R
eform synagogue
Temple B’nai Israel
(TBI) has been a fix-
ture in the Kalamazoo com-
munity for over 150 years.
TBI was officially organized
in Kalamazoo by a group of 20
Jewish families who emigrated
from Germany. The bylaws
were signed on Jan. 7, 1866,
and Temple B’nai Israel offi-
cially came into being. Temple
B’nai Israel was one of the
34 founding members of the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
Rabbi Samuel Thurman was
elected as the fifth spiritual
leader in 1908. With Rabbi
Thurman’s encouragement,
a new building site was pur-
chased on South Park Street.
The congregation thrived
under the leadership of Rabbi
Thurman. However, following
his departure, membership
declined. Unable to secure a
permanent rabbi, the congre-
gation’s needs were met by
using the services of rabbinic
students.
Without a full-time resident
spiritual leader, the congre-
gation declined in member-
ship. The decline continued
through the 1930s and 1940s,
and the congregation strug-
gled to survive. When mem-
bership declined to 20 fami-
lies, the congregation decided
that maintaining the building
was no longer practical and, in
1946, the Park Street building
was sold.
In the summer of 1992, the
congregation was a beneficiary
of the estate of David Lowe,
a former member of Temple
B’nai Israel. The financial
security this gift granted the
congregation stimulated a
great deal of interest in pur-
suing a permanent home for
TBI.
After a lengthy search, TBI
purchased the Judson Baptist
Church on Grand Prairie
Road in August 1994. Temple
B’nai Israel had a permanent
place to call home for the first
time in 48 years.
During this time, the deci-
sion was made to seek an
ordained rabbi, instead of stu-
dent rabbis, to serve the con-
gregation on a part-time basis.
Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana was
the first rabbi to assume this
position.
Eventually, following his
ordination in May 2014, Rabbi
Matthew Zerwekh (who now
serves at Temple Emanu-El in
Oak Park) was the first full-
time spiritual leader of Temple
B’nai Israel since 1969.
In July 2018, the congre-
gation welcomed its first
full-time woman
rabbi, Rabbi
Simone Schicker.
“The congre-
gation as a whole
is very proud of
its history and
the presence of
the community
in Kalamazoo,” Schicker said.
“
A big piece of that is our wel-
coming nature. We’re a small
place, about 100 household
units, and we span the age
Temple B’nai Israel still going strong after 150 years.
A Fixture in
Kalamazoo
Rabbi
Simone
Schicker
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
18 | JUNE 16 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT
Temple B’nai Israel in Kalamazoo
COURTESY OF TBI