b'\n_START_ARTICLE_\nTemplo Israel\n_START_SECTION_\nEarly history (1853\xe2\x80\x931857)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nEl Templo Israelita fue establecida como la congregaci\xc3\xb3n ortodoxa B\'nai Israel en 1853 por 36 jefes de familia, y concedi\xc3\xb3 una carta por la legislatura estatal el 2 de marzo de 1854. Se desarroll\xc3\xb3 a partir de la Sociedad Hebrea de Beneficencia de Memphis, establecieron en 1850 por jud\xc3\xados alemanes. La Sociedad de Beneficencia logr\xc3\xb3 el cementerio jud\xc3\xado de Memphis, apoyando a los jud\xc3\xados pobres, y llev\xc3\xb3 a cabo los servicios de las Altas Fiestas. La congregaci\xc3\xb3n fue llevada inicialmente por cantores a tiempo parcial. El primero fue Jonas Levy, quien hab\xc3\xada sido contratado como cantor y matarife ritual. Levy fue sucedido por H. Jud\xc3\xa1 y luego J. Stemheimer. Una escuela hebrea tambi\xc3\xa9n fue creada, dirigida por Stemheimer. En 1857, B\'nai Israel contratado como organista Christopher Philip Winkler, descrito por Tim Sharp (Decano de Bellas Artes de la universidad de Rodas en Memphis) como el "decano de los m\xc3\xbasicos de Memphis". Nacido en Alemania en 1824, que hab\xc3\xada emigrado a los Estados Unidos a los 16 a\xc3\xb1os, y se traslad\xc3\xb3 a Memphis en 1854. All\xc3\xad ense\xc3\xb1\xc3\xb3 m\xc3\xbasica, present\xc3\xb3 y compuso obras para los servicios de B\'nai Israel; para 1894 hab\xc3\xada completado m\xc3\xa1s de 850 piezas para la congregaci\xc3\xb3n._NEWLINE_En sus primeras d\xc3\xa9cadas, la multitud adoraba en varios lugares en el centro de Memphis, cerca de la l\xc3\xadnea de costa del r\xc3\xado Mississippi. Recibi\xc3\xb3 un legado de $ 2.000 (hoy en d\xc3\xada $ 57.000) de la herencia de Nueva Orleans fil\xc3\xa1ntropo Jud\xc3\xa1 Touro, y lo utiliz\xc3\xb3 para comprar un lote en la segunda calle, pero no se sent\xc3\xada econ\xc3\xb3micamente lo suficientemente seguro como para construir una sinagoga, y, finalmente, vendi\xc3\xb3 la propiedad. La congregaci\xc3\xb3n sostuvo a cambio servicios en hogares de los miembros en 1853, y posteriormente (hasta 1857) alquil\xc3\xb3 varios locales en la calle delantera. Los fondos de Touro finalmente permitieron a los miembros de arrendar el edificio a los agricultores y al Banco Mercantil en calles principales y el intercambio en finales de 1857, los cuales ellos convirtieron en una sinagoga, los fondos para la renovaci\xc3\xb3n fueron elevados por dos comit\xc3\xa9s; uno solicit\xc3\xb3 donaciones de "todos los hijos de Israel en esta ciudad", mientras que la tarea del otro era "para recibir las suscripciones de los gentiles". Se sacaron fondos adicionales mediante la venta de asientos reservados en los miembros del nuevo santuario. Una subasta se realiz\xc3\xb3 el 18 de marzo de 1858, en la que 50 asientos de los hombres se vendieron por $ 343 (hoy $ 9.400), y los 44 asientos de mujeres por $158 (hoy $4.300). Los locales renovados ten\xc3\xadan asientos para 150 hombres y 50 mujeres aproximadamente. En 1860, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n se contrajo para comprar la propiedad; en 1865, pose\xc3\xada de plano y estaba libre de deuda. El 2 de marzo de 2007, 153 a\xc3\xb1os despu\xc3\xa9s del d\xc3\xada en la congregaci\xc3\xb3n recibi\xc3\xb3 su carta del estado de Tennessee, un marcador hist\xc3\xb3rico fue erigido por la Comisi\xc3\xb3n Hist\xc3\xb3rica del Condado de Shelby, la Sociedad Americana para la preservaci\xc3\xb3n hist\xc3\xb3rica jud\xc3\xada, y el templo Israelita, en la esquina donde la sinagoga se hab\xc3\xada alzado. Se describe el edificio como la "Primera Casa Permanente de culto jud\xc3\xado en Tennessee"._NEWLINE_La pertenencia a la B\'nai Israelita fue restringida a los hombres, y la asistencia a las reuniones trimestrales (al menos) era obligatorio. Los hombres que no recibieron una reuni\xc3\xb3n sin una excusa razonable fueron multados. Los miembros tambi\xc3\xa9n instituyeron normas destinadas a proteger la imagen de la peque\xc3\xb1a congregaci\xc3\xb3n jud\xc3\xada en los ojos de la comunidad cristiana mucho m\xc3\xa1s grande. Los nuevos miembros tuvieron que ser aprobados por una votaci\xc3\xb3n secreta, y los miembros existentes podr\xc3\xadan vetar a candidatos. Un miembro tambi\xc3\xa9n podr\xc3\xada ser suspendido o expulsado si actu\xc3\xb3 de un comportamiento inapropiado. _NEWLINE_B\'nai Israelita era la \xc3\xbanica congregaci\xc3\xb3n jud\xc3\xada en Memphis, y los miembros desde el momento en que se estableci\xc3\xb3 se dividieron entre los tradicionalistas y los reformadores. Cuando la remodelaci\xc3\xb3n de su nuevo edificio, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n vot\xc3\xb3 de dieciocho a catorce para mantener el tradicional acomodo de asientos para\xc2\xa0los hombres y las mujeres de forma separada. En 1858, con fondos suficientes para contratar a un l\xc3\xadder espiritual de tiempo completo, consultaron al rabino Isaac Leeser, el l\xc3\xadder de la comunidad jud\xc3\xada ortodoxa de los Estados Unidos, sino que tambi\xc3\xa9n estaban en contacto con el rabino Isaac Mayer Wise, el l\xc3\xadder del movimiento de la Reforma incipiente Americana, quien hab\xc3\xada dedicado el santuario de B\'nai Israelita a principios de ese a\xc3\xb1o. Los miembros hab\xc3\xadan anunciado para su primer l\xc3\xadder espiritual en el peri\xc3\xb3dico de Wise, el israelita (junto con otros peri\xc3\xb3dicos jud\xc3\xados en idioma Ingl\xc3\xa9s), al mismo tiempo que anunciaban para un carnicero kosher. Leeser recomiendo Jacob J. Peres, un rabino ortodoxo.