Congregation Beth Israel (Houston)

For similarly named synagogues, see Beth Israel.

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard, in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The congregation, founded in 1854, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas; and it operates the Shlenker School.

Congregation Beth Israel
Beth Israel synagogue
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Rabbi David A. Lyon Rabbi Adrienne P. Scott Cantor Kenneth J. Feibush
Status	Active
Location
Location	5600 N. Braeswood Blvd., Houston, Texas 77096
Country	United States
Location in Texas
Geographic coordinates	29°40′37″N 95°29′16″W
Architecture
Date established	1854 (as a congregation)
Completed	1874 (Franklin Avenue) 1908 (Crawford Street) 1925 (see NRHP below) 1967 (N. Braeswood Blvd.)
Website
beth-israel.org
Temple Beth Israel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Former Temple Beth Israel building, 1925–1967
Location	3517 Austin St., Midtown Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°44′14″N 95°22′30″W
Built	1924 – 1925
Architect	Finger, Joseph
Architectural style	Streamline Moderne
NRHP reference No.	84001826
RTHL No.	14339
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 1, 1984
Designated RTHL	1974
[1]

History

The congregation was founded in 1854 as an Orthodox Jewish kehilla and legally chartered in 1859.^[2] The Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation in Houston opened in a former house that had been converted to a synagogue.^[3]: 216 In 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to Reform Judaism, sparking the foundation of Congregation Adath Yeshurun, now known as Congregation Beth Yeshurun.^[2] Hyman Judah Schachtel was a past rabbi.

Beth Israel's Franklin Avenue Temple building was completed in 1874.^[4][5] The temple was at Crawford Street at Franklin Avenue in what is now Downtown Houston. In 1908 the congregation moved into a new temple at Crawford at Lamar Street, in an area that was a Jewish community.^[6] After the congregation left the Lamar site, the New Day Temple occupied it. As of 2016^[update] The Grove at Discovery Green occupies the former Lamar site.^[7]

Maximilian Heller was rabbi of the congregation from 1886 to 1887.^[8]

A new temple at Austin Street and Holman Avenue was dedicated in 1925.^[4][5] Originally it was considered to be a part of the Third Ward.^[9]

Rabbi Henry Barnston served as the Congregation's rabbi from 1900 to 1943, after which he served as rabbi emeritus until his death in 1949.^[10]

The Moderne style, 1924-built Austin Street building, designed by congregant Joseph Finger, was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and was awarded Recorded Texas Historical Landmark status in 2009.^[1]

In 1943 Temple Beth Israel announced that people who espoused Zionist ideals, observed the laws of kashrut or favored the perpetuation of Hebrew as a language were not allowed to be members, so Emanu-El was formed by people who disagreed with the decision. As of 1967 Beth Israel accepts people with Zionist beliefs.^{[3]: 217 [11]}

In 1966 the Houston Independent School District purchased the 1920s temple building on Austin Street.^[12][a][b] HISD began using that building—at first—as an annex for San Jacinto High School since the school's population was increasing.^[12]: 8

In the years leading to 1967, the Jewish community was moving to Meyerland. To follow the community,^[6] in 1967 the congregation moved to a new temple on North Braeswood Boulevard. The former temple building on Austin Street became the first home of Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and was renamed the Ruth Denney Theatre. When the high school moved to new quarters, the building became a performance venue for Houston Community College's Central Fine Arts division and was renamed the Heinen Theatre.^[1] The historic building is located in Midtown Houston.^[c]

Rabbi David Lyon, Rabbi Adrienne Scott, and Cantor Kenneth Feibush currently preside over the congregation of Beth Israel.^[17]

Properties

Current property

The current synagogue at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard has a lobby with twelve needlepoints. The design of these needlepoints had inspiration in the Hadassah Medical Center's Chagall windows. The current synagogue facility has been expanded since its initial construction in order to house a Jewish school.^[3]: 218

The Shlenker School is on the synagogue property. The school is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, as of 2022, more students attended The Shlenker School than previously. An organization called Prizmah stated in a 2021 report that families with a preference for education in a school setting during a pandemic, as opposed to via the internet, often preferred schools that continued offering such.^[18]

