Sinai 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 1100 Dickinson Street, in
Springfield,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, in the United States.
Founded in 1931, Sinai was the first Reform congregation in Springfield. The congregation's first rabbi,
David M. Eichhorn, was hired in 1932 and let go just two years later due to financial difficulty brought on by the Great Depression, though he went on to become a prominent American rabbi and authority on interfaith marriage and conversion for the Reform movement.
History
The congregation began meeting at a mansion at 188 Sumner Avenue in Springfield in 1932, which was used as a synagogue until the late 1940s. In 1949 Sinai broke ground on a new location at 1100 Dickinson Street, near the
Longmeadow border, which was completed in 1950.
Notably, Sinai has had two long-tenured rabbis: Herman E. Snyder (1947–1970) and Mark D. Shapiro (1988–2016). Membership grew from 50 to 500 families under Rabbi Snyder's leadership. An interfaith leader, he created the ''Sinai Temple Institute for Christian and Muslim Clergy and Educators'', an annual learning session that brings together clergy from the three major religions for a seminar at the Temple.
Rabbi Snyder's successor, Bernard Cohen, was the first rabbi to serve on the faculty of a Roman Catholic college (
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College). His 1970 installation was attended by 100 Catholic and Protestant clergymen.
Rabbinical leaders
Notable members
*
Eric Lesser, Massachusetts State Senator
See also
*
History of the Jews in the United States
The history of the Jews in the United States goes back to the 1600s and 1700s. There have been Jewish communities in the United States since colonial times, with individuals living in various cities before the American Revolution. Early Jewish ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinai, Temple (Springfield, Massachusetts)
1931 establishments in Massachusetts
20th-century synagogues in the United States
Buildings and structures in Springfield, Massachusetts
Jewish organizations established in 1931
Reform synagogues in Massachusetts
Religious buildings and structures in Springfield, Massachusetts
Synagogues completed in 1950