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The '''Temple Beth-El''' (ק.ק. בית אל), located at the intersection of [[Palafox Street|Palafox]] and [[Cervantes Street]]s in [[North Hill]], is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Florida. Beth-El is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, and has led the congregation in Reform Judaism services since the temple's foundation.
The current rabbi is [[Leonard ZukrowJoel Fleekop]].
==History==
The first Jews who migrated to northwest Florida originally stopped at [[Milton, Florida|Milton]], twenty miles to the east, because Milton was a national hub for lumber production and distribution in the South (the first Jews to the area were skilled in lumber production; they came from heavily wooded areas in what is now southern Germany). Other Jewish families lived in Pensacola, but fled during Union occupation in the [[Civil War]]. The population began to return in [[1865]], and in late [[1876]] ten Jewish families joined together to establish a [[Wikipedia:Reform Judaism|Reform]] congregation and build a temple, located at 37 East [[Chase Street]] (near [[Jefferson Street|Jefferson]]). [[Gerson Forscheimer]] was the Temple's first president, and board members included [[S. M. Goldbach]], [[Lewis Kahn]], [[Michael Levy]], [[Adolph GoldstruckerGoldstucker]], [[Morris Dannheiser]] and [[Jacob Kahn]]. The congregation had no rabbi, so Goldstrucker Goldstucker conducted services.
[[Image:TempleBethEl-FormerBuilding.jpg|thumb|rightleft|180px|Second temple at 37 East [[Chase Street]], looking southwest]]
[[Image:BethEl2.jpg|thumb|right|Chase Street temple, looking southeast]]
The Temple was granted a charter by the State of Florida in [[1878]] under the Beth-El name, making it Florida's first formally recognized Jewish congregation. Many of the lumber workers in Milton did not follow the congregation, and eventually started a smaller Jewish community in [[Okaloosa County]] when lumber opportunities dried up. Temple Beth-El joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in [[1889]] and engaged its first rabbi, [[Adolph Rosenberg]], in [[1892]].
The temple was rebuilt at its current site atop [[Gage Hill]] at 800 North [[Palafox Street]] in [[1931]]. The building committee included chairman [[Max L. Bear]], [[Joseph M. Levy]], [[Dan S. Oppenheimer]] and Dr. [[Mozart A. Lischkoff]]. The three-story building's design had a seating capacity of 350 in the sanctuary and reflected the Art Deco style popular at the time. The cornerstone was laid on [[June 1]] (the sixteenth day of [[Wikipedia:Sivan|Sivan]], [[Wikipedia:5691_(Hebrew_year)|5691]]), and the following statement was recorded:
<blockquote>All of the members of this congregation with the exception of two who were financially unaleunable, have contributed to the building fund of the Temple. It is hoped that a mortgage will not become necessary in spite of the [[Great Depression|financial crisis]] from which the whole country (and the world at large) is suffering, as one of the disastrous after-effects of the [[World War I|World War]]. May future generations achieve the wisdom and the courage necessary to avoid this horrible crime: WAR. May they live in harmony and peace!</blockquote>
A Religious School with nine classrooms was added in [[1960]].
==Well-known members==
*Paula Ackerman, both as a child and later serving the congregation as a rabbi.
==Temple leaders==
*Rabbi [[Sam Lasky]]
*Rabbi [[A. Posman]]
*Rabbi [[M. Gugenheim]]
*Rabbi [[Isaac E. Wagenheim]]
*Rabbi [[J. Schwartz]]
==Other images==