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History of Beth Israel, Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson’s Beth Israel congregation has always been the only synagogue in Mississippi’s capital city. As a result, it has accommodated members from different religious backgrounds and practices.  For most of its history, the congregation has been rather small, though in recent decades it has emerged as the largest and most vibrant synagogue in the state.

The pages of the American Israelite, a Jewish newspaper published in Cincinnati, contain a wealth of information about the early years of Beth Israel Congregation.  On June 7, 1860, Jackson Jews first announced their presence to Jews around the country through the pages of the American Israelite, with the following report: 

“At a called meeting of the Israelites in this place, it was agreed to form a congregation under the name of Beth Israel.  A Constitution and By-Laws were duly adopted and officers elected.  The ostensible object, for the present, being the purchase of a Jewish cemetery, a committee was appointed who already have made the proper arrangements, and have succeeded in the selection and buying of a lot of ground for that purpose.  It is the intention of the congregation to establish and worship according to the Minhag Ashkenas.  This, however, will be a matter of time, and the proper arrangements to procure a Hasan and Shochet will be made as soon as the funds of the congregation will allow.

The original impetus behind creating the congregation was to establish a Jewish cemetery in Jackson.  This was usually the case with new Jewish communities in the 19th century, with the Jewish cemetery being founded before congregational worship.  The land they purchased for the cemetery was on State Street, where the current Beth Israel cemetery still resides in what is now the heart of central Jackson.  The fact that the founders planned to adopt the Orthodox Minhag Ashkenas, and that they hoped to be able to pay for a cantor and a kosher butcher shows that these early Jewish settlers hoped to maintain some semblance of traditional religious practice.

By November of 1862, they had hired a Hazan, Mr. Oberndorfer, and reported that fifteen Jewish families lived in town.  One of the first goals of the new congregation was to ensure that their children received an adequate Jewish education.  They acquired land and built a modest wood frame schoolhouse, which they also used as a worship space.  The building, located on the corner of South State and South streets was the first synagogue in the state of Mississippi.  Later accounts mentioned an earlier synagogue that had been burned during the Northern occupation of Jackson during the Civil War, though there is no contemporary evidence of this.  In October of 1867, the congregation advertised for a “Hazan, Schochet, and Teacher of German, English, French and Hebrew” to lead both the school and worship services.

These early days were not always harmonious.  When Jewish immigrants from Poland came to Jackson after the Civil War, tensions developed between them and the earlier-settled German Jews.  Apparently their numbers weren’t large enough to support two different synagogues, which was what usually happened in larger communities, so Beth Israel had to work through these tensions as best they could.  In October of 1868, one congregant wrote to the Israelite, mentioning that there were about 50 Jews in Jackson, but that they couldn’t get along:

“alas! The different nations of Europe have too many representatives here who are contending too patriotically for their nationality, and while between Bavarians and Polanders too wide a difference exists...We have, furthermore, two other factions, the ante bellum and the “since the war” residents, the former claiming they are more entitled to all the “blessed privileges” of a long residence in the State of Mississippi.  Consequently…the work of progress is altogether paralyzed.”

One source of the conflict was over how to worship.  While the congregation was founded as orthodox, a group of members wished to adopt reform.  The above letter writer hoped for a future “when those who still fancy to pursue the mode of worship found expedient centuries ago, will give way to the Minhag America,”  which was a new prayer book written by Isaac Mayer Wise, the leader of Reform Judaism in America.  Minhag America represented an attempt to Americanize Jewish worship, adopting many changes from Reform Judaism.

By 1870, things had seemingly improved within the congregation.  The catalyst was the hiring of their first rabbi, Reverend L. Winter.  He helped to heal the previous rifts and moved the congregation more toward Reform Judaism. One member wrote, in 1870, “when the Rev. L. Winter came here…the congregation consisted of a handful of men, and the greatest indifference existed toward our religion, and now I am happy to say, that all Jewish inhabitants of this place are members of our congregation.” Another congregant’s report from June 10, 1870 claimed that, “Disputes that have heretofore existed, he has been the medium of pacifying, and we can work once more like a band of brothers in full harmony.”

Under Winter’s leadership, the congregation adopted elements of Reform Judaism, including Friday night services in place of Saturday services and sermons given in English.  During his Shavuot sermon, Rev. Winter rejected what he called “antiquated prayers and ceremonies” that were repeated by rote, and called for development of the inner feeling of Judaism.  He also introduced the new ritual of confirmation, which had been borrowed from Christianity and became a central ritual within American Reform Judaism.  Confirmation was adopted in Jackson with little or no controversy, as one correspondent reported that it had been introduced “to the utmost satisfaction of every member of this congregation.”

In 1871, an outside observer, Rabbi Judah Wechsler of Columbus, Ohio, traveled to Jackson in 1871 and published his impressions of the congregation.  He found 25 Jewish families and described the small school and house of worship used by the congregation.  He also found continued conflict between Orthodox and Reform members.

Clearly, the congregation survived these challenges, though it was not easy.  Rabbi Winter soon left, and the congregation’s wood frame building burned down in 1874.  They built a new brick building on the old site, which served the congregation until 1940. In 1875, the congregation formalized its adherence to Reform Judaism by joining the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, but since it has always been the only synagogue in Jackson, it has had to accommodate Jews of different practices, which it continues to do today.  Nevertheless, the worship service was classical Reform, with most prayers in English and an organ and choir.  The congregation remained small in its early years.  In 1908, they had 37 members and 16 children in their religious school.

