Temple B'nai Israel (Oklahoma City)

Temple B'nai Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation in Oklahoma City that welcomes people to worship, study, and develop cultural and social ties through Reform Judaism.[6] Its stated values include justice, belonging, tradition, community, family, and education; its vision emphasizes spiritual practice, lifelong learning, and social justice.[6]

The congregation's North Pennsylvania property was donated by Erna and Julius Krouch, and its new building was dedicated on September 11, 1955.[1] A 2008 census of Jewish supplementary schools listed the congregation as Reform and gave its address as 4901 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112.[7]

High Holiday services were held in Oklahoma City as early as 1890, preceding Temple B'nai Israel's charter in 1903.[8] By August 1889, the city's population had reached 4,000, including ten Jewish men.[1] Jewish communal growth across Oklahoma was slow: small groups in Oklahoma City and other towns held informal religious services and provided children's education, but their small and scattered population limited more ambitious religious organization.[2] The Jewish population of Oklahoma Territory numbered 500 in 1900.[2]

Temple B'nai Israel was formed in May 1903 as a Reform congregation.[1] Gus Paul, who came to Oklahoma from Evansville, Indiana, was an important figure in the congregation for many years and also served as Oklahoma City's city attorney.[8] Joseph Blatt arrived in 1906 to serve the congregation's 35 families, becoming the first ordained rabbi to serve an Oklahoma congregation.[8] From 1906 through 1916, he was the state's only full-time rabbi.[2]

The cornerstone of the congregation's first house of worship, at 50 Broadway Circle, was laid in 1907.[1] By 1925, membership exceeded 160 families and the building had become overcrowded.[1] In 1926, the congregation broke ground for an adjoining Temple Center intended to house the Sunday School, kitchen, office, lounge, and auditorium.[1]

Rabbi Joseph Levenson's leadership began in July 1946, following Blatt's tenure.[1] During Levenson's leadership, the Temple bulletin was established, Bar Mitzvah was approved, and the senior youth group joined the National Federation of Temple Youth.[1] Membership reached 250 families by 1951, prompting another search for space.[1]

Erna and Julius Krouch donated land at 4901 North Pennsylvania for a new Temple building.[1] Groundbreaking took place on February 28, 1954, followed by dedication on September 11, 1955.[1] Additional Sunday School rooms and Krouch Hall were added in 1962.[1] On April 28, 1970, a tornado damaged a large portion of the Temple; the building was rebuilt with help from churches.[1]

Rabbi A. David Packman became spiritual leader in 1976.[1] His tenure included an intercongregational Sunday School, a merged youth program with Emanuel Synagogue, and interfaith programming with local churches.[1] Rabbi Barry Cohen became the congregation's fourth rabbi in 2004 and emphasized youth involvement in congregational life and the Reform movement.[1] Rabbi Vered Harris became its fifth rabbi on July 1, 2012.[1]

In 1912, Rabbi Joseph Blatt publicly opposed antisemitic accusations published after Oklahoma's capital moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.[9] The Guthrie Daily Leader ran a front-page headline accusing “Shylocks of Oklahoma City” of having the state “by the Throat.”[9] Its accompanying article alleged that Jewish businessmen had conspired to move the capital for financial gain and used parodied Yiddish accents.[9] Blatt denounced the allegations as slander and “a disgrace to the civilization of our state,” urging Oklahomans to unite against religious prejudice.[9] The newspaper's effort to restore Guthrie as the capital failed, and its attempt to blame Jews was soon forgotten.[9]

On April 1, 2004, Temple B'nai Israel was attacked with a Molotov cocktail, causing minor damage.[4] Sean Michael Gillespie, then 20, was accused of throwing the incendiary device.[4] FBI agents, Arkansas State Police, and the Pope County Sheriff's Department arrested him on April 16 at a fast-food restaurant in Russellville, Arkansas.[4] Surveillance footage of the firebombing was among the leads used to identify him, and he was initially held in Little Rock awaiting extradition to Oklahoma City.[4]

Gillespie was an Aryan Nations member, and the firebombing was the first of an intended 14 violent acts, a deliberate reference to the white supremacist “14 Words” slogan.[5][10] He was apprehended after the first attack.[5] Before attacking the synagogue, he had targeted a woman because of her religion but had been unable to find her.[10] He told FBI agents that he would kill Black people, Jews, abortion doctors, and gay people if he could get away with it.[10]

Gillespie was convicted and sentenced to 39 years in prison on August 30, 2005.[10] His sentence was extended after he tried to send a letter to the Temple following his conviction.[11] The letter, read in court, expressed hatred toward Jews and a desire to spark a “racial holy war.”[11]

The congregation grew from 35 families when Joseph Blatt arrived in 1906 to more than 160 families by 1925 and 250 by 1951.[8][1] In 1967, its 325 member families represented approximately half of Oklahoma City's Jewish population.[8] This growth took place within a city whose Jewish population had not increased in proportion to its general population.[8] Membership later expanded to more than 400 families.[1]

The Temple Sisterhood had 154 members in the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods' 1931 membership list, which named Mrs. Joseph Myer as president and Mrs. Jos. Urbansky as secretary.[12] Founded in 1906, the Sisterhood supports religious-school and youth activities, preschool scholarships, lifecycle gifts, social events, and charitable work.[13]

The Brotherhood was originally called the Temple Men's Club, with Jules Bloch serving as its first president.[13] It was inactive during the war years and reorganized in 1946.[13] Judge Bacharach also served on the Temple's Board of Trustees, a role recorded in the Congressional Record on February 25, 2013.[14]

The Oklahoma City Sisterhood's work with University of Oklahoma students included arranging a Temple Seder in Norman that Rabbi Blatt attended.[12] An October 31, 1930, report described its support for students' religious and communal life throughout the year.[12]

The Temple Center also hosted a weekly Braille class taught by a blind teacher employed by the state's adult-blind commission.[12] In a 1930 account, Mrs. Joe Urbansky reported that the class had inspired ten others to begin studying Braille.[12]

Erna Krouch founded the congregation's preschool in 1950 at its original downtown location, seeking a safe place where children from all backgrounds could play and learn together.[15] When the old building could no longer accommodate the growing population, Erna and her brother Julius donated land on North Pennsylvania on the condition that the preschool continue.[15] The school moved with the Temple, was named for Erna, and describes itself as non-denominational.[15]

During Rabbi Packman's leadership, the congregation developed an intercongregational Sunday School and a merged youth program with Emanuel Synagogue.[1] Under Rabbi Cohen, youth participation in both the congregation and the Reform movement was a particular emphasis.[1]

Temple B'nai Israel's interfaith activities under Rabbi Packman included programming with Mayflower Congregational Church and an ongoing Jewish-Catholic dialogue with Christ the King Catholic Church.[1] Packman also reorganized an Oklahoma City Thanksgiving service involving Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Bahá'ís, Muslims, Hindus, Unitarians, and people of all races.[1] The Temple and the NAACP presented an annual Martin Luther King Jr. program for more than 20 years.[1]

The congregation became an associated refugee-resettlement agency in Oklahoma City through HIAS, with agreement from the Temple Board of Trustees and the Ginzburg Memorial Fund.[3] Its work included meeting refugees at the airport, placing them in apartments stocked with necessities, and providing caseworker assistance with schools, English-language classes, social services, employment, and training.[3] A later program update described it as still operational with two full-time staff and reported replacement funding after earlier funding ceased to be available.[3]