Mount Zion Temple 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 ...

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 1300 Summit Avenue, in St. Paul,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in the United States. Founded in 1856 as Mount Zion Hebrew Association, it was the first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. The congregation was formed before the statehood of Minnesota in 1858.

History

Founded in 1856 by eight

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

families, Mount Zion Hebrew Association (as it was then called) was the first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. Through the 1860s the congregation met in rented rooms around St. Paul before their first building was completed in 1871, located at East Tenth Street and Minnesota Street in the Lowertown district. Early on the congregation was divided by a group called Ahabath Ahim, which branched off then returned. Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. ''The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook'',

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...

, June 30, 1996, , pp. 189–191. Rabbi Leopold Wintner began as Mount Zion's first and Minnesota's 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 t ...

in 1871; the same year that the congregation built the first synagogue in the state; and founded the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society, members of which organized Neighborhood House to serve immigrants in the community. The rabbis and congregants of Mount Zion are still board members of Neighborhood House. In 1878, Mount Zion congregation joined the Reform Movement. Emanuel Hess, who had been born in Meerholz, Germany in 1845, became rabbi in 1888.Brock, Eric J. ''The Jewish Community of Shreveport'',

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...

, 2003. , p. 35. He had previously served as rabbi of Temple Israel of Columbus, Ohio in 1876–1877, Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. ''The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook'',

, 1996, , p. 290. and then Congregation B'nai Zion in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he served until 1888. Hess was rabbi of Mount Zion until his death in 1906. In the 1940s the congregation participated in recreations such as "The Jewish Home Beautiful" which shared traditions of daily life. In 1948, began the leadership of Rabbi Gunther Plaut, who published books on the congregation's history and on the

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

of Minnesota. In the 1950s, the congregation chose the prominent avant-garde architect Erich Mendelsohn to design a building for them. After projects in Europe, the Soviet Union, Israel and America – this was his final building, breaking ground in 1952 and completed after his death in 1953. Completed in late 1954, the farewell service in the old temple building at Avon St & Holly Ave took place on Friday, December 17, 1954, with dedication of the new building on Sunday, December 19, 1954, installing the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

scrolls and lighting an "eternal light" on the altar of the main sanctuary—intended to burn continuously; Rabbi Gunther Plaut stated it was the first such continuously burning light in the United States."Mount Zion Temple to Be Dedicated," ''The Minneapolis Star'', December 18, 1954. It is located on Summit Avenue. In 2002, the Mount Zion Temple was part of a radio program that detailed their restoration of Torah scrolls. In 2007, 690 families were members of the congregation. the rabbis were Adam Stock Spilker, Esther Adler, and Heather Renetzky. The cantors were Rachel Stock Spilker and Jen Strauss-Klein.

Gallery

MtZionTemple-1875.jpg, The first Mount Zion Temple, in 1875 2017MtZionMN.jpg, The building and grounds, in 2017 FlameArkMtZionMN.jpg, The Torah ark

Notes

References

External links

* * Finding aid to th
Mount Zion Temple records
at th
Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries

History

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links

Further reading