Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco)

During the Gold Rush in 1849, a small group of Jews held the first High Holy Days services in a tent in San Francisco; it was the first Jewish service on the West Coast of the United States.[1] This group of traders and merchants founded Congregation Emanu-El sometime in 1850, and its charter was issued in April, 1851. The 16 signatories were mostly German Jews from Bavaria.

In 1860, Reform rabbi Elkan Cohn joined the Emanu-El congregation; in 1877, he led the congregation as the first in the West to join the Reform Movement.[1] As the Reform Movement in Judaism spread in the United States during the early twentieth century, the synagogue became affiliated with this framework.

In 1884 Julie Rosewald became America's first female cantor when she began serving in Emanu-El, although she was not ordained.[2][3] She served as a cantor there until 1893.[2][3]

Among its major programs today, the synagogue includes worship, youth and adult education programs, and also a major emphasis on social justice.[4]

Early Temple Emanu-El. Sutter Street, San Francisco, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

• Rosenbaum, Fred, Visions of Reform : Congregation Emanu-El and the Jews of San Francisco 1849–1999, Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2000, ISBN 0-943376-69-6 ISBN 978-0-943376-69-1
• Rosenbaum, Fred, Architects of reform: congregational and community leadership Emanu-El of San Francisco, 1849–1980, Western Jewish History Center, Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum, 1980
• Voorsanger, Jacob, The Chronicles of Emanu-El, Spaulding Press, 1900.

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• Official website