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Song leader Naomi Morse
leads the congregation’s
musical ensemble at the 150th
anniversary Shabbat service.

Marking150 Years

Kalamazoo’s Temple B’nai Israel celebrates its past and looks toward the future.

JOAN HAWXHURST | Special to the Jewish News

T

emple B’nai Israel, Kalamazoo’s
Reform congregation, is celebrating
the 150th anniversary of its founding
by 20 Jewish pioneer families in 1866.
The congregation, whose history includes
at least 10 physical locations and eras of
both prosperity and challenge, has much to
celebrate these days. Under the leadership
of Rabbi Matthew Zerwekh since 2014, TBI
has experienced significant membership and
engagement growth.

EARLY HISTORY
In the 1860s, Kalamazoo was a frontier town
of about 6,000, including a small number of
Jewish immigrants from Germany who start-
ed successful retail businesses, prospered and
contributed to the growth of the wider com-
munity. These early Jews — among them
the Israel, Rosenberg, Desenberg, Lilienfeld,
Rosenbaum and Folz families — valued their
religious heritage, and they officially orga-
nized Congregation B’nai Israel in 1865.

Congregation B’nai Israel’s first building on
South Street in Kalamazoo

Congregants David Goldenberg and Mark Hurwitz enjoy Sesquicentenni-
ALE with Rabbi Matt Zerwekh at the picnic.

18 August 4 • 2016

The group’s first action was to acquire land
for a burial ground on property adjoining
Mountain Home Cemetery on West Main
Street. This land is still in use by Temple
B’nai Israel. The cemetery features a histori-
cal marker in honor of Edward Israel, son
of founding TBI member Mannus Israel.
A 22-year-old graduate of the University of
Michigan, Edward was serving in 1884 as
expedition scientist on the nation’s first polar
expedition, led by Lt. Adolphus W. Greeley,

when he died while waiting to be rescued
after the supply ship carrying food and sup-
plies to the encampment sank.
In 1873, the congregation purchased prop-
erty at 152 E. South St., and a synagogue —
recognized as the first dedicated synagogue
building constructed in Michigan — and
school were erected on the downtown lot.
The temple dedication on Jan. 29, 1875, was

continued on page 20

Members of TBI’s history committee: Jo Hartenstein-
McIntyre, Raye Ziring and Jacob Weintraub.