\n_START_SECTION_\nPeres era (1858\xe2\x80\x931860)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nNacido y criado en los Pa\xc3\xadses Bajos, Peres hab\xc3\xada sido un ni\xc3\xb1o prodigio quien, antes de cumplir los dieciocho a\xc3\xb1os, hab\xc3\xada editado una gram\xc3\xa1tica hebrea, as\xc3\xad como un volumen de refranes escritos en cinco idiomas. Despu\xc3\xa9s de su graduaci\xc3\xb3n de la escuela secundaria, se le hab\xc3\xada dado un estipendio por Guillermo I de los Pa\xc3\xadses Bajos para asistir al seminario Israelita de los Pa\xc3\xadses Bajos, donde realiz\xc3\xb3 dos estudios seculares y rab\xc3\xadnicos. \xc3\x89l fue muy versado en matem\xc3\xa1ticas, lengua, la literatura y la ley, y co-fundador de Peres y Micou, un bufete de abogados. _NEWLINE_B\'nai Israelita contrat\xc3\xb3 a Peres en diciembre de 1858 como cantor y profesor, en Ingl\xc3\xa9s y alem\xc3\xa1n, con un sueldo anual de $ 600 (hoy $ 16,000) con gratificaciones de $ 400. En comparaci\xc3\xb3n, el salario del carnicero kosher fue de $ 300, sin incluir lo que ganaba matar a las aves de corral. Peres tambi\xc3\xa9n manej\xc3\xb3 la escuela hebrea y el coro, y era en efecto el rabino. Bajo su direcci\xc3\xb3n, el n\xc3\xbamero de miembros tomaron un inter\xc3\xa9s serio en la dif\xc3\xadcil situaci\xc3\xb3n de los jud\xc3\xados en todo el mundo. Por ejemplo, en una reuni\xc3\xb3n de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n en enero de 1860, se reunieron el dinero de la tesorer\xc3\xada de los miembros presentes y de B\'nai Israelita para ayudar a los Jud\xc3\xados Marroqu\xc3\xades necesitados, y crearon un comit\xc3\xa9 para recaudar fondos a trav\xc3\xa9s de Memphis en su nombre. La congregaci\xc3\xb3n tambi\xc3\xa9n se movi\xc3\xb3 m\xc3\xa1s hacia la ortodoxa, y aprob\xc3\xb3 una regla que indica que s\xc3\xb3lo los miembros que eran observantes del Sabbath podr\xc3\xadan recibir los honores de la Tor\xc3\xa1 en los D\xc3\xadas Santos._NEWLINE_Peres no encontr\xc3\xb3 sus salarios suficientes para mantenerse a s\xc3\xad mismo, su esposa y sus cuatro hijos. Para complementar sus ingresos, abri\xc3\xb3 una tienda de comestibles y un negocio a comisi\xc3\xb3n (venta de bienes de otros en consignaci\xc3\xb3n) con su hermano. Como era s\xc3\xa1bado (d\xc3\xada de reposo jud\xc3\xado) tambi\xc3\xa9n es el d\xc3\xada de mayor actividad para el comercio, decidi\xc3\xb3 mantener su negocio abierto en ese d\xc3\xada, algo prohibido por la ley jud\xc3\xada, y en desacuerdo con la regla que hab\xc3\xada defendido. Algunos de los congregantes se opusieron, y hasta abril de 1860 reuni\xc3\xb3n trimestral de B\'nai Israelita, se presentaron cargos contra \xc3\xa9l; en un juicio posterior a una corte jud\xc3\xada, fue declarado culpable y despedido. En respuesta, \xc3\xa9l demand\xc3\xb3 a la congregaci\xc3\xb3n en un tribunal civil por los salarios perdidos y difamaci\xc3\xb3n. El caso establece un precedente, el cual lleg\xc3\xb3 a la Corte Suprema de Tennessee, se decidi\xc3\xb3 a su favor en cuanto a la p\xc3\xa9rdida de ingresos, sino contra \xc3\xa9l en relaci\xc3\xb3n con la difamaci\xc3\xb3n. El fallo del tribunal fue que "una instituci\xc3\xb3n religiosa es soberano; que sus leyes y reglamentos son suprema, y \xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8bque sus pol\xc3\xadticas y pr\xc3\xa1cticas no puede ser cuestionada por una acci\xc3\xb3n legal en un tribunal de justicia". En una carta al rabino Isaac Leeser en 1862, Peres afirm\xc3\xb3 que hab\xc3\xada sido enmarcado y que la tienda estaba en realidad dirigida por su hermano, justo por debajo de su nombre. Escribe que la sinagoga lo hab\xc3\xada acusado de apertura el d\xc3\xada de reposo "con el fin de deshacerse de m\xc3\xad."_NEWLINE_Despu\xc3\xa9s de la salida de Peres, los miembros comenzaron una b\xc3\xbasqueda de lo que llamaron una "reforma moderada" rabino. Esta vez consultaron a Wise, no a Leeser. La posici\xc3\xb3n fue anunciada en el peri\xc3\xb3dico de Wise como "Maestro, evangelista, y lector", pagando $ 1.000 (hoy $ 26.000) por a\xc3\xb1o. Calificaciones incluyen la capacidad de "instruir a los ni\xc3\xb1os en hebreo, una conferencia, una vez a la semana en alem\xc3\xa1n o en Ingl\xc3\xa9s y leer las oraciones correctamente\xe2\x80\x9d. En 1860, se contrat\xc3\xb3 a Simon Tuska. Peres se qued\xc3\xb3 en Memphis, y las tensiones teol\xc3\xb3gicas dentro de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n se resolvieron cuando cuarenta de los miembros m\xc3\xa1s tradicionales partieron; con Peres como su l\xc3\xadder espiritual, formaron la congregaci\xc3\xb3n ortodoxa Bet El Emet a principios del decenio de 1860. Este proceso de divisi\xc3\xb3n era com\xc3\xban a muchas congregaciones americanas de la \xc3\xa9poca.\n_START_SECTION_\nTuska era (1860\xe2\x80\x931870)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nNacido en Veszpr\xc3\xa9m, Hungr\xc3\xada en 1835, Tuska se crio en Rochester, Nueva York, donde su padre era un rabino. Sim\xc3\xb3n asisti\xc3\xb3 al Seminario Teol\xc3\xb3gico de Rochester, y tras la finalizaci\xc3\xb3n de sus estudios all\xc3\xad en 1858, fue enviado al Seminario Teol\xc3\xb3gico Jud\xc3\xado de Breslau para conseguir la formaci\xc3\xb3n rab\xc3\xadnica. No se gradu\xc3\xb3 del seminario, en lugar de regresar a Estados Unidos en 1860 para solicitar un puesto en la Congregaci\xc3\xb3n Emanu-el de Nueva York, pero fue rechazado debido a su peque\xc3\xb1o tama\xc3\xb1o y su voz d\xc3\xa9bil. Despu\xc3\xa9s aplico al Templo Israelita, donde el 1 de julio de 1860, fue elegido por unanimidad y firm\xc3\xb3 un contrato de tres a\xc3\xb1os a $ 800 (hoy $ 21,000) por a\xc3\xb1o. Demostr\xc3\xb3 ser muy popular con la congregaci\xc3\xb3n; en enero de 1863, seis meses antes del contrato de tres a\xc3\xb1os fue de su renovaci\xc3\xb3n, fue reelegido como rabino por un per\xc3\xadodo de diez a\xc3\xb1os, y su salario se elev\xc3\xb3 a $ 1.500 por a\xc3\xb1o. _NEWLINE_Tuska reform\xc3\xb3 los servicios en B\'nai Israelita, la eliminaci\xc3\xb3n de piyutim (poemas lit\xc3\xbargicos) en 1861, la adici\xc3\xb3n de un coro de \xc3\xb3rganos y de g\xc3\xa9nero mixto en 1862, y las ceremonias de confirmaci\xc3\xb3n en 1863. Tambi\xc3\xa9n acort\xc3\xb3 el libro de oraciones (adoptando la versi\xc3\xb3n de Wise Minhag estadounidense), a\xc3\xb1adido un servicio de la noche del viernes, y los servicios patri\xc3\xb3ticamente tem\xc3\xa1ticos creados por Acci\xc3\xb3n de Gracias y el D\xc3\xada Nacional r\xc3\xa1pido. Cuando se necesitaban m\xc3\xa1s bancas para dar cabida a los fieles, que se a\xc3\xb1adieron primero, a continuaci\xc3\xb3n, se a\xc3\xb1adieron las secciones de las mujeres de los hombres y las bancas de la familia donde los hombres y las mujeres pod\xc3\xadan sentarse juntos. En mayo de 1864, como rabino de B\'nai Israelita, que ofici\xc3\xb3 en lo que pudo haber sido la primera boda jud\xc3\xada en Tennessee; hasta ese a\xc3\xb1o, Tennessee no autoriz\xc3\xb3 rabinos para celebrar matrimonios. Tambi\xc3\xa9n