Temple Beth Israel was a Reform synagogue located at 840 Highland Road in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Originally called House of Israel Congregation, it was founded in 1888 as an Orthodox congregation by Jews from Eastern Europe.
The congregation constructed its first synagogue building in 1903, and expanded it in 1924. It hired its first full-time rabbi, Maurice Moskowitz, in 1929; he served until 1934.
By the 1940s the congregation had moved to Conservative Judaism, and with the installation of M. Robert Syme (1945–1948) as rabbi, transitioned to Reform Judaism. It joined the Union for Reform Judaism in 1949, and completed its current building in 1950.
Rabbis since Syme have included Meyer M. Abramowitz (1948–1956), Robert Bergman (1957–1961), Joseph Hewzog (1961–1974), Samuel Weingart (1974–1985), Stephen L. Sniderman (1985–1996), and Jacques Cukierkorn (1996–1998), the congregation's last full-time rabbi. It merged with Congregation Rodef Sholom of Youngstown, Ohio in July, 2013.
Early history
Jews from Eastern Europe first settled in Sharon in the 1880s. In August, 1888 they founded the Orthodox Temple Beth Israel (originally called House of Israel Congregation) so that they would have place to worship for Rosh Hashanah the following month. J.M. Rabinowitz (or Rabinovitz) served as cantor, ritual circumciser, Hebrew teacher, and ritual slaughterer.
Services were initially held on the second floor of 62 Shenango Street. The first permanent synagogue building was constructed in 1903. By 1907 the synagogue had 40 member families, and its annual revenues were $1,000 (today $). Services were held on Shabbat and the Jewish holidays. The congregational school had two teachers and 25 students. A dissenting group who wanted more traditional services formed the Shaarah Torah synagogue. A number of years later Shaarah Torah re-merged with Beth Israel.
A new sanctuary was added to the building in 1924, in time for High Holy Days that year. Beth Israel's first full-time rabbi, Maurice Moskowitz, was hired in 1929. He served until 1934, and was succeeded that year by Aaron Shapiro, who served until 1936. Shapiro was succeeded by Meyer Finkelstein, who served until 1937, and then by Harry Seeve, who served from 1937 to 1941.
Sidney Riback joined as rabbi in 1941; by this time the synagogue had moved to Conservative Judaism. By 1942 there were approximately 140 Jewish families in Sharon, and the women of House of Israel had formed a sisterhood.
Move to Reform
The members voted to reform services in 1945, and hired a new rabbi, M. Robert Syme. Born in 1920 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was a graduate of the Jewish Institute of Religion. When he arrived in Sharon, it had a Jewish population of approximately 150 families, and Beth Israel was its only synagogue.
Syme changed synagogue ritual, adopted the Union Prayer Book, and added a choir and organ. These changes were resisted by some members. Syme also discovered that Sharon's Orthodox Jewish population was sharing space with Beth Israel's congregation, worshiping in the basement. He felt it important that the Orthodox Jews be able to pray in the sanctuary too; so, on Friday nights he followed the Reform service in the Union Prayer Book, using an organ, while on Saturday mornings he followed the services from an Orthodox siddur (prayer book), praying without an organ. (Orthodox services normally do not use musical instruments, since the playing of musical instruments on Shabbat and many holidays are forbidden by Jewish law.) While living in Sharon, Syme also walked to synagogue and kept a kosher home, in accordance with Jewish law, to show that he was the rabbi of all of Sharon's Jews.
Looking for the greater challenge, opportunity, and money a larger congregation could provide, Syme eventually resigned in 1948, moving to Temple B'nai Abraham of Butler, Pennsylvania. Syme would become better known as rabbi of Detroit's Temple Israel, where he served for almost 47 years, starting in 1953.