Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid () is an egalitarian

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

congregation whose

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 ...

is at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in the United States. Founded in 1884 as Congregation B'ne Jacob, the congregation split, re-amalgamated, and went bankrupt before re-organizing as Beth Israel in 1901. The synagogue building it constructed on Teutonia Avenue in 1925, and sold in 1959, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1992. The current building was constructed in three phases, completed in 1962, 1966, and 1980. Solomon Scheinfeld was the congregation's first permanent

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 ...

, serving in 1892, and again from 1902 until his death in 1943. Herbert Panitch was rabbi from 1970 until his retirement in 1995. Jacob Herber became rabbi in 2003, and Joel Alter in 2018. Beth Israel was the only synagogue in Milwaukee associated with the

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

. It then merged with Temple Beth El Ner Tamid to create Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid. The rabbi was Herber, and the rabbi emeritus was Panitch.Contacts
, Synagogue website.

Early years

In 1884 Congregation B'ne Jacob was formed in

. By 1886 it had split into two congregations, Moses Montefiore Gemeinde and Anshe Jacob. In 1891 they re-amalgamated, creating Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, and the following year hired Solomon Isaac Scheinfeld as the congregation's first permanent rabbi.History
, Synagogue website. Scheinfeld had been born in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in 1860, and had moved to Milwaukee soon after receiving ''

semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' in 1890. Hintz (2005), p. 65. He stayed less than a year before moving to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. The congregation completed a new synagogue building at 462 Fifth Street in 1893, but was unable to afford the mortgage, and in 1900 the courts foreclosed on the property. The following year the congregation was re-organized as Congregation Beth Israel and re-acquired the synagogue building on Fifth Street, and in 1902 Scheinfeld was re-hired as rabbi. By 1918, the synagogue had 108 member families, and annual revenues of $7,000 (today $). ''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 21, p. 581. Scheinfeld served as Beth Israel's rabbi until his death in 1943. During his tenure, he established a מעות חטים (''maot chitim'', literally "money for wheat" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

) fund to provide for the needs of Milwaukee Jews too poor to afford food for the

Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

. That fund continued after his death as the "Rabbi Solomon I. Scheinfeld Maoth Chitim Fund", and in 2003 distributed $20,000 worth of food to 600 families. Cohen (April 11, 2003). Rabbi Harold Baumrind served until the split/move, and then became rabbi for those who continued more orthodox practices at the new Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol B'nai Sholom on 50th and Center Street for several years.

Teutonia building

Beth Israel sold its Fifth Street building in 1924, and, after meeting in temporary quarters for a year, constructed a new building at 2432 North Teutonia Avenue. NRHP State listings: WISCONSIN - Milwaukee County. That new building had a rectangular footprint and

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...

, with walls of brown brick and the front flanked by two square towers with Byzantine-styled copper domes. The windows included the six-pointed

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

. Inside, the sanctuary displayed a wooden ark on four columns, four ceremonial chairs, and the tablets of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

, all of which have been moved to the new synagogue. As the Jewish community of Milwaukee migrated north to suburbs in the 1940s and 1950s, the location became inconvenient. In 1957, a property was purchased at 6880 North Green Bay Avenue in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, and construction began on new facilities there in 1959. Congregation Beth Israel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin records, Historical Note, Jewish Theological Seminary. The Teutonia Avenue building was sold in 1959, and vacated in 1960. On March 5, 1992 it was added to the

. The building has been used by the Greater Galilee Baptist Church as a place of

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

worship since 1961.

Move from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism

Beth Israel was founded as an

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 ...

synagogue, and its rabbi, Solomon Scheinfeld, also served as chief rabbi of the United Orthodox Congregations of Milwaukee. However, the congregation had done away with separate seating for men and women in 1920s or 30s; at the same time Beth Israel also instituted

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

sermons.According to Congregation Beth Israel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin records, Historical Note, Jewish Theological Seminary, this happened in 1926. According t
History
, Synagogue website, in 1937 "

High Holiday In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, the ...

English Services

ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...

instituted, with mixed seating allowed." The congregation associated with the

, and eventually became fully egalitarian.Mission Statement
, Synagogue website.

1960s to 1990s

Beth Israel's current facilities were built in three phases. In 1962 a new school building was completed, and the congregation began holding services there. In 1966, the sanctuary building and social hall were completed and dedicated, and in 1980 work on the sanctuary was completed. In 1970, Herbert Panitch joined Beth Israel from Congregation Agudath Achim in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...

. He served as rabbi until his retirement in 1995. Rubin Schwartz (2006), p. 264, footnote 107. Sandin (1995).

Events since 2000

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

native Mitchell Joshua Martin, a graduate of the cantorial school at the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...

(JTSA), joined as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

in 2002. Cohen (2002). In August, 2008, Fortunée Belilos joined as interim cantor. ''Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle'' (July 31, 2008). The following July, the synagogue hired as cantor Jeremy Stein, who had graduated that year from the JTSA's cantorial school. Jacob Herber became rabbi of Beth Israel in August 2003.Meet the Clergy
, Synagogue website. A graduate of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, he was ordained by the JTSA in 1996. Before coming to Beth Israel, he served as assistant and then senior rabbi of Philadelphia's Har Zion Temple. His rabbinate there was a subject of the book ''The New Rabbi'' by Stephen Fried. Cohen (September 26, 2003). Funded by congregation members and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Herber traveled to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in July 2008 to assist in the

Abayudaya The Abayudaya (Luganda for "People of Judah (Biblical figure), Judah") are a Jewish community in eastern Uganda, near the town of Mbale. They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut and observing Shabbat. There are several different village ...

in converting to Judaism. Heinen (2008). That year the congregation had 700 member families.What is THI
Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee website, August 28, 2008. Rabbi Joel Alter has served CBINT since 2018. Ordained at Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York in 1996, Rabbi Alter began his rabbinic career as a teacher, administrator, and school rabbi in Jewish day schools in DC, Baltimore, and Boston. He returned to New York to recruit new rabbis and cantors to JTS as its director of admissions, focusing on the American Jewish community’s contemporary religious needs. Rabbi Alter moved to Milwaukee with his twin daughters, Ayelet and Annael, to lead a congregation for the first time. , Beth Israel Ner Tamid was the only synagogue in Milwaukee associated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.Synagogue website
. Currently, the rabbi is Joel Alter, the cantor is Jeremy Stein, and the president is Menachem Graupe.

Notes

References

Synagogue website
. Accessed May 26, 2011.
Contacts
Synagogue website. Accessed May 26, 2011.
History
Synagogue website. Accessed May 26, 2011.
Meet the Clergy
Synagogue website. Accessed May 26, 2011.
Mission Statement
Synagogue website. Accessed May 26, 2011.

Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee website. Accessed August 28, 2008. Archived at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. * * * * * * * * * * * With * *

External links

*
Congregation Beth Israel's building on Teutonia Avenue
Jewish Museum, Milwaukee.
Congregation Beth Israel's building on Green Bay Road
Jewish Museum, Milwaukee.
"Bodies of knowledge: Educational exhibit headed to Milwaukee has drawn crowds, concerns"
''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'', December 16, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 20th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Milwaukee Conservative synagogues in the United States Religion in Milwaukee Synagogues completed in 1962 Jewish organizations established in 1884 Jewish organizations established in 1901 Synagogues in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Milwaukee Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Synagogues completed in 1980 1884 establishments in Wisconsin 1901 establishments in Wisconsin