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Congregation Achduth Vesholom (transliterated from Hebrew as "Unity and Peace"[1][2][3]) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 5200 Old Mill Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the United States.[1][4]

History

Achduth Vesholom is the oldest congregation in Indiana, formed on October 26, 1848 as a German Orthodox congregation,[1][5][2][6] called "The Society for Visiting the Sick and Burying the Dead".[1][7] The congregation worshiped initially in private homes.[8][9]

In 1857, the synagogue purchased the former German Methodist Church building on Harrison Street for $1,200 ($39,000 today), which was dedicated as a synagogue.[2][9] The first rabbi was Joseph Solomon, who served until 1859.[9] In 1861, the congregation adopted its current name.[1][2]

On the corner of Harrison and Wayne Streets, the congregation built a Gothic Revival-style temple with seating for 800 people in 1874 at the cost of $25,000 ($673,000 today);[2][9] and in the same year the congregation joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.[6] Samuel Hirshberg was rabbi from 1891 to 1895.[10]

The congregation's third synagogue was completed in 1917, located at the corner of Wayne and Fairfield Streets;[6] and it moved to 5200 Old Mill Road in 1961.[2] In 1995, the synagogue hired a new rabbi, Sandford Kopnick,[11] and Rabbi Meir Bargeron commenced on July 1, 2020 as the congregation's 24th spiritual leader.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Landman, Isaac (1941). The Universal Jewish encyclopedia ...: an authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee (1996). The American synagogue: a historical dictionary and sourcebook. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-313-28856-2. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Sarna, Jonathan D. (2005). American Judaism: a history. Yale University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780300101973. Retrieved June 29, 2011. Congregation Achduth Vesholom.
  4. ^ Wemhoff, David (2011). Just Be Catholic. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4567-1818-3. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus (1912). The Jewish encyclopedia: a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times to the present day. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c "Our Story". Templecav.org. Retrieved June 29, 2011.[self-published source?]
  7. ^ Marcus, Jacob Rader (1989). United States Jewry, 1776–1985. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-2186-7. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Violette, Ralph (1999). Fort Wayne, Indiana. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-6339-8. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b c d Valley of the upper Maumee River; with historical account of Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Brant & Fuller. 1889. p. 314. Retrieved June 29, 2011. Congregation Achduth Vesholom.
  10. ^ American Jewish year book. American Jewish Committee. Jewish Publication Society of America. 1903. Retrieved June 29, 2011 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Achduth Vesholom Celebrates its Dedication, New Rabbi". Fort Wayne News Sentinel. November 1, 1995. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  12. ^ "Past Rabbis and Presidents". Congregation Achduth Vesholom. Retrieved January 9, 2024.[self-published source?]

External links