Jewish Federation of St. Louis, together with our partners at the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), helped to bring a torah from a congregation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to a good home in our Megiddo Reform Community in Israel.
The first part took place during our opening plenary when Rabbi Danny Freelander the President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism along with Carole Sterling the Chairperson of the WUPJ presented the Torah to Rabbi Michal Ken Tor of our Megiddo congregation along with her lay leaders.
Here is what Rabbi Freelander, President of the WUPJ told during his Devar Torah at Shabbat morning services at the IMPJ Biennial about the Torah.
Temple Anshe Emeth was founded in 1866 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Jews had been living in that area since the 1840s and prior to establishing the Temple, they met in private homes for the High Holiday services. David Aschaffenberg was the first president of the congregation. Rabbi Jacob Bloch was the first rabbi, hired in 1867, when their first synagogue was completed.
In 1867, the group received an official charter from the state, making Anshe Emeth the first chartered congregation in the state. (Little Rock’s B’nai Israel congregation received their charter only five days later). Since most of the members were German Jews, sermons were given in German until 1874. By 1873, the congregation, now numbering 45 members, had joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and embraced Reform Judaism.
In the late 19th century, the Jewish community of Pine Bluff and Anshe Emeth experienced tremendous growth. Having outgrown their synagogue, they built a new, larger brick temple at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Poplar Street in 1902. By 1907, they had 133 members and almost $4000 in annual income. They had 90 children in their religious school by 1917.
Between 1867 and 1967, 19 different rabbis served Anshe Emeth. A few were rather controversial. In 1919, Rabbi Leonard Rothstein came Anshe Emeth, instituting changes that upset a segment of the congregation such as open seating, replacing the old system in which members would buy particular pews, and allowing women to be full members and serve on the board. Rothstein was also outspoken on social issues, strongly criticizing the Pine Bluff school board for letting a Ku Klux Klan representative speak at a local high school. His changes and outspokenness caused a split and in 1921, 58 members (including some of the leading members) founded a breakaway congregation, Temple Israel. This caused Anshe Emeth great financial hardship, as many of their well-heeled members had joined the new temple. But by 1924, neither congregation had a rabbi, so the old disputes were resolved and the two groups reunited as Anshe Emeth. Rabbi Mayer Lippman came to Pine Bluff to lead the reunited congregation. In 1925, they had 110 contributing members.
Anshe Emeth retained its membership over the next twenty years. In 1945, they still had 100 members. But after World War II, the Jewish community of Pine Bluff began to decline. By the early 1960s, they decided to move to a smaller temple (finished in 1967). At that time they had about 85 contributing members, though many were elderly. The congregation only had 26 children in their religious school at the time.
The last full time rabbi left in the 1980s.
In 2003, the congregation decided to sell their synagogue to a local hospital who has converted it to a nursing school. Without a permanent building, the congregation began meeting in a small chapel at the First Presbyterian Church once a month. At the time of its closing only a handful of members remained.
The temple donated two Torah scrolls to WUPJ’s Shomrei Torah project. The second scroll will be sent to Congregation Adat Israel in Guatemla later this year. We are so thankful for receiving the Torah from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Believe me it will be taken care of properly and be an inspiration to the participants in our activities in Megiddo as it was for over a century in Pine Bluff.
Remarkable. This is what Judaism is all about. Le’dor Va’dor: From one generation to another!