Congregation Beth Jacob is an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
congregation located at 1855 Lavista Road in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, United States. It is Atlanta's largest Orthodox congregation.
The
synagogue first held services in fall 1942 for traditional Jews living on the north side of the railroad tracks (today's
Old Fourth Ward). It was officially founded in 1943 by eight individuals who were concerned with what they saw as a move away from Orthodoxy by Atlanta's Ahavath Achim synagogue. The eleven petitioners for the original charter were Maurice Gavronski,
Frank Taffel, M.S. Katz, A. Tenenbaum, E. Miller, Sam Kingloff, R. Shavin, H. Pfeffer, S. Miller, J. Prolotsky and H. Epstein.
["Petition for Charter. Congregation Beth Jacob", ''Southern Israelite'', 18 June 1943, p 6.] The first location was a converted house on Boulevard.
[ Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. ''The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook'', Greenwood Press, 1996, , p. 111.]
Yosef Saffra became the first
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
in 1951 when the congregation had forty members.
Emanuel Feldman, then a newly married young graduate of
Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, joined as rabbi in 1952. In 1956, the congregation moved to a former church on Boulevard and, in 1962, moved to its current location in Toco Hills. At that time the synagogue had grown to 190 families. Membership reached 500 families in 1976 and 560 families by 1994.
[
Feldman remained with the synagogue for 39 years until his retirement in 1991. His son, Ilan D. Feldman, took over as rabbi, and is currently the spiritual leader of Beth Jacob.][Staff]
, Congregation Beth Jacob website. Retrieved 6 March 2010.[
Because of the influence and activity of Beth Jacob in the Jewish life of Atlanta, a large number of Jews moved into the area along LaVista Road. Eventually, this led to the establishment of five other Jewish congregations nearby as well as an Orthodox high school for girls (Temima) and Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael, an Orthodox high school for boys. Torah Day School of Atlanta, an Orthodox elementary school, moved to the area.
]
References
External links
Congregation Beth Jacob websiteAtlanta Scholars KollelAtlanta Kashruth CommissionTorah Media AtlantaTorah Day School of Atlanta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Jacob (Atlanta, Georgia)
Jewish organizations established in 1943
Jews and Judaism in Atlanta
Synagogues in Georgia (U.S. state)
Orthodox synagogues in the United States
Buildings and structures in Atlanta