Temple B'rith Kodesh (Rochester, New York)

Temple B'rith Kodesh is a Reform synagogue in Rochester, New York. It is the oldest synagogue and the largest Reform congregation in the greater Rochester area.^[1]

History[]

Temple B'rith Kodesh was founded in 1848 as an Orthodox congregation with 12 members.^[2]^[3] By 1894 the congregation had grown to over 250 members and a building was purchased in downtown Rochester. During this period, a gradual change from Orthodoxy to Classical Reform began.^[4] In 1975, Gates of Prayer replaced The Union Prayer Book, and both English and Hebrew were used in the services. In 1996, a gender sensitive edition of Gates of Prayer was adopted for use.

Simchat Torah was an especially joyous occasion in 1962 when Temple B'rith Kodesh dedicated a new building in the suburb of Brighton, our current home. By this time, the membership had grown to 1200 families and was still growing.

Temple B'rith Kodesh has enjoyed a long and illustrious history in terms of our congregation and our clergy. In the many years since our inception, we have served as a training ground for many Assistant Rabbis, but have employed only six Senior Rabbis: Dr. Max Landsberg, Rabbi Horace Wolf, Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein, Rabbi Judea B. Miller, Rabbi Laurence A. Kotok and Rabbi Peter W. Stein. All have been beloved by our congregation and have achieved national and international recognition.

Many of our Assistant and Associate Rabbis have also gone on to exciting careers within the Union for Reform Judaism (or as formerly known, the UAHC.) They include Rabbi Herbert Bronstein, Rabbi Ronald Shapiro, Rabbi Rosalind Gold, Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg, Rabbi Brian Daniels, Rabbi Marc Gruber, Rabbi S. Robert Morais, Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman, Rabbi Alison Kobey, Rabbi Kelly Levy, and Rabbi Rochelle Tulik.

We have had a Cantor at various times in our history and at other times we have employed Cantorial Soloists. Past Cantors have include Cantor Stephen Richards, Cantor David Unterman, Cantor Richard Allen, Cantor Barbara Horowitz, Cantor Martha Birnbaum and Cantor Joel Colman. Currently, Keri Lopatin Berger serves as our Cantorial Soloist and Director of Music. (time said is 2018-2020) ^[5]

When Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein became Senior Rabbi in 1926, the temple was located on Gibbs Street in the downtown area of Rochester. More traditional observances were adopted by the congregation, including:PHILIP S. BERNSTEIN PAPERS, University of Rochester</ref> The congregation maintains a section in the historic Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester.

Architecture[]

The Temple's current building was designed by architect Pietro Belluschi. The sanctuary is roofed with a domed wooden drum intended to evoke the Wooden synagogues of Poland.^[6]^[7] Sculptor Luise Kaish was commissioned to create the Temple's ark, which Samuel Gruber calls “one of the major works of the last half century . . . even today the presence of Kaish’s figures on the ark is an exciting shock” in American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community.^[8]

Art collection[]

The Temple has a noted collection of menorahs by contemporary artists including Salvador Dalí.^[9]

Presidents[]

Meyer Rothschild 1848-1854 Milton Berger 1963-1965 Elias Wolff 1854-1872 Louis Perlman 1965-1968 Joseph Wile 1872-1874 Emanuel Goldberg 1968-1970 Moses Hays 1874-1877 Henry Rubens 1970-1973 Levi Adler 1877-1879 Murray Blanchard 1973-1976 David Rosenberg 1879-1880 Herbert Schwartz 1976-1978 Leopold Garson 1880-1882 Warren Heilbronner 1978-1980 I.M. Sloman 1882-1884 Charles Chadwick 1980-1982 Julius Wile 1884-1886 Lawrence Scott 1982-1984 Henry Michaels 1886-1888 Thomas Fink 1984-1986 Leopold Garson 1888-1891 Morris Weinstein 1986-1989 Joseph Cauffman 1891-1892 Annette Sheiman 1989-1991 Henry Michaels 1892-1894 Donald Onimus 1991-1993 William Miller 1894 Gerald Zakalik 1993-1995 Max Lowenthal 1894-1901 David Feinstein 1995-1997 Sol Wile 1901-1912 Carol Yunker 1997-1999 Max Lowenthal 1912-1915 Stuart Boyar 1999-2001 Mortimer Adler 1915-1921 Michael Snyder 2001-2003 Sol Applebaum 1921-1928 Philip Fain 2003-2005 Henry Stern 1928-1937 F. Kenneth Greene 2005-2009 Manuel Goldman 1937-1948 Janet Fink 2009-2011 J.H. Rubens 1948-1954 Robert Mevorach 2001-2013 Garson Meyer 1954-1957 Lou Spiro 2013-2016 Hyman Freeman 1957-1960 Daniel Mendelson 2016-2018 Clifford Lovenheim 1960-1963 Steven Chaba 2018-2020

^[10]

Image[]

http://www.nextbook.org/cultural/feature.html?id=2475

References[]

^ Affirming the Covenant, by Peter Eisenstadt, 1999
^ Affirming the Covenant, by Peter Eisenstadt, 1999
^ Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Press, June 30, 1996, pp. 267–268.
^ "TBK History - Temple B'rith Kodesh".
^ "TBK History - Temple B'rith Kodesh".
^ The Blueprint: How a 1959 book changed the architecture of American synagogues, Samuel D. Gruber, Nextbook, 01.07.09 [1]
^ [2]
^ Gruber, Samuel (2003). American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community. Rizzoli. ISBN 9780847825493. American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community.
^ [3]
^ "TBK Presidents - Temple B'rith Kodesh".