Foundation Israel Youth

Shuttered Temple Beth Israel given to city of Gadsden for use

“We’ve had as many as 75 families living here,” Alan Cohn, Gadsden resident, said.

“At one time, we had 35 children in our Sunday school; now, there are only 12 families left in the city.”

The founding of a Jewish congregation in Gadsden dates to 1903, when the 10 Jewish families living here organized a religious school for their children.

It met on Sunday mornings in the Nadler home at Fifth and Cherry streets.

In 1908, the first worship services took place in a room over the old Gadsden National Bank at 109 N. Fourth St., conducted by Jake Nadler and Hugo Hecht, who would become the congregation’s first acting rabbi, serving from 1911 to 1944.

As the congregation grew, it moved its venue to the Odd Fellows Hall at Sixth and Walnut streets.

Shortly thereafter, the congregation moved to the annex of the First Methodist Church, where it remained until its permanent place of worship was built.

Almost from the start the congregants dreamed of having their own house of worship, and they took every opportunity to raise money for the project.

One painless way of raising money was to earmark for the proposed temple a “house cut” of every pot of the friendly games of poker played among Jewish and non-Jewish buddies.

This emerging camaraderie among Jews and Gentiles has characterized the congregation’s place in the Gadsden community ever since.

In 1920, the congregation of 30 families formed a building committee that raised the $30,000 needed to purchase the lot at the corner of Eighth and Chestnut streets and to build the sanctuary.

The cornerstone of the now-named Temple Beth Israel was laid on March 8, 1922, with Masonic and religious rites.

Mason Grand Marshal Julian Spearman laid the stone, assisted by lodge officers Ike Saks, Ike Lowi, Jake Nadler and 10 non-Jewish officers. The main speaker was the Rev. W.R. Rigell of the First Baptist Church.

The congregation flourished through the Great Depression of the 1930s, World War II and the ensuing years. But on March 25, 1960, the most dramatic event in Temple Beth Israel’s history occurred. A special ceremony to dedicate a just-completed classroom and vestry annex was attended by an overflow crowd that included some of Gadsden’s most prominent non-Jewish citizens. At the height of the service, a Molotov cocktail was hurled through one of the temple’s prized stained glass windows.

Israel Jewish News: Poll Shows Israeli Youth Will No Longer ...

It is a lesson that the "dove" parties in Israel need to take to heart.  One does not promise peace at the expense of Jewish lives, one does not promise peace at the expense of Jewish homes, and one does not promise peace at the expense of Israel.  Too many times we have been asked to swallow the bitter pill with the promise that "this time we will have peace."   Putting off the inevitable is useless. If we allow evil in our midst, we die.  If we watch as our youth is lost to lust and greed and the corrupting influence of outsiders, we die.  It is only through moral strength that we can overcome this enemy, and through that moral strength, we must strike at the heart of evil.  One may scream about how Pinchas was wrong, one may lecture on the need for restraint, but, in the end, Pinchas and Pinchas alone is awarded peace. The Jewish youth were asked about soldiers' right to refuse orders. 21%  of those aged between 15 and 18 (19% among those aged 21-24) said it is  acceptable to refuse orders to destroy Jewish towns, but not orders regarding serving in Judea and Samaria; only 4% (2%) said that one may refuse to serve in Judea and Samaria, but not to evict settlers. 40% (31%) said it was OK to refuse in both cases, and 31% (42%) said it was not acceptable in either case. Michelle is an occasional columnist for Israel National News. She is Ima to many boys, some in diapers, so she doesn't always blog on time. Michelle lives in Galut for now, but dreams of living in a caravan on the top of a hill in Yesha with her husband, her boys, her dog, and her guns. Archive of Articles: www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Author.

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