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Congregation Beth Israel ((ヘブライ語:בית ישראל)) was a Reform synagogue, located for most of its history at 761 Chestnut Street in Gadsden, Alabama.〔 An outgrowth of Gadsden's Jewish religious school, it was founded in 1908 and incorporated in 1910.〔〔 It moved into its Chestnut Street building in 1922,〔〔 and joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1924.〔 From 1911 to 1944 it had no rabbi, and was led by "lay-religious-leader" Hugo Hecht.〔〔 In 1944, Beth Israel hired its first full-time rabbi, Ernest Appel.〔 The synagogue was fire-bombed and its windows smashed in 1960, during a Friday night service. Two members who rushed outside were wounded with a shotgun by the attacker, a young Nazi sympathizer.〔 Membership was never high; the congregation had 38 members families in 1918,〔 and this grew to 60 families in 1960.〔 Membership fell as major employers closed operations, and Jews emigrated from Gadsden. By 2008, family membership was down to 26.〔 The synagogue closed in 2010.〔 ==Early history== Founded in 1908,〔 and incorporated in January 1910,〔 Beth Israel grew out of Gadsden's Jewish religious school, which was established in 1903.〔 Initially the congregation had no rabbi. Every second Sunday from 1910 to 1911, Ferdinand Hirsch, a student rabbi, would come to Gadsden and teach the Sunday School in the morning and hold services in the afternoon.〔 Hugo Hecht, a young immigrant from Germany, acted as "lay-religious-leader" from 1911 to 1944.〔〔 He conducted Shabbat and funeral services, wrote sermons, taught the Sunday school, and acted as secretary and treasurer. After a number of years, officers of the temple decided he should be given a remuneration of $20/week for his work.〔 Membership was 38 families by 1918. The congregational school held classes weekly, and had 15 students and 3 teachers. That year the synagogue's total income was $700 (today $).〔 Beth Israel broke ground and laid the cornerstone for its Classical Revival building at 761 Chestnut Street in March 1922, and moved in the following year.〔〔〔〔 The Masonic dedication service was attended by hundreds of Gadsden citizens, and the main speaker was Reverend W.R. Rigell of the First Baptist Church.〔 The completed structure had a stained-glass window with the Biblical verse fragment "LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF" () above the front door.〔 The congregation joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1924.〔 Gadsden's Jewish community was not as badly affected by the Great Depression as others in more agriculturally-based towns, and benefited from an influx of Jewish servicemen from nearby Camp Sibert during World War II.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Congregation Beth Israel (Gadsden, Alabama)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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