A

lpena’s Temple Beth-El is Michigan’s only synagogue east of 
I-75 from Bay City to Sault Ste. Marie. 
“We are an oasis of Judaism along Lake Huron,
” said 
Ken Diamond, who’s been president of the congregation for almost 
three years. 
Temple Beth-El’s rich history dates to the late 19th century when 
Julius Myers, a merchant who was among the first Jewish residents 
of Alpena, settled in the area sometime before 1867. Myers would 
serve as one of the founders and presidents of Alpena’s Hebrew 
Benevolent Society, founded in 1875 for the purpose of securing 
a cemetery and providing support for Jewish families in the area. 
That cemetery is still available and viable — the Hebrew Benevolent 
Society Cemetery. 
By 1887, some 45 Jewish adults had settled in the area, finding 
great opportunity in the booming lumbering trade. 
The Hebrew Benevolent Society began to organize for a syna-
gogue, forming a congregation known as Beth Tefelol. Once that 
entity formally separated from the Society and acquired a corporate 
existence, it adopted the name Temple Beth-El. The first organiza-
tional meeting of the new congregation was held on Oct. 19, 1890. 
In 1891, Temple Beth-El moved into its building on East White 
Street and has held services there ever since. The interior of the 

Alpena’s Temple Beth-El has been in 
the same building since 1891.

Thriving on 
Michigan’s Coastline

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

18 | OCTOBER 6 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY
SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT

Alpena’s 
Temple 
Beth-El

Dedication of the bimah cover to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The stained glass at Temple Beth El