Temple B’nai Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the state of Mississippi, was founded in 1843. By 1861, this small community of mostly French- and German-speaking merchants, auctioneers, shoemakers, and peddlers was ready to erect its first house of worship, but the outbreak of the Civil War delayed its plans for several years. Finally, in 1872, the congregation dedicated its first temple on the current site—an occasion of great celebration as “Jews and Gentiles filled the temple beyond its capacity and great crowds stood upon the sidewalks and street.”
A charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism), B’nai Israel is a Reform Jewish community that has served as the spiritual home for Jews from Natchez and the surrounding communities for 175 years. Members of B’nai Israel have long been active in the political, commercial, and social life of Natchez. Isaac Lowenburg and S. B. Laub served as Mayor; another member served as Deputy Sheriff and County Treasurer; and several others served as Aldermen, Trustees of the Natchez Institute, and officers of the Natchez Board of Trade. Women of the temple have served on the boards of the Natchez Protestant Orphan Asylum (now Natchez Children’s Home Services) and the Natchez City Cemetery Association, and, as members of local garden clubs, have worked to promote heritage tourism in Natchez.
The congregation reached its peak membership in 1906, shortly after the dedication of its second (and current) temple. The unfortunate arrival of the boll weevil in 1908 ushered in an economic decline that led to a slow but steady exodus from Natchez of members of the Jewish community. Since the retirement in 1976 of the congregation’s last full-time rabbi, Arthur Lebowitz, members of Temple B’nai Israel have continued to hold regular services with the assistance of student rabbis from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and visiting rabbis from the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL). Though few in number, the remaining members are committed to preserving Jewish life and history in Natchez, and, in partnership with the ISJL, are working to ensure a secure future for their beautiful house of worship.
A charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism), B’nai Israel is a Reform Jewish community that has served as the spiritual home for Jews from Natchez and the surrounding communities for 175 years. Members of B’nai Israel have long been active in the political, commercial, and social life of Natchez. Isaac Lowenburg and S. B. Laub served as Mayor; another member served as Deputy Sheriff and County Treasurer; and several others served as Aldermen, Trustees of the Natchez Institute, and officers of the Natchez Board of Trade. Women of the temple have served on the boards of the Natchez Protestant Orphan Asylum (now Natchez Children’s Home Services) and the Natchez City Cemetery Association, and, as members of local garden clubs, have worked to promote heritage tourism in Natchez.
The congregation reached its peak membership in 1906, shortly after the dedication of its second (and current) temple. The unfortunate arrival of the boll weevil in 1908 ushered in an economic decline that led to a slow but steady exodus from Natchez of members of the Jewish community. Since the retirement in 1976 of the congregation’s last full-time rabbi, Arthur Lebowitz, members of Temple B’nai Israel have continued to hold regular services with the assistance of student rabbis from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and visiting rabbis from the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL). Though few in number, the remaining members are committed to preserving Jewish life and history in Natchez, and, in partnership with the ISJL, are working to ensure a secure future for their beautiful house of worship.
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Read a complete history of the Jewish community of Natchez and Temple B'nai Israel in the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, maintained and hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life.
Listen to Robin Amer's The Last Jews of Natchez, featured on the Southern Foodways Alliance podcast. She tells the story of her family, who have lived in Natchez for over 160 years. View a 360-degree view of Temple B'nai Israel featured on Synagogues 360. |
