Knesseth Israel Congregation (Birmingham, Alabama)

Knesseth Israel Congregation in the Fred and Brenda Friedman Center for Jewish Life
Basic information
Location 3100 Overton Road Mountain Brook, Alabama,
 United States
Geographic coordinates 33°28′03″N 86°44′10″W / 33.467571°N 86.736159°W / 33.467571; -86.736159Coordinates: 33°28′03″N 86°44′10″W / 33.467571°N 86.736159°W / 33.467571; -86.736159
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Rite Nusach Ashkenaz
Municipality Mountain Brook
Territory Alabama
Year consecrated 2007
Status Active
Leadership Rabbi Eytan Yammer, President Jack Hasson, MD
Website www.kicongregation.org
Architectural description
Architect(s) Jeffrey S. Fowler, Evan Terry Associates
General contractor Birmingham Hallmark Builders
Completed 2007

Knesseth Israel Congregation (KI) is the only Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the state of Alabama. (Although there is a Chabad center just up the street from its current location, that is not considered a synagogue in the traditional sense.) The first Orthodox congregation to organize in Birmingham in 1889, the synagogue is currently located at 3100 Overton Road, Mountain Brook, Alabama. Eytan Yammer, a graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah began serving as rabbi in 2010 and was named by The Forward as one of its 33 most inspiring American rabbis in 2015.[1]

History

After incorporating in 1889,[2] the first building for the congregation was constructed in 1903 at cost of $15,000 on the southwest corner of 17th Street North and 7th Avenue North,[3] Birmingham at the heart of what was then a Jewish neighborhood populated by immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe.

In 1955 the congregation moved to a then-remote site at 3225 Montevallo Road in what is now Mountain Brook.[4] A pillar erected in the yard of the $200,000 synagogue on Montevallo Road (which was considered incomplete, with further plans for a 1200-1500 seat sanctuary)[5] was intended to serve as the cornerstone of a more permanent building. A second phase, adding a social and recreational wing, was undertaken in 1969.[6]

In May, 1984 then Rabbi Harry (Tzvi) Rosen (who went on to edit Kashrus Kurrents for the Star-K) discovered that one of the torahs had been stolen from the synagogue. While talking with local police about the theft, he received a phone call asking for ransom money to return the torah scroll, at which point the police called in the FBI. While the investigation was ongoing, early the following month the Rabbi received another phone call indicating that the missing torah had been found in a Salvation Army donation bin.[7]

Knesseth Israel, facing deteriorating conditions in their synagogue, began moving forward with plans for a new building in 2003,[8] taking up the suggestion of relocating to the site of the former Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church on Overton Road. The congregation hoped to take advantage of the high value of the Montevallo Road property, which faces the Birmingham Country Club golf course, to help finance the move, which brought them within a few blocks of the Bais Ariel Chabad Center and strengthening ties within Birmingham's Orthodox Jewish community. The congregation voted in December 2005 to make the move and raised $5.4 million in donations. Of the nearly 100 families in Knesseth Israel at the time, many walked to Sabbath services so the decision required them to find new homes in the Overton neighborhood straddling Mountain Brook and Cahaba Heights.

Stained-glass window of Knesseth Israel Congregation, Birmingham, AL by Andrea Lucas

The new 18,000 square-foot brick building was completed in Fall 2007. On November 19, 2007 the congregation held a celebratory procession to the new building, carrying the congregation's six Torah scrolls. The new facility includes a sanctuary, a smaller chapel, a mikvah for ritual immersion, an outdoor permanent Sukkah structure, offices, classrooms, library, social hall, playground, and two separate kitchens for the preparation of kosher meals. It also features a 50 square foot rose style stained glass window designed and fabricated by local artist Andrea Lucas.[9] Across the street a new house was also built for the KI rabbi. However, in July 2012 the congregation, faced with debts arising from a disappointing return on their former property (which was only sold after the nationwide collapse of the real estate market during the Financial crisis of 2007–08), put the new Overton Road building up for sale. Birmingham Jewish Federation president Jimmy Filler contacted prominent community members Fred and Brenda Friedman about the possibility of helping the congregation remain in place by purchasing the building. The result was the establishment of the Fred and Brenda Friedman Center for Jewish Life which hosts events and programs for several Jewish organizations while also providing a permanent home for Knesseth Israel.

Services and programs

In February 2012, an eruv covering two square miles of Mountain Brook and Cahaba Heights was erected by Rabbi Yammer[10] (with the Halachic guidance of Rabbi Yaakov Love). As of January 2015, the congregation has a daily morning Shacharit service in combination with the Chabad Center (Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays at Chabad; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at KI), regular Shabbat and Holiday services followed by a full kiddush lunch, and Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat services weekly. There is also an education program for young children held on Sunday mornings and multiple weekly adult learning programs.

Rabbis

Notable Members

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://forward.com/specials/americas-most-inspiring-rabbis-2015/
  2. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.8
  3. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.15
  4. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.46
  5. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.49
  6. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.61
  7. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.64-65
  8. ↑ Bonfield, Knesseth Israel p.155
  9. ↑ http://blog.al.com/living-news/2008/09/pelham_artist_crafts_stainedgl.html
  10. ↑ "Eruv is Now Up in Birmingham". Southern Jewish Life. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
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