For other temples called Beth-El see Temple Beth-El

Temple Beth-El

Temple Beth-El, or Temple Beth El, is a name given to many Jewish synagogues, Beth-El meaning "House of God" in Hebrew. It may refer to:-United States :* Temple Beth-El * Temple Beth-El...

.

Temple Beth-El is a 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...

 located in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. Originally founded in 1874, it is the oldest synagogue

Oldest synagogues in the United States

The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...

 in South Texas

South Texas

South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...

. The current temple at the corner of Belknap and W. Ashby, just north of San Antonio Community College

San Antonio College

San Antonio College is a community college that is a part of the Alamo Community College District. It is located on San Pedro Avenue, across from San Pedro Park, near downtown San Antonio. SAC is the oldest public two-year college in Texas...

. Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish

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...

 congregation, and a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism

Union for Reform Judaism

The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...

.http://www.beth-elsa.org/ Known as one of San Antonio's more contemporary places of worship, Temple Beth-El is very open in their support of the Jewish and LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 community. The current Senior Rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 is Barry Block. Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl

Samuel M. Stahl

Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth-El since 2002. Rabbi Stahl served the San Antonio, Texas Temple Beth-El for 26 years as its "Senior Rabbi." Previously, Rabbi Stahl served as a chaplain in the United States Army and as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel of Galveston, Texas...

 led the Temple until his retirement in 2003.

A photo of Temple Beth-El's 1904 building can be seen at http://www.nmajh.org/exhibitions/postcards/images/58.jpg

See also

• B'Nai Abraham Synagogue, Brenham
  B'nai Abraham Synagogue, Brenham
  -History:Early Jewish settlers in the Washington County, Texas arrived during the 1860s. B. Levinson, an original founder, arrived in 1861. Alex Simon arrived in 1866. These individuals became active in the business community of Brenham, and as other Jewish settlers arrived, the need for a...
  
  
• Jewish Texan
• Oldest synagogues in the United States
  Oldest synagogues in the United States
  The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
  
  

External links

• Temple Beth-El - The official website.