estuvo involucrado en la comunidad m\xc3\xa1s amplia de Memphis, y particip\xc3\xb3 en los servicios interconfesionales._NEWLINE_Tuska apoy\xc3\xb3 la esclavitud, la descripci\xc3\xb3n de las vistas abolicionistas de Henry Ward Beecher y otros como "rabioso", y como la mayor\xc3\xada de los miembros de B\'nai Israelita, despu\xc3\xa9s de que estallaran las hostilidades entre la Uni\xc3\xb3n y la Confederaci\xc3\xb3n, apoy\xc3\xb3 la sucesi\xc3\xb3n de la Uni\xc3\xb3n. M\xc3\xa1s de diez miembros de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n se ofrecieron voluntariamente para el ej\xc3\xa9rcito confederado despu\xc3\xa9s de estallar la guerra, y se les dio honores y bendiciones especiales en una ceremonia durante los servicios del s\xc3\xa1bado. Muchas de las escuelas de Memphis se vieron obligados a cerrar debido a la guerra Civil; en respuesta, B\'nai Israelita establecido en el Instituto para la Educaci\xc3\xb3n hebrea en 1864. Una escuela laica, que ten\xc3\xada 100 estudiantes, y se ense\xc3\xb1a Ingl\xc3\xa9s, hebreo, alem\xc3\xa1n y franc\xc3\xa9s, as\xc3\xad como la geograf\xc3\xada y la m\xc3\xbasica. Tuska fue uno de los profesores de idiomas de la escuela. La insuficiencia de fondos oblig\xc3\xb3 a su cierre en 1868._NEWLINE_B\'nai Israelita ten\xc3\xada 83 miembros en 1864. La hipoteca sobre el edificio de la sinagoga hab\xc3\xada sido pagada en 1865, pero para 1867 los gastos de sinagogas fueron superior a sus ingresos. Las cuotas fueron criados a $ 4 (hoy $ 70) por miembro por mes, y la congregaci\xc3\xb3n se llev\xc3\xb3 a cabo una nueva hipoteca. En enero de 1870, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n movi\xc3\xb3 sus servicios el viernes por la noche hasta las 7:30 de la tarde; previamente los servicios se hab\xc3\xadan realizado justo despu\xc3\xa9s de la puesta del sol, de conformidad con la ley jud\xc3\xada, que hab\xc3\xada significado servicios nocturnos en pleno verano, y servicios de final de la tarde en pleno invierno. (Varios a\xc3\xb1os m\xc3\xa1s tarde los servicios de las Altas Fiestas se movieron al mismo tiempo). Ese a\xc3\xb1o Tuska comenz\xc3\xb3 a dar sus sermones de los viernes en ingl\xc3\xa9s, en lugar de alem\xc3\xa1n. A finales de 1870, Tuska muri\xc3\xb3 de un ataque al coraz\xc3\xb3n.\n_START_SECTION_\nSamfield era (1871\xe2\x80\x931915)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nEn 1871, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n, cuyos miembros en ese momento hab\xc3\xada llegado a 100, elegido Max Sam para suceder a Tuska. El hijo de un rabino, que naci\xc3\xb3 en 1846 en Marktsteft, Baviera, y fue ordenado en Alemania. Se fue a los Estados Unidos en 1867 para ser rabino de B\'nai Sion Congregaci\xc3\xb3n de Shreveport, Luisiana, donde se desempe\xc3\xb1\xc3\xb3 durante cuatro a\xc3\xb1os. \xc3\x89l ten\xc3\xada una competencia significativa para el papel en la B\'nai Israelita, con al menos diez rabinos que solicitan. Samfield ten\xc3\xada, sin embargo, predic\xc3\xb3 all\xc3\xad el s\xc3\xa1bado antes de la elecci\xc3\xb3n de un rabino, y fue contratado por un per\xc3\xadodo de un a\xc3\xb1o. Un fuerte defensor de la Reforma del Juda\xc3\xadsmo, que se asoci\xc3\xb3 con Wise en la fundaci\xc3\xb3n de la Uni\xc3\xb3n de Am\xc3\xa9rica de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n hebrea (ahora Uni\xc3\xb3n para la Reforma del juda\xc3\xadsmo), y bajo su liderazgo, B\'nai Israelita se convirti\xc3\xb3 en uno de sus miembros fundadores en 1873. Tambi\xc3\xa9n fue presidente de la Junta de Gobernadores del Hebrew Union College (HUC) en Cincinnati, Ohio y fue supervisor de la Conferencia central de rabinos americanos. En 1875, se pidi\xc3\xb3 a la congregaci\xc3\xb3n si pod\xc3\xada abandonar el uso de la cabeza tradicional que cubre mientras dirig\xc3\xada las oraciones; en respuesta, los miembros resolvieron que todos los hombres ser\xc3\xadan requeridos a remover sus sombreros durante los servicios. Se llev\xc3\xb3 la congregaci\xc3\xb3n de adoptar la Reforma de los movimientos de la nueva uni\xc3\xb3n del libro de oraci\xc3\xb3n en 1896, pero se resistieron a mover los servicios del s\xc3\xa1bado a domingo. Como la mayor\xc3\xada de Reforma rabinos en ese momento, que era fuertemente anti-Zionista, escribiendo que el sionismo era "una erupci\xc3\xb3n anormal del sentimiento pervertido". _NEWLINE_Un mas\xc3\xb3n escoc\xc3\xa9s, Samfield se ha comprometido con el servicio p\xc3\xbablico. Cuando se form\xc3\xb3 la primera Sociedad de Tennessee para la Prevenci\xc3\xb3n de la Crueldad contra los Animales y de la Infancia en 1880, se convirti\xc3\xb3 en su primer vicepresidente, y en 1889, dirigi\xc3\xb3 la recaudaci\xc3\xb3n de fondos para el primer hospital civil de Memphis, San Jos\xc3\xa9, una instituci\xc3\xb3n cat\xc3\xb3lica. Se funda la Asociaci\xc3\xb3n de Socorro hebrea de Memphis, y la Fundaci\xc3\xb3n Infantil Unidas no sectarias, y fue un director de Inicio de New Orleans hu\xc3\xa9rfanos jud\xc3\xados, la casa consultiva jud\xc3\xada de Denver y abriga la sede del colegio de Nueva York. Durante los \xc3\xbaltimos quince a\xc3\xb1os de su vida trabaj\xc3\xb3 para crear un hogar para ancianos y enfermos Jud\xc3\xados del Sur, terminado en 1927._NEWLINE_Durante 1873 la epidemia de fiebre amarilla de Memphis, que, junto con otros rabinos Memphis y que conduce Judios permanecieron en la ciudad en lugar de huir. Durante las siete semanas la epidemia dur\xc3\xb3, 51 personas fueron enterradas en el cementerio de B\'nai Israelita, casi el doble del n\xc3\xbamero normalmente enterrada all\xc3\xad en todo un a\xc3\xb1o. Cuando otra epidemia de fiebre amarilla estall\xc3\xb3 en 1878, Samfield se qued\xc3\xb3 otra vez, atendiendo a los muertos y moribundos de todos los credos. Durante esa epidemia, 78 personas fueron enterradas en el cementerio de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n. Frecuentes epidemias de fiebre amarilla de la ciudad diezmada su comunidad jud\xc3\xada, que se redujo de 2.100 a 300. Tambi\xc3\xa9n se lastiman las finanzas de B\'nai Israelita; miembros no pagan sus cuotas, y por un tiempo la congregaci\xc3\xb3n no pod\xc3\xada permitirse el lujo de pagarle Samfield. En 1880, sin embargo, la membres\xc3\xada hab\xc3\xada aumentado a 124 familias, y las finanzas hab\xc3\xadan