A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL
150 years have passed since a small group formed the first Hebrew Congregation of Baton Rouge; today called B'Nai Israel. The size of that congregation is unknown, but it must have been small; in those days Baton Rouge was little more than a village. Although there is no record of the original charter, evidence from various sources points to 1858 as our congregation's birthdate. The oldest tombstone in our Hebrew Cemetery is dated 1858, and the congregation's early death records show this as the first recorded death in the organized Jewish community in Baton Rouge. (The old death register provides interesting reading. It lists the causes of death and indicates that yellow fever took a high toll during '58, the year of the plague. Birthplaces, too, were recorded, and they varied widely. Named are Bavaria, Austria, France, Alsace, England, Poland, Germany, and may American locations.) A portfolio at the East Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse lists a sale of property in 1859 to the Hebrew Congregation Shaare Chesed, bought at auction for $585.
In 1858, the "Old State Capitol" building on the riverfront had just been finished. The Pentagon Barracks were just 20 years old. The state capital had been to Baton Rouge from New Orleans in 1849. The Civil War started in April, 1961. Baton Rouge remained in the Confederacy for only 16 months. On May 29, 1862, Union troops occupied Baton Rouge. The capital was moved back to New Orleans. By the late 1880s the city began recovering its former status.
Among the world events of 1858 are the following:
- A plot to assassinate Napoleon III in Paris failed, but their bombs kill 156 bystanders
- The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn became a popular wedding recessional after it was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria,
- US President James Buchanan inaugurated the new trans-Atlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria
- the Lincoln-Douglas debates took place
Records of our congregation prior to 1877 are sketchy indeed. In the Archives at the Hebrew Union College there is a letter from Isaac Mayer Wise to a Rabbi Levy in Baton Rouge. This letter was dated 1859. Isaac Mayer Wise, the prophet of American Reform Judaism, was then just beginning his pioneering work in Cincinnati, and Reform Judaism itself was still very young when our newly formed congregation was struggling to keep alive the idea of liberal Judaism in America.
From the beginning, finding a site for a House of Worship and fundraising to erect a Temple have been the congregation's dominant problems. A Temple never was erected on the property at Church and North Streets. By 1871, the congregation was worshipping at Dalsheimer Hall, a community gathering place for speeches, meetings, and dances. These were Reconstruction days following the Civil War, and life was not easy in the South. But despite financial obstacles, the ladies of Congregation Shaare Chesed were determined to erect a permanent place of worship. They did not want to say their prayers in a dance hall forever. In January, 1871, they organized a Ladies' Hebrew Aid Association. The preamble to their constitution states, "We, the undersigned, have this day associated ourselves together for the purpose of building in the City of Baton Rouge a synagogue for Jewish Worship, and we have adopted the following constitution for our government."
In 1876 their efforts seemed fruitful. Court House records show that in this year the Hebrew Congregation traded its property on Church and North Streets with Rev. Cyrille Delacroix for a lot and building, a former Catholic Brothers' School, on Fifth and Laurel Streets. To effect the trade, the congregation had to pay a balance of $200.
In March, 1877, the pioneer group moved into their new Temple, following the Dedication Ceremonies attended by dignitaries of the city government and friends of members of the Congregation Shaare Chesed.
The ladies undertook to equip the Temple, and their records show that in 1877, with a total membership of 17, they raised $1,399.25 - a huge sum in those post-war days. After much investigation and debate, they invested the money in Torah covers, carpets, chandeliers, draperies, an organ, and the Ner Tamid.
The occupancy of the Temple was short lived, for suddenly the congregation learned it did not have clear title to the property. A series of law suits followed, going finally to the Louisiana Supreme Court, and in 1880 the congregation received an eviction notice.
The ladies' group lost heart at this disappointment, and since the congregation was once more worshipping in Dalsheimer Hall, they voted to disband in 1882.
Sometime between the acquisition of the first Temple and the disbandment of the Ladies' Hebrew Aid Association, the name of the Hebrew Congregation Shaare Chesed was changed to Congregation B'Nai Israel. Our first accurate historical record of the change, however, is the charter of the Congregation B'Nai Israel, passed in Baton Rouge. In 1884, 19 men formally organized under Louisiana law a non-profit corporation entitled "Congregation B'Nai Israel (Sons of Israel)." The purposes of the corporation were set forth by them as being for:
"the cherishing, preserving and perpetuating the principles of pure Judaism, we well as for the cultivation and spread of enlightened religious sentiment."
The charter was signed on August 13, 1886, by congregation members Simon Block, Jules S. Dreyfous, Joe Rothschild, Ben R. Mayer, Edward Klotz, Joe Mendelsohn, M. Seidenbach, S. Seidenback, J. S. Kowalski, Leon Block, Ed Schloss, Joe Gottlieb, Leon Moritz, and Moses Gottlieb.
In 1885, the ladies, re-determined to end worship in a dance hall, reorganized the Ladies' Aid Association. Their goal: to find funds to buy back their Temple. Finances were always a problem to this small group, even after their goal was met, but they kept working. In 1885, they held a "Moonlight Festival"; other fund-raising affairs were a "Grand and Fancy Dress Ball and Supper" (1888), and a "Calico Ball" (1891).
By 1886 the congregation had re-bought the building at Fifth and Laurel Streets and once more was established in a house of worship all its own. But the problem of insufficient funds remained. In 1894 Congregation B'Nai Israel was forced to borrow, and a mortgage in the amount of $1,750 was given to the District Grand Lodge No. 7, Independent Order of B'Nai Brith. Signing for the congregation were M. Weis and Ben R. Mayer. The mortgage was eventually repaid, and the Congregation occupied the original building for the next 70 years.
In the early 1950's, the Congregation purchased a lot in what was then the outskirts of a growing town, near 33rd Street (now Acadian Thruway). 1954, the Congregation sold its downtown property, and built a new post-modern sanctuary at our present location. In the late 1980’s, the Temple building underwent a significant expansion, and in the early 1990’s the Congregation purchased the property next door in order to assure expansion space for future growth.
Many items of artwork and Judaica grace the Temple building. In particular, the ark doors and the stained glass windows were designed and produced by noted Italian artist Conrad Albrizzio. Details about our artwork are available elsewhere on the website. Many groups have toured the building to view the artwork and learn about Reform Judaism.
