Congregation Anshai Emeth
Sign, with synagogue in the background
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
LeadershipRabbi Bryna Milkow
StatusActive
Location
Location5614 North University Street, Peoria, Illinois 61614
CountryUnited States
Congregation Anshai Emeth is located in Illinois
Congregation Anshai Emeth
Location in Illinois
Geographic coordinates40°45′22.5″N 89°36′40.4″W / 40.756250°N 89.611222°W / 40.756250; -89.611222
Architecture
Architect(s)Gyo Obata (1967)
TypeSynagogue
StyleModernist
Date established1859 (as a congregation)
Completed
  • 1863 (Fulton St.)
  • 1880 (Fulton St.)
  • 1898 (Monroe St.)
  • 1967 (N. University St.)
Direction of façadeSouth
Website
anshaiemeth.org

Congregation Anshai Emeth (transliterated from Hebrew as "People of Truth"<re>Gilliland Wright, Mae (n.d.). "SACRED CONNECTIONS IN ART AND FAITH". Peoria Magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2024.) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5614 North University Street, in Peoria, Illinois, in the United States. Established in 1859, the synagogue is the second oldest Jewish congregation in Illinois, and as of 2019 has the largest membership of any Jewish congregation in Peoria.

Rabbi Bryna Milkow has served as the rabbi of the congregation since July 2017.

History

Early days

In about 1847, Anshai Emeth was founded when several Jewish families, immigrants from Western Europe affiliated with the Reform movement, came together to establish an organized religious community in the Peoria area. At first they gathered in either members houses or various buildings around Peoria. Later, services were held in various places such as Washington House on North Washington Street.[1]

Religious classes were organized in 1852.[1] The congregation also purchased land for a cemetery in 1852.[1] In 1859, Max Newman collected $3,000 toward a Jewish house of worship in Peoria.[2]

On May 2, 1863 they purchased a former Presbyterian church as the first synagogue in Peoria on Fulton, between Adams and Jefferson.[3][1][2] The congregation had about 34 members in 1863.[1][2]

Beth Israel

On October 2, 1874, new Jewish immigrants from Russia, Poland and Hungary affiliated with the Orthodox movement left Anshai Emeth to found their own congregation, named Beth Israel. They purchased the church on Seventh Street near Franklin, originally the Central Christian Church built in 1855.[3] After years of tensions between the two synagogues, in 1886 the two were united again, with Beth Israel selling their building and turning over their accounts to Anshai Emeth. Members of the community who did not wish to join the Reform congregation continued to hold services on their own where they could. That community would later create Congregation Agudas Achim, at first affiliated with the Orthodox movement.[4]

Temple built in 1898 at 521 NE Monroe St, now the Christian Assembly Church

New temples in 1880 and 1898

The congregation constructed a new temple on Fulton in 1880.[2] Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of American Reform Judaism, attended the dedication.[2] In 1896, the temple on Fulton was destroyed by fire.[1][3][2][5] A new temple was erected on the corner of Monroe and Hancock.[3] Erected in 1898 of Lake Superior sandstone, the cornerstone was laid on March 2, 1898 and was dedicated on September 9, 1898; Rabbi Wise attended the dedication.[1][2][6] This Gothic Revival style temple served the congregation until 1967.[3][7] The Fulton building was sold to the Christian Assembly Church.[3]

1958 bombing

On October 14, 1958, a crude pipe bomb exploded in the stairwell of the rear annex and shafted a basement door and a dozen windows.[8][9][10] An identical, unexploded pipe bomb had been found 16 months earlier at the Agudas Achim synagogue's construction site, at the corner of War Memorial and Sheridan.[8][11][12][13] Police chief Bernard Kennedy dismissed anti-Semitism as the motive, citing "mental derangement" instead.[8][14] Rabbi Joseph L. Ginsberg stated he believed it had some connection to a bombing of an Atlanta synagogue days earlier.[14][15] FBI special agent Robert D. Gibbons of the Springfield, Illinois office investigated.[11] President Eisenhower commented that the bombing was "a shocking and deplorable thing."[8] There were approximately 700 members in October 1958.[14] As of December 1958, the crime was still unsolved.[16]

New temple in 1967

Temple at 5614 N. University St.