When the congregation moved to Woodrow Wilson Avenue in 1941, their old synagogue was the oldest religious structure in the city.  While their new synagogue was being built, Beth Israel held services at Galloway Methodist Church.  At the dedication in January of 1942, Christian ministers were special guests along with Jackson’s Mayor.   These are important examples of the close interfaith relationships Jackson Jews enjoyed.  The main speaker at the dedication was Rabbi Julian Feibelman of Temple Sinai in New Orleans, who was a Jackson native and the first Mississippi Jew to attend Hebrew Union College.

During its first 70 years, the congregation often went through long stretches without a full-time rabbi, relying on lay leaders and student rabbis.  Few of these early rabbis stayed very long.  This was especially the case with Rabbi Louis Schreiber, who arrived in 1915.  Rabbi Schreiber was quite a polarizing figure, and by 1916 had been fired for grossly insulting and hurting the feelings of Beth Israel members.  The congregation bought him a train ticket to Philadelphia to help him on his way.

In 1929, Beth Israel finally began to enjoy more stability in its rabbis with the arrival of Meyer Lovitt, who served the congregation for 25 years.  Lovitt was replaced in 1954 by Toronto-native Perry Nussbaum.  Rabbi Nussbaum arrived the same year as the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board decision, and his tenure was shaped by the unfolding struggle over civil rights.  Though he was morally appalled by Mississippi’s system of racial discrimination, Rabbi Nussbaum faced a congregation that largely did not want to challenge the status quo and wished their rabbi to remain quiet on the issue.  At first, Nussbaum avoided getting involved in the burgeoning civil rights movement, though he did occasionally sermonize on the issue.

In the summer of 1961, waves of freedom riders arrived in Jackson protesting segregation in interstate bus travel.  These activists, many of whom were Jewish, were arrested and sent to Parchman State Prison.  Nussbaum tried to organize the state’s rabbis to visit these Jewish protestors regularly, but none of his colleagues would agree to do it.  Nussbaum shouldered this burden himself, driving 150 miles each way once a week to visit them, deliver personal supplies and cigarettes, and lead a short worship service.  Perhaps most importantly, he took down the names and addresses of the activists’ families, and wrote them letters assuring them that their sons and daughters were okay.

As the backlash against civil rights became more violent in Mississippi, Nussbaum became more outspoken.  In 1964, he helped found the Committee of Concern, an interracial group of ministers that sought to raise money to rebuild bombed or burned churches.  At the dedication of Beth Israel’s new temple in 1967, both black and white ministers participated.  On September 18, 1967, Nussbaum’s own house of worship was bombed by local Ku Klux Klan members.  Two months later, the same group bombed Nussbaum’s home.  Though the rabbi was home with his wife at the time, no one was seriously hurt.  These bombings helped to galvanize Jackson’s white community, who realized that resistance to integration had gone too far.  It was time to change.  Since then, members of Beth Israel have played a vital part in building a new racially just society in Jackson.

While Beth Israel certainly influenced Jackson’s Jewish life throughout much of this group’s history, other Jewish institutions left a mark on the community as well.  In 1873, the Manassah Lodge of B’nai B’rith was founded with its first president E. Steinberf.  Others who assisted Steinberf included Vice President J. Hurst, Moderator Isadore Strauss, Treasurer Elias Bloom, and Secretary Gus Ascher.  S. Schwartz, John Hart, and Isadore Strauss were also trustees of the B’nai Brith Lodge in addition to their leadership contributions at Beth Israel.  Over the years, many Beth Israel members became active in the regional leadership of B’nai B’rith.  In recent decades, like many B’nai B’rith chapters throughout the country, the Jackson lodge has become inactive.

Originating from Jackson’s Ladies’ Aid Society in 1900, Beth Israel’s Sisterhood has been strong for years and remains today the most active temple organization.  During World War I, the group rolled bandages and acted as a sewing center for the American Red Cross.  They performed similar duties during World War II in addition to feeding local servicemen who used the synagogue as a social hall when present in Jackson.  During the Great Depression, the women started a soup kitchen to help those in need.  For almost forty years, the Beth Israel Sisterhood has run its annual Bazaar, which attracts hundreds of people from Jackson who come to the temple to eat homemade Jewish food.  The Bazaar raises money for an array of local charities.

The sisterhood was also instrumental in starting the temple youth group.  In 1939, the women of Beth Israel helped start the Jackson Temple League, which brought local young adults together to take part in social and community service activities.  From this early formation, the Jackson Federation of Temple Youth became a part of the National Federation of Temple Youth.  The youth group remains active today within the Southern Region of NFTY.

In 1967, Beth Israel moved to its present home on Old Canton Road.  It also continues to enjoy the services of a full-time rabbi.  Since Rabbi Nussbaum’s retirement in 1973, the following rabbis have served the congregation:  Richard Birnholz; Mark Goodman; Eric Gurvis; Steve Engel; Jim Egolf; and Valerie Cohen.  In 2006, Beth Israel had over 200 member families and was growing, albeit slowly.  Its growing membership makes it stand out in contrast with other Jewish congregations in Mississippi.