Congregation Temple Israel (Creve Coeur, Missouri)
Congregation Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue in Creve Coeur, Missouri, USA, a municipality in suburban St. Louis County. Temple Israel's founders differed in opinion from the leadership of Shaare Emeth, favoring the more liberal political and theological view point that was sweeping parts of Europe and the United States at the time. One of these founders was Rabbi Solomon H. Sonneschein, who became Temple Israel's first rabbi. During the first year of operation, Temple Israel had between 60 and 70 members, and 604 persons attended the first Erev Rosh Hashanah services.
Rabbis
Rabbis 1886-1890 Solomon H. Sonneschein 1890-1928 Leon Harrison 1929-1963 Ferdinand M. Isserman 1963-1967 Martin E. Katzenstein 1967-1987 Alvan D. Rubin 1987-2010 Mark L. Shook 2010-present Amy Feder Associate and assistant rabbis 1958-1960 Arnold S. Task 1961-1963 Martin E. Katzenstein 1964-1966 Stanley J. Garfein 1966-1968 Richard F. Steinbrink 1968-1975 Alan D. Bregman 1972-1980 Mark L. Shook 1975-1978 Joseph P. Klein 1978-1983 Gary A. Huber 1980-1982 Martin L. Levy 1982-1987 Donald M. Kundstadt 1983-1985 Frank W. Muller 1985-1995 Eric J. Bram 1995-2000 Steven L. Mills 2000-2005 Amy B. Bigman 2003-2008 John A. Franken 2006-2010 Amy Feder 2008-present Michael Alper
Board presidents
First President Isaac Schwab Second President Moses Shoenberg Third President William Stix Fourth President Moses Fraley Fifth President David Treichlinger Sixth President Aaron Fuller Seventh President David Sommers 1920-1930 Jules Glaser 1931-1937 Jesse A. Wolfort 1938-1940 Emil Mayer 1941-1942 Maurice Weil 1943-1945 Harry L. Franc 1946-1948 Adolph H. Rosenberg 1949-1950 Earl Susman 1951-1954 Harold W. Dubinsky 1955-1958 Melvin S. Strassner 1959-1961 Joseph Kutten 1962-1965 Edward A. Scallet 1966-1969 Marvin S. Levin 1970-1973 William B. Eiseman, Jr. 1974-1976 Robert S. Goldenhersh 1977-1979 Arthur E. Ansehl 1980-1983 Paul P. Weil 1984-1987 Merle L. Silverstein 1988-1990 Gary Follman 1990-1993 Ellen Deutsch 1994-1995 Leonard Adreon 1995-1998 Karen L. Knopf 1998-2000 Daniel J. Schwartz 2000-2003 Cary J. Mogerman 2004-2006 Neil J. Handelman 2006-2010 David L. Weinstein, M.D. 2011-2013 JoAnne Levy 2014-2017 Dee A. Mogerman 2018-2019 Robert D. Litz 2020-Present Louise Losos
Facilities
The first Temple Israel building - a stone temple located off 28th and Pine Street - was completed in 1888. As Temple Israel's membership grew, the downtown location became inconvenient, and so a lot was purchased on Kingshighway and Washington Boulevards. In 1957, membership had grown to 1,358, and a larger facility was needed to accommodate. The cornerstone of a new Temple Israel building was laid on June 18, 1960, though only after a legal battle with the city when the congregation chose its new home. The synagogue was involved in litigation against the City ofCreve Coeur when the City changed its zoning rules to prohibit any churches, including the synagogue, just after the synagogue purchased land for a new building. The Supreme Court of Missouri ruled that state law did not authorize municipalities to regulate the location of churches.
The synagogue conducted its first wedding for an LGBT couple in 2008. In 2010, Temple Israel made history by promoting assistant rabbi, Amy Feder, 31, to senior rabbi, making her the youngest female senior rabbi to lead a large Reform congregation in North America. In 2018, the Temple had approximately 900 member households.