mejorado. En este momento, la sinagoga era m\xc3\xa1s t\xc3\xadpicamente llamada hijos de Israel. Beth el Emet se vio afectado con mayor severidad que los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel por las epidemias; su rabino (Peres) muri\xc3\xb3 de fiebre amarilla en 1879. En 1882, Beth El Emet se disolvi\xc3\xb3, y transfiri\xc3\xb3 su propiedad a los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel, aunque la mayor\xc3\xada de los miembros de Beth el Emet se unieron al Bar\xc3\xb3n Hirsch ortodoxa Sinagoga. La propiedad inclu\xc3\xada\xc2\xa0 terreno en la segunda calle, y el cementerio de Beth el Emet. _NEWLINE_En 1872, los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel adquirieron un terreno en la Avenida Adams, con la intenci\xc3\xb3n de construir una nueva sinagoga, pero las presiones financieras retrasaron el proyecto, y en 1880 la congregaci\xc3\xb3n decidi\xc3\xb3 vender la propiedad y encontrar una mejor. Ellos venden el lote en 1882, y en su lugar han comprado terrenos en la venida del \xc3\xa1lamo entre la calle tercera y segunda. Para 1884, se hab\xc3\xadan completado un nuevo edificio de la sinagoga all\xc3\xad, a un costo de $ 39.130 (hoy $ 1.031.000). La estructura bizantina de reactivaci\xc3\xb3n ten\xc3\xada una fachada impresionante con altas torres gemelas y una ventana redonda grande que contiene una estrella de David. El edificio ayud\xc3\xb3 a atraer a nuevos miembros; antes de 1885 un adicional de 45 se hab\xc3\xadan unido, por un total de 173 familias, y la congregaci\xc3\xb3n fue de nuevo libre de deuda. Ese a\xc3\xb1o, la sinagoga adquiri\xc3\xb3 un cementerio en la carretera Hernando._NEWLINE_Aunque la congregaci\xc3\xb3n continu\xc3\xb3 creciendo, la mayor\xc3\xada de nuevos inmigrantes jud\xc3\xados a Memphis eran de Europa del Este, y m\xc3\xa1s tradicional que los miembros de los Hijos de Israel. Como resultado, se forman t\xc3\xadpicamente sus propias sinagogas ortodoxas, la m\xc3\xa1s antigua y de mayor duraci\xc3\xb3n de los cuales fue el Bar\xc3\xb3n Hirsch Sinagoga. Los miembros de Hijos de Israel trabajaron para ayudar a los Judios de Europa del Este en la asimilaci\xc3\xb3n en la sociedad americana, la prestaci\xc3\xb3n de asistencia financiera, educaci\xc3\xb3n gratuita sobre temas tales como Ingl\xc3\xa9s, civismo, e incluso la higiene, y desde 1897 hasta 1907 se celebr\xc3\xb3 una escuela dominical para los ni\xc3\xb1os de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n Bar\xc3\xb3n Hirsch. En 1890, el n\xc3\xbamero de miembros de los Ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel fue de 186 familias y la escuela religiosa ten\xc3\xada 148 estudiantes. Para hacer frente a los problemas financieros persistentes y atraer a los m\xc3\xa1s j\xc3\xb3venes, en 1897 la congregaci\xc3\xb3n cre\xc3\xb3 una nueva clase de miembro, el "seatholder", que no pod\xc3\xadan ser elegidos para cualquier cargo, pero paga menos a cambio. Esta innovaci\xc3\xb3n fue un \xc3\xa9xito; 47 nuevos miembros se unieron en 1898, y el n\xc3\xbamero total de miembros de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n llegaron a 222 familias. En combinaci\xc3\xb3n con los recortes de costos en otras \xc3\xa1reas (principalmente la reducci\xc3\xb3n de la cantidad pagada al coro), este sac\xc3\xb3 la sinagoga de un d\xc3\xa9ficit financiero de cuatro a\xc3\xb1os. _NEWLINE_A finales del siglo XIX, los ingresos anuales de la sinagoga eran de $ 7.500 (hoy $ 213.000). Alrededor de este tiempo la congregaci\xc3\xb3n dej\xc3\xb3 de contratar a los cantores, sino que conf\xc3\xada en el organista y el coro para dirigir la oraci\xc3\xb3n cantada. En 1905, los miembros de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n se hab\xc3\xadan incrementado a 262, y en 1907 fue 285, y los ingresos anuales de la sinagoga eran de $ 8.500. La escuela de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n, que daba clases una vez por semana, ten\xc3\xada quince profesores y 220 estudiantes. Ese a\xc3\xb1o la congregaci\xc3\xb3n a\xc3\xb1adi\xc3\xb3 56 asientos para el santuario, principalmente para manejar el aumento de la asistencia en los D\xc3\xadas Santos. A pesar del crecimiento de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n y la expansi\xc3\xb3n del santuario, la asistencia a los servicios regulares era escaso, sobre todo en las noches de viernes. A partir de 1892 en adelante, Samfield amonest\xc3\xb3 p\xc3\xbablicamente a los miembros por su escasa asistencia de reposo, y en 1907, insisti\xc3\xb3 en que los miembros del consejo asistieran a los servicios viernes por la noche. La junta acept\xc3\xb3 con la condici\xc3\xb3n de que Samfield asegur\xc3\xb3 que sus sermones ya no eran de 25 minutos. A pesar de estos problemas, en 1904, los hijos de Israel le compraron una casa, y en 1910 le votaron "rabino para la vida", con un sueldo anual de $ 4200 (hoy $ 107.000). Ese a\xc3\xb1o la membres\xc3\xada lleg\xc3\xb3 a 305 familias. En septiembre de 1911, William H. "Bill" Fineshriber se convirti\xc3\xb3 en el primer rabino asociado de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n. En 1912, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n hab\xc3\xada de nuevo crecido demasiado grande para su edificio. De miembros de la familia era ahora 340, y la escuela religiosa tenido 260 ni\xc3\xb1os inscritos. Los terrenos adquiridos congregaci\xc3\xb3n en Poplar Avenue en Montgomery Street, a 2 millas (3,2 km) al este de su ubicaci\xc3\xb3n actual, y comenz\xc3\xb3 la construcci\xc3\xb3n de una nueva sinagoga. _NEWLINE_Adem\xc3\xa1s de sus otras actividades, fundada en 1885 Samfield El Espectador jud\xc3\xado, una revista semanal sobre la vida jud\xc3\xada y la cultura del Sur. \xc3\x89l fue su redactor hasta su muerte en septiembre de 1915, pocos d\xc3\xadas antes de su retiro planeado. Su muerte fue anunciada con grandes titulares, y para conmemorar su fallecimiento, los tranv\xc3\xadas de Memphis fueron detenidos durante diez minutos.