The Temple Beth Israel that stands in Clarksdale, Mississippi today was built in 1910, after 15 years of worshipping in the homes of the 5 Jewish families who lived in there at the time. Due to an increasing influx of Jewish Eastern European immigrants, there were 46 Jewish families living there by the 1920s. In 1910, the Jews there felt the need to build an actual sanctuary, not yet the once pictured above. They were able to construct the building due to donations from both Jews and non-Jews in the surrounding communities. Upon its construction, one of the members bought a $200 Torah from New York City, and he paid for it by auctioning off the honor of carrying the Torah to the arc of the sanctuary on the temple’s opening day.
By 1916, a Sunday school program was set up with 50 students ranging from three to sixteen, and that number increased to 131 by 1939. At the same time the temple was being established, the community founded a B’nai Brith chapter which met in the temple as well.
A conflict began to arise between the original immigrants who were Orthodox observers and the American born Jews who were more assimilated and wanted to practice Reform Judaism, so in 1929, the Jewish community built a new Temple Beth Israel (pictured left) which could house services for both groups of people.
Throughout its existence, the Jewish community sought out many short term Rabbis, who not only served as the Rabbi, but also as a figure of Jewish life in the town, certifying food as kosher as well as advocating for Jewish rights and the rights of others.
About a half a century ago, the Clarksdale Jews began to dwindle due to a declining cotton industry, and today, what used to be a congregation of 395 Jews is now 14. The remaining members sold the building in 2003, after hosting a farewell service where old congregants came to say goodbye and share their fondest memories at the synagogue. One congregant stated that “it [was there] and in [his] home [he] learned to love Judasim and the meaning of tzedakah.” Another congregant member shared that “in the midst of being an open welcoming friendly neighbor to all the citizens of this community, [the] congregation did more to diminish anti-Semitism here. Congregations like this are why in large part…we American Jews enjoy the respect and friendship of our neighbors and why American Judaism has flourished.”
Today, the congregation is using the proceeds from selling the temple to preserve the Jewish cemetery in Clarksdale in order to honor their ancestors and the once thriving Jewish community there.
Source: Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Jewish Life Source: Grossman, Rob. "Jewish Communities Fade in Small Towns." Ariticles.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2004. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Photo Source: Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Jewish Life Word Count: 443