Congregation Beth Israel (New Orleans)
Synagogue in New Orleans, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Congregation Beth Israel (Hebrew: בית ישראל) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States.
Congregation Beth Israel | |
---|---|
Hebrew: בית ישראל | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
Leadership | Rabbi Philip Kaplan |
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, Louisiana |
Country | United States |
Location in Louisiana | |
Geographic coordinates | 30°00′54″N 90°10′43″W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Emile Weil (1924) |
Date established | 1903 (as a congregation) |
Completed |
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Website | |
bethisraelnola |
Founded in 1903 or 1904,[1] though tracing its roots back to 1857, it is the oldest Orthodox congregation in the New Orleans region.[2][3] Originally located on Carondelet Street in New Orleans' Central City, it constructed and moved to a building at 7000 Canal Boulevard in Lakeview, New Orleans, in 1971.[4]
At one time the largest Orthodox congregation in the Southern United States, its membership was over 500 families in the 1960s, but fell to under 200 by 2005.[3][4] That year, its Canal Boulevard building was severely flooded by the 2005 New Orleans levee failure disaster during Hurricane Katrina.[5] Despite attempts to save them,[6] all seven of its Torah scrolls were destroyed,[7] as were over 3,000 prayer books.[8] The building suffered further flooding damage caused by the theft of copper air-conditioning tubing in 2007.[5]
In the wake of Katrina, another 50 member families left New Orleans, including the rabbis.[3][9] The congregation began sharing space with Gates of Prayer, a Reform synagogue in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. In 2009, the congregation purchased land from Gates of Prayer, and by 2012 had built a new synagogue next to it at 4000 West Esplanade Avenue.[10][11][12] As of 2016[update] the rabbi was Gabriel Greenberg.[13]