| Temple Beth Or | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Scott Looper |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 2246 Narrow Lane Road,Cloverdale,Montgomery,Alabama 36106 |
| Country | United States |
  Location inAlabama | |
| Coordinates | 32°21′17″N86°17′00″W / 32.354806°N 86.283317°W /32.354806; -86.283317 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
|
| Type | Synagogue architecture |
| Style |
|
| General contractor | Pelham J. Anderson(1862) |
| Established | 1849(as a congregation) |
| Completed |
|
| Construction cost | $14,000(1862) |
| Dome | min. 4(1902) |
| Website | |
| templebethor | |
| [1][2][3] | |
Temple Beth Or (transliterated fromHebrew; "House of Light"[1]), founded asKahl Montgomery, is an historicReformJewish congregation andsynagogue located at 2246 Narrow Lane Road, in theCloverdale neighborhood ofMontgomery,Alabama, in the United States.
Jews in Montgomery first establishedChevra Mevacher Cholim, a society to minister to the sick and bury the dead in 1846.[4] AnOrthodox congregation,[2]: 29 named Kahl Montgomery, was formed on May 6, 1849, first meeting in the homes of members, and later renting space on Dexter Avenue.[5] The congregation drafted an official charter in 1852.
In 1858, philanthropistJudah Touro left $2,000 to the congregation to purchase land for a temple. The brick temple inRundbogenstil style was completed on March 8, 1862, at the corner of Church and Catoma Streets. The congregation used that building until 1901 and, despite internal protests about selling the edifice to an organization of another faith, it was sold for $7,500 to aChristianchurch.[1] As of 2021[update], the building has continuously operated as a church since 1901, in the main as the Catoma StreetChurch of Christ.[2][3]
Adolph S. Moses served as rabbi from 1870 to 1871.[6] By 1870, the congregation had grown considerably, and ritual changes continued to occur. In 1874, the congregation adopted a Reform ritual and modelled it afterTemple Emanu El ofNew York City, and was renamedTemple Beth Or. From 1876 to 1888, Hungarian-bornSigmund Hecht served as the rabbi. He also helped to establish a Sunday school.[5]
In 1902, some more recentAshkenazi immigrants split off to formAgudath Israel Etz Ahayem. On June 6, 1902 a new temple at 103 Clayton Street, on the corner of Sayre Street, was dedicated.[4] Completed in theNeoclassical style by an unnamed architect, a wide flight of steps led to the monumental entrance through a columnarportico with four tallDoric columns. Stair towers framed the porticofaçade, topped by openbelvederes with small domes. A larger dome was set over thesanctuary. The building was demolished after the 1960s.[1]
Rabbi Benjamin Goldstein, from New York, served the congregation from 1928. Goldstein was a vocal defendant of theScottsboro Boys, in his sermons, at public rallies, connecting them with lawyers from International Labor Defense, the legal arm of the American Communist Party; and he was the only white clergyman to visit the defendants in prison. The congregation, at the time a supporter ofracial segregation and under threats from theKu Klux Klan to withdraw support of Jewish businesses, asked Goldstein to tender his resignation in April 1933.[5]
In 1933 Rabbi Eugene Blachschleger assumed the position of rabbi; and during his tenure the congregation was vocal in its opposition of theMontgomery bus boycott, a political and social protest against racial segregation on public transportation.[5]
By the 1960s, the congregation had outgrown their temple once more. They decided to build a new Beth Or in theCloverdale neighborhood. The current synagogue was dedicated in 1961.
In 1965 Rabbi David A. Baylinson was elected by the congregation after the untimely death of Rabbi Blachschleger. During Rabbi Baylinson's nearly thirty years with the congregation,Bar andBat mitzvot ceremonies were re-instituted and the prayer booksGates of Prayer andGates of Repentance were introduced. In 1988, the entrance to the sanctuary, the religion school wing, grounds, and social hall were all renovated. Rabbi Baylinson retired in 1994 as Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Elliot L. Stevens, held the post from July 2007, until his death in 2017.[4] Rabbi Scott Looper has served as rabbi since July, 2018.
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