Cemetery

The cemetery owned by Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Houston.^[19]

Congregation Beth Israel owns and operates two cemeteries. Its historic West Dallas cemetery, founded in 1844, is located at 1201 West Dallas, just west of downtown Houston. The West Dallas cemetery includes the Temple of Rest Mausoleum, an iconic Art Deco structure designed by architect Joseph Finger. The hallmarks of this building are the exquisite stained-glass windows, the bronze iron work and the beautiful chandelier in the entry way. The other cemetery is located on 1111 Antoine Drive, in west Houston, just north of I-10. The Antoine cemetery was recently expanded and includes a columbarium.

Notable members

• Josh Wolf (born 2000), baseball player in the Cleveland Indians organization and for Team Israel

Gallery

• 
  Taxas Historic Landmark marker at the former synagogue site

See also

• Texas portal
• Judaism portal

• History of the Jews in Houston

Notes

1. Quote: "A former Hebrew temple across the street from San Jacinto had been purchased by the school district in 1966 as an annex for the school's burgeoning enrollment".^[12]: 8
2. Quote: "Denny was given her choice of three district-owned sites in the central city just outside of downtown Houston for the new school: W. D. Cleveland Elementary School to the west; Montrose Elementary School to the southwest; and the former Temple Beth Israel to the south. Denney, with the assistance of Barry Moore, one of her former Lamar drama students who had become an architect, toured all three sites, giving facilities for performance priority over any other consideration. The former Temple Beth Israel, the annex since 1966 for HISD's vocational San Jacinto High School [renamed Houston Technical Institute on June 1, 1971], seemed best suited for HSPVA's temporary use. Despite five years of district neglect, the sanctuary, attached two-story Levy Memorial Hall, and adjacent one-story Mendelsohn Education Building had the essential components for a small arts high school; use of this campus would only be necessary until HISD could pass a bond issue including funds for a new state-of-the-art building (...)".^[12]: 10
3. There are separate boundaries for the Midtown Super Neighborhood and the Midtown Management District.^{[13][14][15][16]}

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. p. 346.^{[ISBN missing]}
3. Bell, Roselyn (1994). "Houston". In Tigay, Alan M. (ed.). The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 215–220. ISBN 1568210787.
4. Nathan Cohen, Anne (1954). The Centenary History of Congregation Beth Israel of Houston. Houston: Congregation Beth Israel.
5. "TSHA | Congregation Beth Israel, Houston".
6. Gonzales, J.R. (February 1, 2011). "Congregation Beth Israel through the years". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
7. Barden-Smith, St. John (October 23, 2016). "Temples of the gods: Houston's religious diversity reflects community". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
8. Adler, Cyrus, ed. (1903). The American Jewish Year Book, 5664. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 62 – via Google Books.
9. Wood, Roger. Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues. 2003, University of Texas Press. 1st ed., p. 73.
10. "Barnston, Henry". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
11. The Nation, Jan. 1, 1944
12. Gore, Elaine Clift (2007). Talent Knows No Color: The History of an Arts Magnet High School. Information Age Publishing. ISBN 1593117612. (Research in curriculum and instruction).
13. Midtown Super Neighborhood] (PDF) (Map). City of Houston, Texas.
14. Management district map (PDF) (Map). City of Houston, Texas. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
15. "2006 Midtown Management District Land Use Map" (PDF) (Map). Midtown Houston Management District. 2006.
16. "Service and Improvement Plan and Assessment Plan for Fiscal Years 2015-2024" (PDF) (Map). Midtown Houston Management District. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
17. "Rabbi David Lyon Remarks Honoring Ellen Cohen at CancerForward". Ellen Cohen. May 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
18. "Meyerland Jewish day schools see increased enrollment during COVID-19 pandemic". Houston Chronicle. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
19. Davis, Rod. (August 3, 2003). "Houston's really good idea Bus tour celebrates communities that forged a city". San Antonio Express-News. p. Travel 1M. Retrieved February 11, 2012.

Further reading

• Tigay, Alan M. (1987). Jewish Travel-Prem. Broadway Books. ISBN 0385241984.

External links

• Official website
• Shlenker School
• Congregational history