Knesseth Israel Congregation
Knesseth Israel Congregation is an Orthodox Jewish shul (synagogue) which has its origins in the first Orthodox congregation to organize in Birmingham in 1899. The synagogue is currently located at 3100 Overton Road. The rabbi is Karmi Ingber.
Their first building was constructed in 1903 on the southwest corner of 17th Street and 7th Avenue North, 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. The original synagogue was later incorporated into the structure of the Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God on that site.
In 2004 Knesseth was moving forward with plans for a new building when consideration was given to relocating to the site of the former Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church on Overton Road. The move gave the congregation a return on the high value of the Montevallo Road property, which faces the Birmingham Country Club golf course. It also brought the congregation within a few blocks of the Bais Ariel Chabad Center, strengthening ties within Birmingham's Orthodox community.
The new 18,000 square-foot brick building was completed in Fall 2007. On November 19, the congregation held a celebratory procession to the new building, carrying the congregation's six Torah scrolls. The new facility includes a sanctuary, a chapel, offices, classrooms, library, social hall and two kitchens for preparation of kosher meals.
Rabbis
- M. Herman (1891)
- M. Grosberg (1897 - 1899)
- Rev. Yasgour (1904)
- J. T. Loeb (1909 - 1913)
- A. Feinsilver (1913 - 1918)
- Jacob Mendelsohn (1918 - 1920)
- David Stein (1920 - 1924)
- Benjamin Chaimovitz (1925 - 1926)
- H. A. Leibovitz (1928 - 1930)
- Abraham Bengis (1930 - 1933)
- Isadore Sperling (lay rabbi, 1933 - 1934)
- Alex Klein (1937 - 1941)
- Louis Werfel (1942-1943)
- Joseph Goldberg (1943 - 1946)
- Jonathan Silverberg (1949 - 1955)
- David Tamarkin (1955 - 1957)
- Seymour Atlas (1959 - 1960)
- Nahum Benathan (1963 - 1967)
- Moshe Stern (1968-1980)
- Reuven Tradburks (1987-1994)
- Meir Rosenberg (1996-1998)
- Avraham Shmidman (1998-2007)
- Karmi Ingber (2007 - 2009)
- Eldad Zamir (2009) (visiting Rabbi for High Holidays)
References
- Garrison, Greg (November 24, 2007) "New Knesseth Israel Orthodox synagogue opens in Birmingham." Birmingham News.
- Wolfson, Hannah (October 1, 2006) "Knesseth Israel moving to Overton Road." Birmingham News.
- Garrison, Greg (September 17, 2004) "Knesseth Israel plans to rebuild." Birmingham News.
External links
- Knesseth Israel Congregation website