Temple House of Israel (Staunton, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Temple House of Israel is a Jewish
congregation in Staunton, Virginia
, United States
. Founded in 1876 by Major
Alexander Hart
, it originally held services in members' homes, then moved to a building on Kalorama street in 1885, the year it joined the Union for Reform Judaism
.
In 1925 the congregation constructed its current building at 115 North Market street, a contributing property
to the Gospel Hill
historic district
. The Moorish Revival
structure was designed by Sam Collins of T.J. Collins and son, and includes Mercer tiles
, and windows and a glass screen by Charles Connick
of Boston
.
House of Israel's sister congregation is Beth El Congregation of Harrisonburg, Virginia
. , Joe Blair served as rabbi
for both synagogue
s.
, United States
by Major
Alexander Hart
, who had fought for the Confederate States of America
in the American Civil War
. Hart served as the congregation's president and minister until at least 1893.
Services were held in members' homes for more than eight years. In 1884 the congregation acquired the Hoover School building at 200 Kalorama Street, at the corner of Market Street, and in February 1885 began holding services there. The building still stands, diagonally opposite the Stonewall Jackson Hotel
. That same year the synagogue
joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism
).
The congregation purchased land north of Staunton for a cemetery in 1886, and held its first burial there in 1887. The cemetery, on North Augusta Street between Woodland Drive and Lee Street, is still used for burials today.
At the turn of the 20th century, House of Israel had no rabbi, but held services twice a week, Friday nights from 8:00 to 9:00pm, and Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30am. The congregation also ran a religious school. By 1907 Staunton's Jewish population was an estimated 40 people. House of Israel had fifteen member families, and still held services twice a week. However, the congregation still had no rabbi, and the religious school no longer functioned.
Fannie Barth Strauss, instructor and later Assistant Professor of Latin and German at Mary Baldwin College
from 1918 to 1954, re-established the Hebrew school
at House of Israel in 1916. In 1919, though the synagogue still had no rabbi, the school held classes once a week, and had two teachers and twelve students. Strauss would serve as the school's principal from its re-establishment until at least 1964, and also served as the synagogues Treasurer from 1946 until at least 1964.
. Sam Collins of T.J. Collins and son designed a new Moorish Revival
building there. The one-story stucco
building had a twin gable
roof with 3 bays
. Decorated with "Early Assyrian motifs", the facade
presented "[f]lanking twin towers with suppressed buttress
es", and a "[l]arge arched opening in [the] central bay, supported by unusual columns", and included Mercer tiles
. All the windows, and a glass screen, were created by Charles Connick
of Boston
, who also created famous windows for a number of religious buildings, including the rose window
s of St. Patrick's Cathedral
and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City
. The building was a contributing property
to the successful 1984 National Register of Historic Places
nomination of Gospel Hill
as a historic district
.
During the early 1970s, Frank M. Waldorf was the congregation's rabbi
. He went on to serve for 30 years as rabbi at Temple Sinai in Brookline, Massachusetts
.
. From 1984 to 1988 Lynne Landsberg filled that role. The 30th female rabbinic graduate of the Union for Reform Judaism, she had previously served as associate rabbi of Manhattan
's Central Synagogue
. She subsequently took on a number of roles at the Union for Reform Judaism, and, after a serious and disabling accident in 1999, became the senior adviser on disability issues at the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. During the 1990s the two congregations were served by Jonathan Biatch as rabbi.
, the rabbi of House of Israel and Beth El was Joe Blair; the two congregations combined had 120 member families. Blair received B.A.
and Master
of Computer Science
degrees from the University of Virginia
, and a Juris Doctor
from The College of William & Mary Law School. After working in the computer field for 15 years, and briefly as a general practice attorney, he returned to school, attending the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
, from which he graduated with a Masters in Hebrew Letters in 1996. In 2004 he was appointed an adjunct professor of religion at Mary Baldwin College. A member of Toastmasters International
, to which he attributes his speaking abilities, he also moderates a conversion
forum
on Jewish.com
. In 2008 Blair was one of 18 rabbis chosen nationally to participate in the STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal
) elite training program.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
congregation in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1876 by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Alexander Hart
Alexander Hart
Alexander Hart was a major in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.-Military career:Hart hailed from New Orleans and commanded soldiers from the Fifth Louisiana Regiment during the war....
, it originally held services in members' homes, then moved to a building on Kalorama street in 1885, the year it joined 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...
.
In 1925 the congregation constructed its current building at 115 North Market street, a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Gospel Hill
National Register of Historic Places listings in Staunton, Virginia
This list includes properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Staunton, Virginia, an independent city within the confines of Augusta County...
historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
. The Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
structure was designed by Sam Collins of T.J. Collins and son, and includes Mercer tiles
Henry Chapman Mercer
Henry Chapman Mercer was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home, the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the Mercer Museum.-Early life and education:Henry Mercer was born in Doylestown,...
, and windows and a glass screen by Charles Connick
Charles Connick
Charles Jay Connick was a prominent American painter, muralist, and designer best known for his work in stained glass in the Gothic Revival style. Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania, Connick eventually settled in the Boston area where he opened his studio in 1913...
of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
House of Israel's sister congregation is Beth El Congregation of Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
. , Joe Blair served as 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...
for both 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...
s.
Early history
Temple House of Israel was founded in 1876 in Staunton, VirginiaStaunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Alexander Hart
Alexander Hart
Alexander Hart was a major in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.-Military career:Hart hailed from New Orleans and commanded soldiers from the Fifth Louisiana Regiment during the war....
, who had fought for the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Hart served as the congregation's president and minister until at least 1893.
