B'nai Israel Traditional Synagogue Explained

B'nai Israel Traditional Synagogue
Image Upright:1.4
Religious Affiliation:Conservative Judaism
Rite:Ashkenazic
Festivals:-->
Organizational Status:-->
Status:Synagogue
Functional Status:Active
Location:1907 Vance Ave, Alexandria, Louisiana
Country:United States
Map Type:Louisiana
Map Size:250
Map Relief:1
Coordinates:31.2951°N -92.4533°W
Architecture Type:Syngagogue
Architecture Style:Mid-Century modernism
Established:1913
Year Completed:1954
Date Destroyed:-->
Capacity:100 worshippers
Materials:Concrete block
Elevation Ft:-->

B'nai Israel Traditional Synagogue is a Conservative synagogue located at 1907 Vance Ave, Alexandria, Louisiana, in the United States. It was founded in 1913 as an Orthodox synagogue by Jews from Poland and Russia, many of whom arrived in Alexandria and Central Louisiana as part of the Galveston Movement. In the 1950s the congregation became Conservative.

History

The first shul was located at Fourth and Lee Streets. Ten years after B'nai Israel's founding, the congregation had twenty members. A full-time rabbi, Rabbi Jacob Aronson, led Shabbat services and a cheder, which met three times per week. The religious school soon thereafter met six days per week that "provided instruction in Hebrew language, history, and the Bible."[1] By 1940, the congregation had its own building and a small cemetery just north of the city.

In the 1950s a new concrete block building was constructed on Vance Avenue. The rectangular structure was designed with Mid-Century modern architecture.

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/la/HistoryofAlexandriaCongregations.htm Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities , "History of Alexandria Congregations "