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