Services were held in members' homes for more than eight years. In 1884 the congregation acquired the Hoover School building at 200 Kalorama Street, at the corner of Market Street, and in February 1885 began holding services there. The building still stands, diagonally opposite the Stonewall Jackson Hotel
Stonewall Jackson Hotel
The Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, Virginia is an historic 1924 hotel that completed a major restoration in 2005. Originally opened in 1924, the hotel was designed by H.L. Stevens and is considered an excellent example of the American architect's work in the Colonial Revivalist style...
. That same year the 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...
joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now 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...
).
The congregation purchased land north of Staunton for a cemetery in 1886, and held its first burial there in 1887. The cemetery, on North Augusta Street between Woodland Drive and Lee Street, is still used for burials today.
At the turn of the 20th century, House of Israel had no rabbi, but held services twice a week, Friday nights from 8:00 to 9:00pm, and Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30am. The congregation also ran a religious school. By 1907 Staunton's Jewish population was an estimated 40 people. House of Israel had fifteen member families, and still held services twice a week. However, the congregation still had no rabbi, and the religious school no longer functioned.
Fannie Barth Strauss, instructor and later Assistant Professor of Latin and German at Mary Baldwin College
Mary Baldwin College
Mary Baldwin College is a private, independent, and comprehensive four-year liberal arts women's college in Staunton, Virginia. It was ranked in 2008 by US News & World Report as a top-tier, master's level university in the South. Mary Baldwin offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine,...
from 1918 to 1954, re-established the Hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
at House of Israel in 1916. In 1919, though the synagogue still had no rabbi, the school held classes once a week, and had two teachers and twelve students. Strauss would serve as the school's principal from its re-establishment until at least 1964, and also served as the synagogues Treasurer from 1946 until at least 1964.
Move to Market street
By 1925 the congregation had outgrown its Kalorama Street building, and it purchased a lot at 115 North Market street from Mary Baldwin CollegeMary Baldwin College
Mary Baldwin College is a private, independent, and comprehensive four-year liberal arts women's college in Staunton, Virginia. It was ranked in 2008 by US News & World Report as a top-tier, master's level university in the South. Mary Baldwin offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine,...
. Sam Collins of T.J. Collins and son designed a new Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
building there. The one-story stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
building had a twin gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
roof with 3 bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. Decorated with "Early Assyrian motifs", the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
presented "[f]lanking twin towers with suppressed buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es", and a "[l]arge arched opening in [the] central bay, supported by unusual columns", and included Mercer tiles
Henry Chapman Mercer
Henry Chapman Mercer was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home, the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the Mercer Museum.-Early life and education:Henry Mercer was born in Doylestown,...
. All the windows, and a glass screen, were created by Charles Connick
Charles Connick
Charles Jay Connick was a prominent American painter, muralist, and designer best known for his work in stained glass in the Gothic Revival style. Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania, Connick eventually settled in the Boston area where he opened his studio in 1913...
of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, who also created famous windows for a number of religious buildings, including the rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
s of St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The building was a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the successful 1984 National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
nomination of Gospel Hill
National Register of Historic Places listings in Staunton, Virginia
This list includes properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Staunton, Virginia, an independent city within the confines of Augusta County...
as a historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
.
During the early 1970s, Frank M. Waldorf was the congregation's 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...
. He went on to serve for 30 years as rabbi at Temple Sinai in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
.
1980s to present
The congregation remained small; in 1983, membership was only 28 families. Douglas D. Weber served as rabbi of both House of Israel and its sister congregation Beth El Congregation of Harrisonburg, VirginiaHarrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
. From 1984 to 1988 Lynne Landsberg filled that role. The 30th female rabbinic graduate of the Union for Reform Judaism, she had previously served as associate rabbi of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Central Synagogue
Central Synagogue
The Central Synagogue is located at 652 Lexington Avenue on the corner of 55th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Built in 1872 in the Moorish Revival style as a copy of Budapest's Dohány Street Synagogue, it pays homage to the Jewish existence in Moorish Spain...
. She subsequently took on a number of roles at the Union for Reform Judaism, and, after a serious and disabling accident in 1999, became the senior adviser on disability issues at the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. During the 1990s the two congregations were served by Jonathan Biatch as rabbi.
, the rabbi of House of Israel and Beth El was Joe Blair; the two congregations combined had 120 member families. Blair received B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Master
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
of Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
degrees from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from The College of William & Mary Law School. After working in the computer field for 15 years, and briefly as a general practice attorney, he returned to school, attending the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of central Philadelphia. RRC is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and...
, from which he graduated with a Masters in Hebrew Letters in 1996. In 2004 he was appointed an adjunct professor of religion at Mary Baldwin College. A member of Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills...
, to which he attributes his speaking abilities, he also moderates a conversion
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
on Jewish.com
The Detroit Jewish News
The Detroit Jewish News is a weekly community newspaper serving the Jewish community of Detroit. It bills itself as "the largest, most comprehensive Jewish newspaper in North America." The newspaper was founded in 1942. In the 1980s it was purchased by Charles "Chuck" Buerger, the owner of the...
. In 2008 Blair was one of 18 rabbis chosen nationally to participate in the STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal
Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal
Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal is a Jewish advocacy organization to support synagogues in the United States.-Overview:It was founded in 2000 by Edgar Bronfman, Charles Schusterman and Michael Steinhardt. It is headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Lynn Schusterman, the co-founder's...
) elite training program.
External links
- Temple House of Israel website
- "Hanukkah", The News VirginianThe News VirginianThe News Virginian is a newspaper owned by Media General. The paper serves residents in the cities of Waynesboro and Staunton, Virginia, as well as Augusta and Nelson Counties.- External links :*...
, December 20, 2008.