\n_START_SECTION_\nFineshriber era (1915\xe2\x80\x931924)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nFineshriber sucedi\xc3\xb3 a Samfield en 1915. Nacido en St. Louis, Misuri, en 1878, su padre hab\xc3\xada sido un rabino reformista, que muri\xc3\xb3 a la edad de 37. Cuando Fineshriber ten\xc3\xada 13 a\xc3\xb1os, se traslad\xc3\xb3 a Cincinnati por su cuenta, donde asisti\xc3\xb3 a la escuela secundaria. Despu\xc3\xa9s de graduarse, asisti\xc3\xb3 a la Universidad de Cincinnati y entr\xc3\xb3 al programa de ocho a\xc3\xb1os de HUC. Para el a\xc3\xb1o 1900 se hab\xc3\xada graduado de ambos y hab\xc3\xada sido ordenado. Acept\xc3\xb3 su primer p\xc3\xbalpito de ese a\xc3\xb1o en el templo Emanuel en Davenport, Iowa, y se uni\xc3\xb3 a los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel en 1911 como rabino asociado. Era de la sinagoga primer graduado HUC, y su primer rabino nacido en Estados Unidos. Ten\xc3\xada un ingenio r\xc3\xa1pido, y fue capaz de hablar con elocuencia y extempor\xc3\xa1nea sobre casi cualquier tema. A menudo citado en los peri\xc3\xb3dicos, fue activo en la comunidad de Memphis, y fue un rotario, Shriner y Freemas\xc3\xb3n. Tambi\xc3\xa9n fue uno de los primeros sufragistas, y tom\xc3\xb3 la causa en los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel. En un evento de d\xc3\xada 1913 de las mujeres, con oradores de Luisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi y Tennessee, que era el \xc3\xbanico hablante masculino. En una concentraci\xc3\xb3n de 1914 declar\xc3\xb3: "impuestos sin representaci\xc3\xb3n es tiran\xc3\xada... El prop\xc3\xb3sito de esta reuni\xc3\xb3n es... para deslumbrar a la poblaci\xc3\xb3n de Memphis en una constataci\xc3\xb3n de que la cuesti\xc3\xb3n de la igualdad de voto no es un juego de ni\xc3\xb1os\xe2\x80\x9d. _NEWLINE__NEWLINE_Se habl\xc3\xb3 en\xc3\xa9rgicamente contra el linchamiento de personas en 1917. Las personas, un hombre negro acusado de violar y decapitar a un adolescente de diecis\xc3\xa9is a\xc3\xb1os de edad, ni\xc3\xb1a blanca, hab\xc3\xada sido quemado vivo frente a una multitud de miles de personas en Memphis, y sus restos desmembrados, dispersado, y mostrados. Fineshriber convoc\xc3\xb3 a una reuni\xc3\xb3n de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n para protestar por el linchamiento, convenci\xc3\xb3 a los miembros a apoyar una condena p\xc3\xbablica de la misma, y \xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8bactu\xc3\xb3 como secretario de un grupo de cl\xc3\xa9rigos que emitieron un comunicado denunciando la pr\xc3\xa1ctica. Tambi\xc3\xa9n convenci\xc3\xb3 al editor del peri\xc3\xb3dico m\xc3\xa1s grande de Memphis, The Commercial Appeal, para escribir un editorial criticando el linchamiento. Fineshriber apoya otras causas que afectan a los afroamericanos; trabaj\xc3\xb3 para mejorar sus viviendas, habl\xc3\xb3 en iglesias negras, y ayud\xc3\xb3 a recaudar fondos para ellos. Critic\xc3\xb3 el Ku Klux Klan desde su p\xc3\xbalpito, el \xc3\xbanico cl\xc3\xa9rigo en Memphis para hacerlo. En 1921 se hizo p\xc3\xbablica su intenci\xc3\xb3n de "predicar en el Ku Klux Klan" a los ni\xc3\xb1os de Israel, en un evento que, se esperaba, atraer\xc3\xada a muchos que no son miembros. El Klan se hab\xc3\xada reorganizado en Memphis ese a\xc3\xb1o, y menos de un mes despu\xc3\xa9s del discurso de Fineshriber, marcharon en el desfile del D\xc3\xada de armisticio de Nashville. A pesar de las amenazas contra \xc3\xa9l, su esposa y ni\xc3\xb1os, Fineshriber continu\xc3\xb3 predicando contra el Klan en el templo y otros lugares._NEWLINE_En 1922, en respuesta al intento de William Jennings Bryan y sus seguidores para prohibir la ense\xc3\xb1anza de la evoluci\xc3\xb3n en las universidades y escuelas p\xc3\xbablicas, Fineshriber dedic\xc3\xb3 tres sermones de los viernes para hablar de ello. Hizo hincapi\xc3\xa9 en que el p\xc3\xbablico abarrot\xc3\xb3 el "derecho inalienable de pensamiento y de expresi\xc3\xb3n, garantizado por la Constituci\xc3\xb3n de los Estados Unidos", y sostuvo que \xe2\x80\x9cla mayor\xc3\xada de los predicadores inteligentes y liberales del mundo no han encontrado dificultades para aceptar la teor\xc3\xada de la evoluci\xc3\xb3n sin descartar sus Biblias o su religi\xc3\xb3n. Se puede adorar a Dios solo a la luz de la verdad". Sin embargo, en 1925 Tennessee se convirti\xc3\xb3 en el primer estado en prohibir la ense\xc3\xb1anza de la evoluci\xc3\xb3n en las escuelas p\xc3\xbablicas, una ley no derogada hasta 1967._NEWLINE_Durante los primeros a\xc3\xb1os de la congregaci\xc3\xb3n Fineshriber continu\xc3\xb3 modificando sus pr\xc3\xa1cticas religiosas. En los funerales, que alent\xc3\xb3 a los dolientes que salir de la tumba, en lugar de tener que esperar hasta que se baj\xc3\xb3 el ata\xc3\xbad y lo cubren con ellos mismos la tierra (como era la pr\xc3\xa1ctica tradicional). En ese momento, algunos miembros ten\xc3\xadan bar mitzvah ceremonias de sus 13 a\xc3\xb1os de edad, los ni\xc3\xb1os; en cambio, los ni\xc3\xb1os y ni\xc3\xb1as participaron en la ceremonia de Confirmaci\xc3\xb3n de Reforma (aunque la sinagoga todav\xc3\xada se permite a los que quer\xc3\xadan ceremonias mitzvah de la barra de tenerlos). En 1916, la congregaci\xc3\xb3n elimin\xc3\xb3 la observancia de los octavos d\xc3\xadas de Pascua y Sukkot, exigido a todos los fieles a estar en pie cuando los dolientes estaban recitando el Kadish, y restaurado la pr\xc3\xa1ctica ortodoxa de la bendici\xc3\xb3n y nombrando a los beb\xc3\xa9s en la sinagoga, como parte de los servicios._NEWLINE_Children of Israel dedicated its new synagogue building in 1916.\xe2\x80\x8b Designed by local architects Walk C. Jones, Sr. and Max Furbringer,\xe2\x80\x8b it featured a large central dome and two smaller flanking domes, and was designed to resemble Istanbul\'s Hagia Sophia.\xe2\x80\x8b Entrance was through three sets of double-doors, and carved into the entablature was the  biblical verse fragment "THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF" (19:18).\xe2\x80\x8b The building\'s sanctuary seated 1,200, and had a huge $10,000 (today $200\xc2\xa0000) organ. The money for the latter had been raised by the recently formed Ladies Auxiliary, whose most effective fund-raising activity involved selling home-cooked meals. The building also had an auditorium with a stage, and fourteen classrooms for the religious school.\xe2\x80\x8b Children of Israel\'s vacated building was purchased by a new Orthodox congregation that had adopted the name of the disbanded Beth El Emeth.