| Temple Israel | |
|---|---|
 Temple Israel 1967 building, in 2018 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership |
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| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 112 East 75th Street,Upper East Side,Manhattan,New York City,New York |
| Country | United States |
  | |
| Coordinates | 40°46′21″N73°57′42″W / 40.7725°N 73.9618°W /40.7725; -73.9618 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
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| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Brutalist(East 75th) |
| Established | 1873(as a congregation) |
| Completed |
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| Website | |
| tinyc | |
Temple Israel of the City of New York (Young Israel of the West Side) | |
 The former synagogue, now Young Israel of the West Side, at 210 West 91st Street | |
Location of theNRHP-listed synagogue on theUpper West Side of Manhattan, New York City | |
| Location | 210 West 91st Street,Upper West Side, Manhattan |
| Coordinates | 40°47′27″N73°58′24″W / 40.7908738°N 73.9733124°W /40.7908738; -73.9733124 |
| Area | 0.32 acres (1,300 m2) |
| Built | 1920 (1920) |
| Architect | William Tachau |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| NRHP reference No. | 100009191 |
| Added to NRHP | August 4, 2023 |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
Temple Israel of the City of New York is aReformJewish congregation andsynagogue located at 112 East 75th Street, on theUpper East Side ofManhattan inNew York City,New York, United States. The congregation was incorporated byGerman Jews in 1873.[5][6]
It purchased its first synagogue building atFifth Avenue and125th Street in 1887, constructed its own at 201Lenox Avenue and120th Street in 1907,[7] and constructed another at 210 West 91st Street in 1920.[2] Its currentBrutalist-style building, at 112 East 75th Street was completed in 1967.[2]
Since its founding, Temple Israel has been served by only five seniorrabbis:Maurice H. Harris (1882–1930), William Rosenblum (1930–1963), Martin Zion (1963–1991), Judith Lewis (1991–2006), and David Gelfand since 2006.[6]
Temple Israel was incorporated in 1873[5] asYod b'Yod ("Hand in Hand") congregation[2][7] (formallyCongregation Hand in Hand of Harlem[8]), the first synagogue in Harlem.[9] The founders wereGerman Jews,[6] typically shopkeepers, traditionally observant, and first worshiped above a printing shop onEast 125th Street inHarlem.[7] An early trustee wasCyrus L. Sulzberger, father ofNew York Times publisherArthur Hays Sulzberger.[2] They soon established a Hebrew school called "Gates of Learning" for the 45 children of the congregation.[7] The congregation rented a larger space on 124th Street in 1874, and in 1876 leased a former church on 116th Street,[7] betweenFirst Avenue andSecond Avenue.[6] In 1880, the congregation purchased the building on 116th Street.[7]
Temple Israel was initially lay-led, but in 1882 appointedMaurice H. Harris as the congregation's rabbi; at the time, he was still a student atColumbia College, Columbia University and Emanu-El Theological Seminary.[6][7] That year, the congregation changed its name toTemple Israel of Harlem[10] (though the name change wasn't formally legalized until 1894[8]). In 1884, Harris' installation was made official.[7]
In 1887, the congregation purchased a building atFifth Avenue and125th Street, and the following year re-dedicated it as their synagogue.[7] Designed by John W. Welch, the building had been formerly owned by the Holy Trinity Church, and was constructed in 1869–1870.[2] In 1888 the congregation also re-organized, changing its name to Temple Israel of Harlem.[2][7] In 1898, the congregation celebrated its 25-year anniversary and 10 years in its current home.
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The congregation constructed its own synagogue building at 201Lenox Avenue, at120th Street, in 1907.[2][7] The limestone[6] building was not designed in the typicalMoorish Revival style of other synagogues of the time; the designer,Arnold Brunner, argued that "synagogues have no traditional lines of architectural expression".[11] According toDavid W. Dunlap, the building "looks like aRoman temple until you notice theStars of David in thecolumn capitals,fanlights, andspandrel panels",[11] and "may rank as the single bestNeoclassical synagogue in Manhattan".[2] Temple Israel joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (nowUnion for Reform Judaism) in 1909,[7] and a few years later[12] merged with Shaarey Borocho (or Shaaray Beracha), a synagogue ofAlsatian Jews.[2][7]
DuringWorld War I, the loyalties of the still mostly German-Jewish members were, at first, divided between theCentral Powers and theAllied Powers, though Harris supported the Allies.[1]
In 1920, the members moved to a new Neoclassical building at 210 West 91st Street, designed byWilliam Tachau;[2] the old building on Lenox Avenue was sold to the Seventh-Day Adventist Temple, which in turn sold it in 1925 to the Mount Olivet Baptist Church.[11] Temple Israel elected its first woman trustee in 1921,[6] dedicated its new building in 1922, and in 1924 officially changed its name to Temple Israel of the City of New York.[7] By 1929, membership exceeded 950.[7]
William Franklin Rosenblum succeeded Harris as Temple Israel's second rabbi in 1930, and Harris died just a few months later that year.[7][6] The congregation was active during theGreat Depression, and supported Jewish education programs for poor children of the neighborhood.[7] Temple Israel actively supported the war effort duringWorld War II,[7] and afterward Rosenblum opposed the creation ofIsrael,[6] though he would later become a supporter of the country.[1]
Rosenblum retired in 1963, and Martin Zion succeeded him that year as Temple Israel's third rabbi.[13] At the time, the congregation's trustees had decided to relocate the synagogue from theUpper West Side to theUpper East Side of Manhattan,[6] and in 1964 began construction of a new building at Temple Israel's current location, 112 East 75th Street.[2] Designed by architect Peter Claman of Schuman & Lichtenstein, theBrutalist structure was completed in 1967. The previous building on West 91st Street was sold to the Young Israel of the West Side congregation, who still occupy it.[2] The 1920 building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2023.[14][4]
Robert Abelson became leader of the congregation's music program in 1980.[6] In 1985, Judith Lewis became Temple Israel's Director of Education, and in 1991 she succeeded Zion as the synagogue's fourth senior rabbi. By 1995, membership was over four hundred families.[13]
In 2006 David Gelfand succeeded Lewis, becoming Temple Israel's fifth Senior Rabbi in 2006,[6][10] after an acrimonious departure from theJewish Center of the Hamptons.[15][16] Gelfand had previously served as rabbi inTemple Beth-El in Great Neck, New York; Har Sinai Temple in Pennington, New Jersey; and the Fairmount Temple in Beachwood, Ohio. He helped found and served as a national officer of theInterfaith Alliance, and is a member of the National Council of theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee.[17]
Irena Altshul joined Temple Israel in 2003,[17] left in 2006, and rejoined ascantor in 2013.[1] Melissa Buyer-Wittman joined the synagogue as Director of Lifelong Learning in 2011, and David Reinhart became Assistant Rabbi in 2019.[17]
In 2022 the congregation launched a $40 million capital campaign to undertake major renovations to the mainsanctuary, expansion of the chapel and courtyard enclosure, enhancements to the building's upper levels, and updates to the ballroom. $28 million had been pledged by major benefactors at the time of the launch.[18]
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See also:National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan (Islands,Below 14th St.,14th–59th Sts.,59th–110th Sts.,Above 110th St.) andList of National Historic Landmarks in New York City Note: National Historic Landmarks are not listed separately. | |||||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
