Temple Israel (Stockton, California)
History
The congregation was founded during the California Gold Rush as a Jewish society called Rhyim Ahovim (transliterated from Hebrew as "Loving Friends") by tradition in 1849 but documentably no later than 1850. Other sources say that the congregation was founded in 1851.
The first building, on Miner Avenue, between El Dorado and Hunter, was completed on August 28, 1855. It was a simple, frame structure built on brick foundations of wood that had been shipped around the Horn, since no sawmill yet existed in Stockton. During the flood of 1861-62, the building flooded with 2 feet (0.61 m) of water, causing the congregation to move it to higher ground on Hunter Street.
The rabbi, since 1993, is Rabbi Jason M. Gwasdoff.
See also
- History of the Jews in the American West
- Oldest synagogues in the United States
- Temple Israel Cemetery, designated as California Historical Landmark No. 765
References
- ^ Schwartz, Mrs. David "Bea" (1969). "The Oldest Jewish Cemetery in the West, Stockton, California". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ "No title". Occident and American Jewish Advocate. Philadelphia. February 1856.
- ^ Kahn, Ava Fran (2002). Jewish voices of the California gold rush: a documentary history, 1849-1880. Wayne State University Press. p. 361.
External links
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