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_After the United States entered World War\xc2\xa0I in 1917, 131 men from Children of Israel enlisted or were drafted; one was killed.\xe2\x80\x8b By 1919, the congregation\'s family membership had reached 450, and the synagogue\'s annual revenues were $18,000 (today $230\xc2\xa0000). The congregational school, which still held classes once a week, had 14 teachers and 388 students.\xe2\x80\x8b The following year, women were given the right to vote at all congregational meetings.\xe2\x80\x8b Fineshriber left in 1924 to become head rabbi of Congregation Keneseth Israel in Philadelphia.\xe2\x80\x8b During his tenure, Children of Israel\'s membership doubled,\xe2\x80\x8b and the religious school grew from 100 to 550 students.\xe2\x80\x8b He died in 1968, and is the congregation\'s only deceased senior rabbi not buried in its cemetery.\xe2\x80\x8b\n_START_SECTION_\nEttelson era (1925\xe2\x80\x931954)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nHarry William Ettelson\xe2\x80\x8b succeeded Fineshriber in 1925, the first Southerner to lead the congregation.\xe2\x80\x8b Born in 1883, he was raised in Mobile, Alabama.\xe2\x80\x8b He had a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati (graduating in 1900 when he was seventeen), an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from Yale University.\xe2\x80\x8b Ordained at HUC in 1904, he first served Congregation Achduth Vesholom in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1904 to 1910, then Congregation Beth Israel of Hartford, Connecticut, from 1911 to 1919.\xe2\x80\x8b From 1919 to 1925 he was associate rabbi, then head rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_Ettelson was a strong supporter of the Pittsburgh Platform and its principles, which became the basis for what was later known as "classical" Reform Judaism. The services he led reflected that: member participation in the services (which were mostly in English) was limited.\xe2\x80\x8b While at Achduth Vesholom he moved services from Saturday to Sunday for a period, in an attempt to improve attendance.\xe2\x80\x8b Even before his joining Children of Israel, the congregation had already substantially reformed its services; it no longer held bar mitzvahs, observed the laws of kashrut, or allowed congregants to participate in the Torah reading. Aside from the Shema Yisrael and Kaddish, Hebrew or Aramaic prayers had been almost totally eliminated. Though he made few ritual changes himself,\xe2\x80\x8b Ettelson continued this tradition, and emphasized community service over ritual practice, promoting Judaism as a universalist religion with a mission of justice and peace.\xe2\x80\x8b The year he arrived he organized the Cross Cut Club, an inter-faith group intended to counter religious prejudice. He served as its first president, and was its president again in 1950. One of his initiatives there was the Union Civic Thanksgiving Service, an interdenominational eve-of-Thanksgiving service that was held for a number of years. In the 1930s it held an integrated meeting, and, as a result, was not invited back to the venue the following year.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_When Ettelson joined the congregation, it had 650 member families. To accommodate growth, in 1926 the synagogue built an annex for the children\'s religious school.\xe2\x80\x8b That year the congregation also established the "Temple Men\'s Club", which had over 200 members, and joined the National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1928, the congregation purchased an adjoining house south of the synagogue, for Junior Congregation meetings, and began broadcasting its Friday evening services on the radio.\xe2\x80\x8b The costs for both endeavors were donated anonymously by synagogue member Abe Plough, founder and chairman of Schering-Plough.\xe2\x80\x8b The synagogue was hard-hit by the Great Depression. Income from dues dropped from $47,000 in 1928 (today $600\xc2\xa0000) to $23,000 in 1932, and membership fell from 750 families in 1929 to as low as 629 families.\xe2\x80\x8b The Talmud Torah was closed due to lack of funds, and board meetings focused on finding ways to keep the congregation going financially. Ettelson requested a pay reduction of $1,000 (today $14\xc2\xa0000) in 1931, and a further 10 percent cut in 1933, and the salaries of other synagogue employees were also cut.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b The Junior Congregation did well, though; it had 189 paid members by 1933, held Saturday morning and High Holy Days services, and conducted a number of other programs.\xe2\x80\x8b The congregation eventually recovered as a whole, assisted by members who were leaders in the civic and business worlds.\xe2\x80\x8b By 1936, membership had increased to 650, and the synagogue paid off the remaining mortgage on the Poplar and Montgomery synagogue building.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In 1932, Ettelson became locally famous for a debate he had at Nashville\'s Ellis Auditorium with Scopes Trial lawyer Clarence Darrow on whether or not religion was necessary. Ettelson argued in favor, Darrow against.\xe2\x80\x8b Friction between Ettelson and some board members came to a head in 1937, when the board discussed the issue of whether to retain him as rabbi; when invited to the meeting, he spoke briefly, then resigned. The board recommended that his tenure be put to a congregational vote at the next annual meeting, where he was re-elected in a secret ballot by a vote of 303 to 31. He took an eight-month medical leave in 1938, and Children of Israel hired Morton Cohn as assistant rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_The congregation was heavily involved in World War\xc2\xa0II, with many members serving in the armed forces, including Dudley Weinberg, who had succeeded Cohn as assistant rabbi. Children of Israel published a special newsletter for overseas members;\xe2\x80\x8b by the end of the war, approximately four hundred congregants had served\xe2\x80\x94and fourteen had died\xe2\x80\x94in the U.S. military.