- Temple Beth-El (Pensacola, Florida)
Infobox religious building
building_name=Temple Beth-El
caption=The Temple Beth-El on Palafox Street
location=Pensacola,Florida ,United States
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religious_affiliation=Reform Judaism
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status=Active Synagogue
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year_completed=1876
1933 in current incarnation
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materials=:"For other temples called Beth-El seeTemple Beth-El ."The Temple Beth-El (Hebrew: ק.ק. בית אל), located in downtown
Pensacola, Florida , is the earliest dedicated Jewish house of worship inFlorida . The temple was founded in 1876. [American Jewish Year Book, Jewish Publication Society of America, Published by American Jewish Committee, 1907, p. 150]Beth-El is a member of the
Union for Reform Judaism , and has led the congregation inReform Judaism services since the temple's foundation. The currentrabbi is Leonard Zukrow.History
The first Jews who migrated to northwest Florida originally stopped at Milton, twenty miles to the east, [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ] because Milton was a national hub for
lumber production and distribution in the South (the first Jews to the area were skilled in lumber production; they came from heavily wooded areas in what is now southernGermany ). [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ] Sensing more business opportunities to the west, a congregation settled in Pensacola and built a Reform temple in 1876. [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ] Many of the lumber workers in Milton did not follow the congregation, and eventually started a smaller Jewish community in Okaloosa County when lumber opportunities dried up. The male members of Beth-El's first congregation consisted largely ofbusiness men andtavern owners. [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ]Temple Beth-El is now in its third building, still in its same spot on 800 North
Palafox Street . [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ] The current building, designed in the 1930s, is an example ofArt Deco architecture, [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ] which was prominent in Florida at the time.Today, many members of the current congregation are descendants of the men who founded the temple over 125 years ago. Immigrants from
Eastern Europe ,Israel , and theCaucasus eventually settled in Pensacola and became part of the congregation as well. Beth-El is unique today in that a large number of the congregation consists of Jews who converted from other faiths. [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/aboutus/history/ Temple Beth-El history] ]Starting in 1962,
Paula Ackerman , the first woman to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, served the congregation at Beth-El. A Pensacola native, Beth-El was Mrs. Ackerman's home temple and she was asked to fill in until a suitable replacement was found in 1967.Well-known members
*
Paula Ackerman , both as a child and later serving the congregation as a rabbi.External links
* [http://templebethelofpensacola.org/ Temple Beth-El website]
* [http://www.floridajewish.com/florida_jewish_history.asp Jews in Florida timeline (mentions Beth-El)]ources
*A History of Temple Beth-el, Pensacola, Florida 1876-1990, By Janel D. Hendrix, Published by Trent's Prints, 2004
ee also
Oldest synagogues in the United States References
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