Winter 2006). "The Architecture of Nineteenth-Century Synagogues in St. Louis". Society of Architectural Historians Missouri Valley. 12 (4): 1–8.
2. Wischnitzer, Rachel (1955). Synagogue Architecture in the United States: History and Interpretation. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America.
3. Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 200–201. ISBN 9780313288562.
4. Gruber, Samuel D. (2024). "Congregation Shaare Emeth (1869)". Synagogues of the South. College of Charleston. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
5. Rosenkranz, Samuel (1986). A Centennial History of Congregation Temple Israel. Congregation Temple Israel, Creve Coeur, Missouri. pp. 1–77. LCCN 85-73578.
6. Gruber, Samuel D. (2024). "Congregation Shaare Emeth (1897)". Synagogues of the South. College of Charleston. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
7. Jewish Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. 1998. ISBN 0415919355..
8. The Journey Home: Jewish Women and the American Century. New York: The Free Press. 1997. ISBN 0684834448. Rosa Sonneschein.

External links

• Official website