A new synagogue, designed by Gyo Obata in the Modernist style, was dedicated on September 8, 1967.[1][2][17]

The Peoria Hebrew Day School, a private Jewish school, was established in 1971 and is housed in the lower half the building.[18] It is the only Jewish Day School in downstate Illinois.[19]

As of 1994, Congregation Agudas Achim, the Peoria traditional Jewish congregation, was invited to move into the building housing Anshai Emeth as well.[20] On January 1, 2005, the two congregations finalized a sharing agreement.[13] The old library was converted into a chapel with a new Ark, and a storage closet converted to a kosher kitchen.[13]

Sesquicentennial

The congregation celebrated 150 years in 2008 with events like a live auction, performance by Debbie Friedman, appearances by Rabbi Eric Yoffie and Rabbi Dan Rabishaw, and a large banquet.[17] In 2010, Anshai Emeth was the only synagogue at the sesquicentennial house of worship event hosted by the state historical society in Wheaton, Illinois.[21][22]

In May 2020, a dozen windows were smashed at the temple with bricks or rocks, causing an estimated $11,000 in damage to the Peoria Hebrew School section of the building.[23][24][25][26] Anshai Emeth president Steven Marx said it was just vandalism and not likely an anti-Semitic act.[23] As of October 2023, the temple had increased security measures such as surveillance cameras and bulletproof windows.[27]

Notable members

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Anshai Emeth History". Congregation Anshai Emeth. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Anshai Emeth". Peoria Journal Star. October 11, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Community – Bradley University Hillel | Your Jewish Connection at Bradley University". Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  4. ↑ David McCulloch History of Peoria County, Bell & Howell Company, 1902. pp. 337-338.
  5. ↑ "To Rebuild Hebrew Church at Peoria". Chicago Tribune. January 11, 1896. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "no title". Lake County Independent. March 11, 1898. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Mark W. (1986). "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: The Legacy of U.S. 19th Century Synagogues". American Jewish History. 75 (3): 296–306. ISSN 0164-0178.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Peoria Police, FBI Without Clues in Synagogue Bombing". Streator Daily Times-Press. October 15, 1958. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "October 24, 1958 - Image 32". The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives. October 24, 1958. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hearings. United States Congress House Committee on the Judiciary. 1959. p. 188 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 "Bomb Explodes in Peoria Synagogue Building; Damage is Slight". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 15, 1958. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Probing Peoria Blast". The Dispatch. October 14, 1958. p. 1.
  13. 1 2 3 "Our History". Congregation Agudas Achim. Peoria, IL. January 16, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 "Peoria Blast". Chicago Tribune. October 16, 1958. p. 33.
  15. ↑ Kellman, George (1959). "Anti-Jewish Agitation". The American Jewish Year Book. 60: 44–52. ISSN 0065-8987.
  16. ↑ "Peoria Rabbi Speaker at Dedication Dinner". The Decatur Daily Review. December 6, 1958. p. 2.
  17. 1 2 Ori, Ryan (October 11, 2008). "150 years of 'truth'". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  18. ↑ "About Us on". peoriahebrewdayschool.org. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  19. ↑ "About PHDS". Peoria Hebrew. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Our History on". agudasachim.wordpress.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  21. ↑ Adams, Pam (July 5, 2010). "Heartland: Area churches honored for 150 years or more of existence". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Sesquicentennial Houses of Worship Award". www.historyillinois.org. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  23. 1 2 "Several windows smashed at Reform synagogue in Peoria, Illinois". The Times of Israel. May 25, 2020.
  24. ↑ Sheehan, Matt (May 21, 2020). "Jewish Synagogue vandalized, dozen of windows broken". CIProud.com. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  25. ↑ Holt, Faygie Levy (May 23, 2020). "Synagogue Windows Shattered in Peoria, Illinois". Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  26. ↑ Vlahos, Nick (May 21, 2020). "Alleged vandals damage building that houses Peoria Jewish congregations". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  27. ↑ Porter, Madison (October 13, 2023). "'Your Jewish friends are not okay': Local synagogues are increasing security". 25 News Now. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  28. ↑ Horowitz, Daniel (2000). Betty Friedan And the Making of 'The Feminine Mystique' The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern Feminism. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 19.
  29. ↑ Anshai Emeth Directory: 1976-1977. Peoria, IL: Congregation Anshai Emeth.
  30. ↑ "Obituary for Eleanor Newman Goodman on". dignitymemeorial.com.
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