Temple Ohabei Shalom (Brookline, Massachusetts)

Temple Ohabei Shalom is a significant Reform synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Audrey Berkman, Assistant Rabbi Jennifer Queen, and Rabbi Emerita, Emily Gopen Lipof.

Temple Ohabei Shalom
מקדש אוהבי שלום
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
LeadershipRabbi Audrey Marcus Berkman
StatusActive
Location
Location1187 Beacon St
Brookline, Massachusetts
 United States
Geographic coordinates42.3437°N 71.1145°W / 42.3437; -71.1145
Architecture
Architect(s)Blackall, Clapp, and Whittemore
TypeByzantine-Romanesque
Completed1928
Website
www.ohabei.org
[1]

Organized in 1842 with membership mainly of German origin, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Massachusetts and the third oldest in New England, following congregations in Newport and New Haven.[2] the congregation's first act was to establish a cemetery, the Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery. A registered historic site located in East Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery will soon be the home of the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts' museum commemorating the Mystic River Jews (Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Malden, Everett, and north).

The first synagogue building, erected in 1851 on Warren Street, Boston, was a handsome, two-story wooden structure with a doorway flanked by a pair of windows on each side and balanced by three pairs of windows on the second floor. The windows, each set a pair with arched tops, resembled the standard representation of the tablets of the ten commandments. The sanctuary could seat 400 and had space for a Hebrew School, a meeting room, and a mikveh.[3]

The congregation's second building, used from 1863–86, was a handsome Greek Revival structure at 76 Warrenton Street, Boston. It had been built as a Universalist church and is today the home of the Charles Playhouse.[4] Raphael Lasker became rabbi of the congregation in 1876.[5]

The third building was the former home of the Unitarian Church led by Edward Everett Hale, who spoke at the building's rededication as a synagogue in 1887.[6] The building is now the home of a Greek Orthodox church.

Temple Ohabei Shalom located in Brookline, Massachusetts circa 2011.

The congregation's present building, an opulent structure at 1187 Beacon Street in suburban Brookline that combined Byzantine Revival and Moorish Revival styles, was dedicated in 1925. The sanctuary seats 1,800. The smaller chapel accommodates 300. The domed building was intended to have a tall minaret, according to the architect's renditions,[7] although it was never built. The sanctuary was modeled on Hagia Sophia because of the excitement then felt over recent excavations of Byzantine-era synagogues in the land of Israel. The building includes a large school, an auditorium, a ballroom (that could be used as a gymnasium), a museum, a library, and a reading room.[8]

Temple Israel was founded in 1854 when German Jews who disliked the influx of Polish Jews seceded from Ohabei Shalom.[9] The congregations remain friendly and are working together on several projects related to outreach and the enhancement of the local Jewish community.

The Temple community celebrates its 180th Anniversary this year in 2022.

Temple Ohabei Shalom is also home to the Diane K. Trust Center For Early Education and Ansin Religious School.

Webpage

References
  1. "Temple Ohabei Shalom". Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  2. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 4
  3. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 47, 53-55
  4. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 171
  5. Adler, Cyrus; Haneman, Frederick T. "LASKER, RAPHAEL". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  6. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 175
  7. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 195 shows the minaret
  8. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 195
  9. The Jews of Boston, Sarna, Jonathan D., and Smith, Ellen, editors, Boston, 1995, p. 169
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