The American Synagogue A Sanctuary Transformed

Wertheimer's is the first study to chart the course of American synagogue history from colonial times to the present. Fourteen commissioned essays written by prominent scholars of Jewish American history offer a penetrating examination of synagogue development. Through case studies of individual congregations across the country, the authors investigate a wide range of isssues, posing such questions as: What roles have been assigned to the synagogue in various eras in American history? How have the synagogues of the three major denominations--Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform--differed? How have immigrant congregations become Americanized? And by what processes have innovations in synagogue ritual been introduced? The resulting analyses illustrate the richness and diversity of the American synagogue and provide a valuable framework for further study of the significance of the congregation in American religious life.

Adapting to the shifting characteristics of the American Jewish population and the larger society of the United States, the synagogue has consistently served as American Jewry's vital forum for the exploration of the evolving ideological and social concerns of American Jews. From the Americanization of an immigrant congregation in Seattle to the growth of a synagogue center in Brooklyn, and from the agitation for religious reform in early nineteenth-century Charlestown to the introduction of American folk music in a Houston temple, the cases studied in this volume attest to the prominent role of the synagogue in shaping, as well as adapting to, social, cultural, and ideological trends. The book begins with an overview of the historical transformation and denominational differentiation of American synagogues. The essays in the second section offer in-depth analyses of the critical challenges to and changes in synagogue life through innovative studies of representative congregations. The problems of geographic relocation, the conflict between ethnic preservation and acculturation, the development of education in the synagogue, and the changing role of women in the congregation are all examined.

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Overview: the synagogue in America - a historical typology Abraham J. Karp; Part I. The Denominational Perspective: 2. The orthodox synagogue Jeffrey S. Gurock; 3. The reform synagogue Leon A. Jick; 4. The conservative synagogue Jack Wertheimer; Part II. The American experience of a sephardic synagogue Marc D. Angel; 6. Education in the synagogue: the transformation of the supplementary school Barry Chazan; 7. From city to suburb: temple Mishkan Tefila of Boston Paula E. Hyman; 8. The special sphere of the Middle-Class American Jewish woman: the synagogue sisterhood, 1890–1940 Jenna Weissman Joselit; 9. Ethnic-religious ambiguities in an immigrant synagogue: the case of new hope congregation Benny Kraut; 10. Conflict over reforms: the case of congregation Beth Elohim, Charleston, South Carolina Robert Liberles; 11. A synagogue center grows in Brooklyn Deborah Dash Moore; 12. choosing a synagogue: the social composition of two German congregations in nineteenth-century Baltimore Marsha L. Rozenblit; 13. The debate over mixed seating in the American synagogue Jonathan D. Sarna; 14. Music in the American synagogue: a case study from Houston Kay Kaufman Shelemay; Index.

The book begins with an overview of the historical transformation and denominational differentiation of American synagogues. The essays in the second section offer in-depth analyses of the critical challenges to and changes in synagogue life through innovative studies of representative congregations.