Baron Hirsch Synagogue

Infobox religious building
building_name = Baron Hirsch Synagogue
infobox_width = 310px


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location = 400 South Yates Road

Memphis, Tennessee
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religious_affiliation = Orthodox Judaism
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functional status = Active
leadership = Rabbis:
Shai Finklestein, Senior Rabbi
Aaron Feigenbaum, Assistant Rabbi
website = [http://www.baronhirsch.org/ Baron Hirsch Congregation website]
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year_completed = 1988
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The Baron Hirsch Synagogue (also Baron Hirsch Congregation), established Memphis, Tennessee circa 1862–1864, [ [http://www.memphisheritage.org/MHIHost/Read-ModernismInMemphis.html] Memphis Heritage.org. ] [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=398&letter=M] Cyrus Adler Max Samfield, "Memphis: Orthodox Congregation Formed", Jewish Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ] , is a flagship of American Orthodox Judaism. From modest beginnings, it underwent tremendous growth in the first half of the 20th century, emerging, in the 1950s, as the largest Orthodox congregation in the United States, a position it still holds. [ [http://www.baronhirsch.org/index.php/shul/C7/] "About Us", The Baron Hirsch Congregation web site. Accessed 2008-08-21, ] [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.]

History

1860s–1910

The nucleus of the Jewish community in Memphis formed in the downtown area north of Adams Street commonly known as the "Pinch" or "Pinch District". [ [http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/hist/pdf/vollintinehills.pdf] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Vollintine Hills Historic District, Memphis, TN. January 2, 2007, Section 8, page 15.] The Pinch was the center of, and traditionally associated with, immigration and immigrant communities in Memphis. [ [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=P029a] Lauren Elizabeth Nickas, "Pinch District", "The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture". Accessed 24-08-2008.]

Having no permanent place of worship at its initial organization in the 1860s, around 1884, a group of Jewish immigrants who wished to follow religious Orthodoxy began to pray together in rooms above various downtown Memphis stores, at private homes, and on the second floor of a modest hotel. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=398&letter=M] Cyrus Adler Max Samfield, "Memphis: Orthodox Congregation Formed", Jewish Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ] [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] [ [http://www.baronhirsch.org/index.php/shul/C7/] "About Us", The Baron Hirsch Congregation web site. Accessed 2008-08-21. ] Rabbi I. Myerowitz was the congregation's first spiritual leader, serving from 1891 to 1893.

In about 1890 or 1892, the group was chartered as the Baron Hirsch Benevolent Society, [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=398&letter=M] Cyrus Adler Max Samfield, "Memphis: Orthodox Congregation Formed", Jewish Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ] named in honor of the famed French Jewish philanthropist, Baron Moritz de Hirsch. [ [http://www.rabbiwein.com/Jerusalem-Post/2006/01/88.html] "The Three Barons", "The Jerusalem Post", January 13, 2006. "Perhaps Baron Hirsch’s most lasting memorial in the world to his efforts to solve the “Jewish problem” in Europe is the magnificent large synagogue and community of the Baron Hirsch Congregation in Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of the largest Orthodox synagogues and communities in the United States." ] [ Jacob Rader Marcus, "United States Jewry: 1776–1985". 1989: Wayne State University Press, p. 95. ] That same year they purchased a former African American church at 4th Street and Washington Avenue, in the Pinch, for use as a synagogue, moving in in 1912. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=398&letter=M] Cyrus Adler Max Samfield, "Memphis: Orthodox Congregation Formed", Jewish Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ] [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] [ [http://www.baronhirsch.org/index.php/shul/C7/] "About Us", The Baron Hirsch Congregation web site. Accessed 2008-08-21. ] A contemporary account gives membership in 1904 as eighty-five. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=398&letter=M] Cyrus Adler Max Samfield, "Memphis: Orthodox Congregation Formed", Jewish Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ]

1910–1920s

The Baron Hirsch congregation continued to grow and soon tore down their old building and built a new synagogue, at a cost of $35,000, on the same site in 1915. The new synagogue's sanctuary could hold over 700 worshippers. Still located in the downtown Pinch district, the congregation built the Menorah Institute next to the synagogue in 1928, providing classrooms and space for the congregation's social activities. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] This building was razed after the congregation relocated in the 1950s. [Sam Shankman, "Baron Hirsch Congregation: From Ur to Memphis". Memphis: Baron Hirsch Synagogue, 1957, p. 18. Cited in [http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/hist/pdf/vollintinehills.pdf] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Vollintine Hills Historic District, Memphis, TN. January 2, 2007, Section 8, page 16.]

The total Jewish population in Memphis in 1920 was approximately 7,000 persons. [ Jacob Rader Marcus, "United States Jewry: 1776–1985". 1989: Wayne State University Press, p. 95. ]

1930s–1940s

In the 1930s, the Memphis Jewish community continued the move eastward from the Pinch and other downtown neighborhoods that had begun in the 1920s to the new subdivisions in northern Midtown around the Vollintine-Evergreen area [ [http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/hist/pdf/vollintinehills.pdf] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Vollintine Hills Historic District, Memphis, TN. January 2, 2007, Section 8, page 16.] and many members began keeping Sabbath apartments downtown in order to attend synagogue. [ [http://www.memphisheritage.org/MHIHost/Read-ModernismInMemphis.html] Judith Johnson, "The Art of Architecture: Modernism In Memphis 1890 – 1980". Memphis Heritage, Inc. site at www.memphisheritage.com. Accessed 2008-08-22.] The congregation struggled somewhat in the Depression years. However, by 1941, Baron Hirsch had 500 member households and 300 children in its religious school. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.]