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b As with many other Reform congregations, the members of Temple Israel were split on the issue of Zionism. It is likely that a majority were anti-Zionist, and the synagogue president joined the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism, though other prominent members supported Zionism, and still others were simply non-Zionist. Ettelson initially opposed Zionism, though he did not join the council. With the growth of antisemitism inside and outside the United States, his views changed, and he was an early member of the local chapter of the Zionist United Palestine Appeal. Nevertheless, he successfully kept the issue from becoming divisive at the temple.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In 1943, the congregation changed its name to Temple Israel.\xe2\x80\x8b Its membership grew rapidly, from 914 families in 1944 to over 1,100 by late 1949, together with an increase in the number of children in line with the post-war post\xe2\x80\x93World War II baby boom. In 1951 the temple added a new education building, which had 22 classrooms, offices, and a library. That year the congregation also updated the synagogue\'s kitchen, added air conditioning for the vestry and auditorium, and the same for the sanctuary in 1953.\xe2\x80\x8b Ettelson retired the following year, and was succeeded as senior rabbi by James Wax.\xe2\x80\x8b\n_START_SECTION_\nWax era (1954\xe2\x80\x931978)\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nBorn in 1912, James Aaron "Jimmy" Wax was raised in Herculaneum, Missouri, where his was usually the only Jewish family in town. While attending Washington University in St. Louis, he was inspired by Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman of Temple Israel of St. Louis to become a rabbi, as a means of achieving social justice. Because of financial constraints brought on by the Depression, Wax had to finish his undergraduate schooling at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1935.\xe2\x80\x8b Mentored by Isserman, he then applied to HUC. Because he had little background in Hebrew, he did intensive work in the language prior to and during his admission, and was eventually ordained and achieved a Master of Hebrew Letters degree there in 1941.\xe2\x80\x8b Turned down as a U.S. military chaplain, from 1941 to 1945 he served at United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis, and at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b In 1946, he became assistant rabbi of Temple Israel, and in 1947 was promoted to associate rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b In the early 1950s he was twice elected president of the Memphis and Shelby County Mental Health Society.\xe2\x80\x8b Upon Ettelson\'s retirement in 1954, Wax became senior rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_By this time the synagogue had around 1,200 member families, and over 600 children in its religious school. Wax initiated some changes in the congregation\'s religious practices. One was to have a real ram\'s horn shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah starting in 1954, rather than the trumpet that had been used for a number of years. Under his leadership a number of members also started having bar mitzvah ceremonies for their children, though this did not become common until the 1970s. By the 1970s he had also added Hebrew classes to the religious school.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In 1955 he supported and raised funds for the creation of Memphis\'s first Conservative synagogue, Beth Sholom, so that Conservative Jews would have their own place to worship.\xe2\x80\x8b By 1964, four assistant rabbis had succeeded Wax; Milton G. Miller, Robert Blinder, Sandford Seltzer, and Sylvin Wolf. That year Wax added Torah readings to the Friday evening service, and Temple Israel\'s board began purchasing State of Israel Bonds; in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War, the board resolved to buy Israel Bonds "to the maximum feasible extent".\xe2\x80\x8b By 1970 Wax had introduced services to celebrate Yom Ha\'atzmaut and commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. Though he initially resisted the idea of having a cantor, he eventually accepted a limited role for one, and in 1971 Thomas Schwartz was hired as Temple Israel\'s first full-time cantor/musical director in 80 years. Schwartz\'s salary was not paid by the synagogue, but was instead paid privately by a group of its members.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1978, Wax received the National Human Relations Award from the Memphis Round Table of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.\xe2\x80\x8b He retired a few weeks later, though he served as acting rabbi of Temple Beth El in Helena, Arkansas, visiting regularly from 1978 until his death in 1989.\xe2\x80\x8b\n_START_SECTION_\nCivil rights activism\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nThe African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955\xe2\x80\x931968) sparked extremist antisemitism in the South, and "Communist Jews" were blamed for destroying democracy following the United States Supreme Court\'s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Southern Jews found themselves in a difficult position; they were a vulnerable minority whose status in Southern white society was marginal and conditional on their acceptance of the status quo.\xe2\x80\x8b Because of these concerns, particularly after the 1958 bombing of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple in Atlanta, the congregation did not want Wax taking a public stand on civil rights. In addition, though Wax supported racial integration, not all his congregants did; according to Wax, "Almost all native-born Southerners whose families lived in the South for two or more generations have segregationist attitudes." \xe2\x80\x8b Rather than getting involved in public protests, Wax worked with groups supporting integration, such as the Memphis Ministers Association. He also encouraged Temple Israel\'s members to join groups like the Panel of American Women, an interfaith and inter-racial group that spoke in favor of religious and racial tolerance at community events and whose Memphis chapter was founded by congregation member Jocelyn Wurzburg.