Temple Beth-El (Great Neck, New York)

For other synagogues called Beth El, see Temple Beth-El (disambiguation).
Temple Beth-El
Shown within New York
Basic information
Location 5 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, New York United States
Geographic coordinates 40°47′53″N 73°44′10″W / 40.797923°N 73.736117°W / 40.797923; -73.736117Coordinates: 40°47′53″N 73°44′10″W / 40.797923°N 73.736117°W / 40.797923; -73.736117
Affiliation Union for Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Temple
Website www.tbegreatneck.org

Temple Beth-El is a Reform synagogue at 5 Old Mill Road in Great Neck, New York. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest synagogue in Great Neck.[1]

The temple first met at a local church and had 86 families as members. Rabbi David Goodis was the congregation's first rabbi, but he served only briefly before he died in 1930. His successor, Rabbi Jacob Phillip Rubin, served for four decades. The temple erected its building on Old Mill Road in 1932. The temple began an adult study program that later became a Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion extension program. The building expanded in 1950 and again in 1970. Rabbi Rubin retired in 1971; Jerome Davidson, who had been assistant rabbi since 1958, took over[2] and served as senior rabbi until 2007.[3] Rabbi Davidson's son, Rabbi Joshua Davidson, born in the Great Neck congregation, went on to lead Congregation Emanu-El of New York.[4]

Some members of the congregation left in 1940 to form a Conservative synagogue, Temple Israel of Great Neck, which was led for many years by the prominent rabbi Mordecai Waxman. A Reform spinoff, Temple Emanuel of Great Neck, formed in 1953.[2]

The original Temple building was enlarged three times during the past 60 years. It went through drastic renovation due to a fire that burned down much of it down.

As of 2009, it had a membership of 875 families. Since 2009 the senior rabbis have been a married couple, Meir and Tara Feldman,[5] and since 1990 the cantor has been Lisa Hest.[6]

In 1994 the congregation hired Karen Bender as an assistant rabbi. Bender was openly lesbian,[7] and when she and her life partner decided to celebrate a commitment ceremony in California, Davidson agreed to officiate at a blessing ceremony at Temple Beth-el.[8] Controversy within the congregation over this decision led to Davidson's well-publicized decision not only to continue to officiate for gay unions, but also to begin officiating at interfaith weddings[9] and to push for the Reform rabbinate to pursue means of Jewish support for mixed marriages.[10]

Prominent members

References

  1. ↑ Judith S. Goldstein, Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream (Rutgers University Press, 2006), ISBN 978-0813538846, pp. 68 et passim. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Kerry M. Olitzky, "Temple Beth-El, Reform" in The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996), ISBN 978-0313288562, pp. 233-235. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. ↑ Weiner, Julie (18 March 2013). "Temple Emanu-El Hires Joshua Davidson As Senior Rabbi". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Wilbur, Martin (22 March 2013). "Chappaqua Synagogue's Rabbi Moving On to Famed Temple Emanu-El". The Examiner News.
  5. ↑ Deborah Prinz, "Leadership: When Your Rabbi Leaves", Reform Judaism, September 2010.
  6. ↑ Elissa Strauss, "Hest hits the road", The Jewish Daily Forward, June 1, 2007 (Hest is the mother of singer-songwriter Ari Hest).
  7. ↑ Timari, Daniella (30 May 1999). "Lesbian Rabbi To Be Installed". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Bell, Charles (1 April 2001). "Reform Rabbis Make Sane Sex Rites Legit". Daily News. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Dana Evan Kaplan, American Reform Judaism: An Introduction (Rutgers University Press, 2003), ISBN 978-0813542485, pp. 228-229. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  10. ↑ Sue Fishkoff, "Reform rabbis debate intermarriage", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 2, 2006.
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