During World War II, it opened the Menorah Institute to soldiers stationed in the area, converting part of the building to a USO Center with sleeping quarters. The outside area between the synagogue and the Menorah Institute was paved for use in USO dances. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.]

1950s

Infobox_nrhp | name =Baron Hirsch Synagogue
nrhp_type = cp


caption =
location= 1740 Vollintine Ave., Memphis, Tennessee
locmapin = Tennessee
area =
built =1950–52 and 1955–57
architect= George Awsumb
architecture= International Style
added = July 11, 2007 (historic district)
governing_body = Private
mpsub= [http://www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64500762.pdf Memphis MPS]
refnum=07000684cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] Flourishing in the post-War years under the leadership of Rabbi Isadore Goodman, by the late 1950s, it had grown to over 1000 households and 500 children in its school. This dramatic increase in membership coupled with the movement of Jews out of the downtown Pinch area, spurred the congregation to begin planning for a new synagogue.

Built in two phases — 1950–52 and 1955–57 — on a 12.4 acre plot [ [http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/hist/pdf/vollintinehills.pdf] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Vollintine Hills Historic District, Memphis, TN. January 2, 2007, Section 7, page 1.] the enormous new synagogue rose on the site of a former golf course at Vollintine Avenue and Evergreen Street in midtown Memphis (in what is now the Vollintine Hills Historic District). It was built with 2200 permanent seats in the sanctuary and accommodation for an additional 1000 worshippers. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] [ [http://www.baronhirsch.org/index.php/shul/C7/] "About Us", The Baron Hirsch Congregation web site. Accessed 2008-08-21. ] When it was completed in 1957, the main sanctuary of the synagogue was the largest in the United States, according to the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. [ “Orthodox Synagogue to Be Dedicated November 28–30.” Memphis Commercial Appeal, October 21, 1957.]

The $1,600,000 rectilinear International Style building was designed by architect George Awsumb with powerful gray limestone wall cladding enhancing its clean modern lines. Artisan Jac Grue designed the stained glass windows. [ [http://www.memphisheritage.org/MHIHost/Read-ModernismInMemphis.html] Judith Johnson, "The Art of Architecture: Modernism In Memphis 1890 – 1980". Memphis Heritage, Inc. site at www.memphisheritage.com. Accessed 2008-08-22. ]

Construction of this new synagogue, along with a significant amount of new housing for members of the congregation that was within walking distance of the synagogue, created a clearly definable geographic area, readily distinguishable from other areas, which has now been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and called the Vollintine Hills Historic District. [ [http://www.state.tn.us/environment/news/release/2007/Sep/nationalregister.shtml] State of Tennessee, Environment and Conservation Newsroom News Release, September 21, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-22.] [ [http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/hist/pdf/vollintinehills.pdf] National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Vollintine Hills Historic District, Memphis, TN. January 2, 2007, Section 7, page 1.]

The congregation's membership doubled in the new synagogue, emerging as the largest Orthodox congregation in the United States. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] Explanations for this strong growth vary: A claim has been made that it is a "testament to the strength of orthodox Judaism in Memphis;" [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] other sources attribute it as something of a hallmark or local trait, that is, the tendency at that time for both Jews and Christians in Memphis to be affiliated with a religious institution. [Selma S. Lewis, "A Biblical People in the Bible Belt: The Jewish Community of Memphis, Tennessee, 1840s–1960s", Macon: Mercer University Press, 1999, p. 179.] In the United States in the 1950s, there was a national trend towards increased affiliation with both church and synagogue membership rising in an unprecedented fashion. [Selma S. Lewis, "A Biblical People in the Bible Belt: The Jewish Community of Memphis, Tennessee, 1840s–1960s", Macon: Mercer University Press, 1999, p. 179.] The country experienced a 40% rise in population from the 1930s to the 1950s but a 50% increase in church and synagogue affiliation. ["Yearbook of American Churches, 1950", quoted in "Hebrew Watchman", September 19, 1957, and cited in Lewis, "A Biblical People in the Bible Belt: The Jewish Community of Memphis, Tennessee, 1840s–1960s", p. 179.)]

Recent changes

Continual neighborhood transitions and the ongoing movement of members toward the east-lying Memphis suburbs, meant that the congregation again needed to find an additional location to remain within walking distance of most of its members. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.]

Under the leadership of Rabbi Rafael G. Grossman (now Senior Rabbi, Emeritus) the congregation began a transition from its edifice in midtown Memphis.

Baron Hirsch acquired the estate of musician Isaac Hayes and converted the mansion for its use as a satellite campus. By the mid-1980s, almost all Baron Hirsch members were in this area and it was determined that the entire synagogue complex would have to move as well. Additional land was purchased next to the satellite site, another building campaign was undertaken, and the large new synagogue and campus on South Yates Road was completed in 1988. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] [ [http://www.baronhirsch.org/index.php/shul/C7/] "About Us", The Baron Hirsch Congregation web site. Accessed 2008-08-21. ]

Current status

Although it has declined somewhat from its post-World War II peak, Baron Hirsch continues to flourish. [ [http://www.msje.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofOrthodoxCongregations.htm] "History of the Orthodox Congregations of Memphis", The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Accessed 2008-08-21.] as a modern Orthodox Zionist congregation.

The congregation is currently lead by Senior Rabbi Shai Finklestein.

References

External links

* [http://www.baronhirsch.org/ Baron Hirsch Congregation website]