Temple Beth Elohim (Georgetown, South Carolina)
Encyclopedia
Temple Beth Elohim is a Reform
synagogue located at 230 Screven Street in Georgetown
, South Carolina.
, where the senior Cohen led the Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim
. After 1824, its congregation followed German trends to become the first Reform
synagogue
in the United States. Mordecai Myers arrived in Georgetown about the same time. As the number of Jews increased, they became prominent merchants and businessmen; for years they worshipped in people's homes or at the Winyah Indigo Society building. Most Jews traveled to nearby Charleston for services and High Holy Days
.
In 1904, the congregation of Beth Elohim was officially organized and named after its counterpart in Charleston. It was not until 1949 that they built the current synagogue. For years the congregation had no full-time rabbi, but a part-time rabbi or student rabbis from the Hebrew Union College
.
With demographic changes, by 2003 membership had dwindled to five people. The congregation agreed to sell the building and use the proceeds to maintain the nearby Jewish cemetery, which dated back to the 1760s. The congregation donated one of its two Torah scrolls to another congregation, as dissolution of the synagogue seemed inevitable. But, due to the efforts of a few local Jewish leaders, the congregation grew in membership (mostly from Jewish retirees who had migrated to the area from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states
).
services.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
synagogue located at 230 Screven Street in Georgetown
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...
, South Carolina.
History
In the 1760s the brothers Moses and Solomon Cohen, the first Jewish settlers, arrived in Georgetown. They were sons of Rabbi Moses Cohen who had emigrated with him in 1750 from London to Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where the senior Cohen led the Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim
Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim
Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim is a historic synagogue located at 90 Hasell Street in Charleston, South Carolina...
. After 1824, its congregation followed German trends to become the first Reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in the United States. Mordecai Myers arrived in Georgetown about the same time. As the number of Jews increased, they became prominent merchants and businessmen; for years they worshipped in people's homes or at the Winyah Indigo Society building. Most Jews traveled to nearby Charleston for services and High Holy Days
High Holy Days
The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
.
In 1904, the congregation of Beth Elohim was officially organized and named after its counterpart in Charleston. It was not until 1949 that they built the current synagogue. For years the congregation had no full-time rabbi, but a part-time rabbi or student rabbis from the Hebrew Union College
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
.
With demographic changes, by 2003 membership had dwindled to five people. The congregation agreed to sell the building and use the proceeds to maintain the nearby Jewish cemetery, which dated back to the 1760s. The congregation donated one of its two Torah scrolls to another congregation, as dissolution of the synagogue seemed inevitable. But, due to the efforts of a few local Jewish leaders, the congregation grew in membership (mostly from Jewish retirees who had migrated to the area from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
).
Current status
Beth Elohim is an active Reform congregation with approximately 50 members and weekly ShabbatShabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
services.
External links
- "Georgetown, South Carolina", Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, Institute of Southern Jewish Life