Congregation Anshai Emeth
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Congregation Anshai Emeth (, 'People of Truth') is a
Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
located at 5614 North University Street, in Peoria,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, in the United States. Established in 1859, the synagogue is the second oldest Jewish congregation in Illinois, and as of 2019 has the largest membership of any Jewish congregation in Peoria. Rabbi Bryna Milkow has served as the
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 t ...
of the congregation since July 2017.


History


Early days

In about 1847, Anshai Emeth was founded when several Jewish families, immigrants from Western Europe affiliated with the Reform movement, came together to establish an organized religious community in the Peoria area. At first they gathered in either members houses or various buildings around Peoria. Later, services were held in various places such as Washington House on North Washington Street. Religious classes were organized in 1852. The congregation also purchased land for a cemetery in 1852. In 1859, Max Newman collected $3,000 toward a Jewish house of worship in Peoria. On May 2, 1863 they purchased a former Presbyterian church as the first synagogue in Peoria on Fulton, between Adams and Jefferson. The congregation had about 34 members in 1863.


Beth Israel

On October 2, 1874, new Jewish immigrants from Russia, Poland and Hungary affiliated with the
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
movement left Anshai Emeth to found their own congregation, named Beth Israel. They purchased the church on Seventh Street near Franklin, originally the Central Christian Church built in 1855. After years of tensions between the two synagogues, in 1886 the two were united again, with Beth Israel selling their building and turning over their accounts to Anshai Emeth. Members of the community who did not wish to join the Reform congregation continued to hold services on their own where they could. That community would later create Congregation Agudas Achim, at first affiliated with the Orthodox movement.


New temples in 1880 and 1898

The congregation constructed a new temple on Fulton in 1880. Rabbi
Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...
, founder of American Reform Judaism, attended the dedication. In 1896, the temple on Fulton was destroyed by fire. A new temple was erected on the corner of Monroe and Hancock. Erected in 1898 of Lake Superior sandstone, the cornerstone was laid on March 2, 1898 and was dedicated on September 9, 1898; Rabbi Wise attended the dedication. This Gothic Revival style temple served the congregation until 1967. The Fulton building was sold to the Christian Assembly Church.


1958 bombing

On October 14, 1958, a crude pipe bomb exploded in the stairwell of the rear annex and shafted a basement door and a dozen windows. An identical, unexploded pipe bomb had been found 16 months earlier at the Agudas Achim synagogue's construction site, at the corner of War Memorial and Sheridan. Police chief Bernard Kennedy dismissed anti-Semitism as the motive, citing "mental derangement" instead. Rabbi Joseph L. Ginsberg stated he believed it had some connection to a bombing of an Atlanta synagogue days earlier. FBI special agent Robert D. Gibbons of the Springfield, Illinois office investigated.
President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary ...
commented that the bombing was "a shocking and deplorable thing." There were approximately 700 members in October 1958. As of December 1958, the crime was still unsolved.


New temple in 1967

A new synagogue, designed by
Gyo Obata Gyo Obata (小圃 暁, February 28, 1923 – March 8, 2022) was an American architect, the son of painter Chiura Obata and his wife, Haruko Obata, a floral designer. In 1955, he co-founded the global architectural firm HOK (formerly Hellmuth, ...
in the
Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
style, was dedicated on September 8, 1967. The Peoria Hebrew Day School, a private Jewish school, was established in 1971 and is housed in the lower half the building. It is the only Jewish Day School in downstate Illinois. As of 1994, Congregation Agudas Achim, the Peoria traditional Jewish congregation, was invited to move into the building housing Anshai Emeth as well. On January 1, 2005, the two congregations finalized a sharing agreement. The old library was converted into a chapel with a new Ark, and a storage closet converted to a kosher kitchen.


Sesquicentennial

The congregation celebrated 150 years in 2008 with events like a live auction, performance by
Debbie Friedman Deborah Lynn Friedman (February 23, 1951 – January 9, 2011)Horn, JordanaBeloved US Jewish songwriter, Debbie Friedman, dies ''The Jerusalem Post'', January 9, 2011Fox, MargalitDebbie Friedman, Singer of Jewish Music, Dies at 59 ''The New York ...
, appearances by Rabbi
Eric Yoffie Eric H. Yoffie is a Reform rabbi, and President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). He was the head of the URJ denomination from 1996 to 2012.
and Rabbi Dan Rabishaw, and a large banquet. In 2010, Anshai Emeth was the only synagogue at the sesquicentennial house of worship event hosted by the state historical society in Wheaton, Illinois. In May 2020, a dozen windows were smashed at the temple with bricks or rocks, causing an estimated $11,000 in damage to the Peoria Hebrew School section of the building. Anshai Emeth president Steven Marx said it was just vandalism and not likely an anti-Semitic act. , the temple had increased security measures such as surveillance cameras and bulletproof windows.


Notable members

*
Betty Friedan Betty Friedan (; February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book '' The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the s ...
* Susan G. Komen, and her parents, Marvin and Eleanor Goodman, and her husband, Stanley Komen


See also

* History of the Jews in Illinois


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anshai Emeth 1859 establishments in Illinois 20th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Peoria, Illinois Jewish organizations established in 1859 Modernist architecture in Illinois Modernist synagogues Reform synagogues in Illinois Synagogues completed in 1863 Synagogues completed in 1880 Synagogues completed in 1898 Synagogues completed in 1967