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b Temple Israel member Myra Dreifus co-founded Memphis\'s Fund for Needy Schoolchildren in the 1960s. It helped provide food for hungry schoolchildren, primarily in black schools, and later expanded its efforts to include the distribution of free or discounted clothing and footwear.\xe2\x80\x8b The group had both white and black women as members, including members of Temple Israel, and because of Dreifus\'s role in the Fund, Temple Israel itself supported it. By 1968, members of the Sisterhood were donating money so that tutors could be bussed to the majority African-American Kansas Street School. According to professor of women\'s and gender studies Kimberly K. Little, this "marked the first occasion where Temple Israel opened its doors to community\xe2\x80\x93based programs; its prior charitable work focused on Jewish community outreach."\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_Wax was particularly involved with Memphis Committee on Community Relations (MCCR). The MCCR was formed in 1958 by a group of Memphis city leaders, with a goal of ending segregation in a non-violent way. Individual committees worked to desegregate various public facilities in Memphis. The MCCR also worked to get blacks representation in government (both elected and appointed officials), and created programs to improve economic conditions and job opportunities for blacks. Wax served as the MCCR\'s secretary from its formation until its dissolution in the 1970s. Several other Temple Israel members worked with the MCCR, and, as owners of large Memphis companies, were able to implement desegregation in their own workplaces.\xe2\x80\x8b Other Temple Israel members supported the civil rights movement: senior business executives convinced stores to hire black salespeople, Herschel Feibelman chaired the Memphis War on Poverty Committee, and Marvin Ratner left a partnership at a prominent local law firm to form, along with two white and two black lawyers, Memphis\'s first integrated law firm.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In January 1965, Memphis mayor William B. Ingram asked Wax to join his Community Action Committee, a group which tried to get federal funding for anti-poverty programs and job training for black youths. In August of that year, Wax became chair of its policy committee, a mostly black group. Though the committee created a number of helpful programs, disagreement over the mayor\'s role in choosing members and controlling funds led to the group\'s dissolution in January 1966. Ingram lauded Wax\'s efforts on behalf of the group.\xe2\x80\x8b Wax was also active in other civil rights groups, including the Tennessee Council on Human Relations, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Memphis Urban League, and the Program of Progress, a group which worked to reform local government.\xe2\x80\x8b He was elected president of the Memphis Ministers Association in May 1967, even though he was its only Jewish member.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_On January 31, 1968, two Memphis sanitation workers were crushed to death in a malfunctioning garbage compactor, prompting the start of the Memphis Sanitation Strike on February 12. The mostly black sanitation workers were Memphis\'s lowest paid civil servants, and received no overtime or holiday pay.\xe2\x80\x8b Memphis\'s mayor was now Henry Loeb, a former member of Temple Israel, who converted to Christianity soon after starting his term in 1968, after marrying an Episcopalian woman.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b He refused to negotiate with the workers, and the strike soon came to national attention as a civil rights issue.\xe2\x80\x8b After being contacted by black ministers, Wax arranged a meeting on February 18 between Loeb, local union leaders, and Jerry Wurf, head of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The talks, which continued until 5:00 am on the 19th, and resumed later that day, resolved nothing.\xe2\x80\x8b Temple Israel member Dreifus used her past support for Loeb in his 1967 mayoralty campaign as a means of trying to force him to resolve the strike, and act as a representative of both white and black Memphians.\xe2\x80\x8b The strike continued through March. In an attempt to defuse tension, Wax called a meeting of Memphis\'s two clergy groups, the mostly white Memphis Ministers Association and the black Interdenominational Alliance for April 3.\xe2\x80\x8b The meeting, if anything, had the opposite effect; the black ministers wanted to march immediately on the mayor\'s office, while most of the white clergy, including Wax, refused to join the march, which they argued would just inflame the white public.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis the next night. The Memphis Ministers Association organized a memorial service for King on the 5th. At the service, the ministers voted to march to Loeb\'s office that day and insist he address the workers\' grievances and end the strike; led by Wax and William Dimmick, the dean of St. Mary\'s Cathedral, 250 clergymen marched in pairs to Loeb\'s office, where he was urged in front of television cameras to end the strike.\xe2\x80\x8b In his sermon at Temple Israel, Wax told the congregation: "This city shall witness a new spirit and the memory of this great prophet of our time shall be honored. There will be bigots and segregationists and the so-called respectable but unrighteous people who will resist. But in the scheme of history, God\'s will does prevail."\xe2\x80\x8b The strike was settled on April 16, with the sanitation workers getting union recognition and other benefits.\xe2\x80\x8b The only remaining impediment was a recommended ten-cent-an-hour raise on May 1, followed by another raise on September 1. The city budget did not have the estimated $558,000 (today $3.5\xc2\xa0millones) required to pay the workers. To resolve the impasse, Temple Israel member Abe Plough donated the shortfall anonymously.\xe2\x80\x8b\n_START_SECTION_\nEast Massey Road building\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nBy 1957 the synagogue sanctuary, which had been designed for 350 families, had become too small to accommodate Temple Israel\'s over 1,100 member families. In addition, since the 1950s Memphis\'s Jewish community had been steadily moving from the downtown, where Temple Israel\'s Poplar Avenue building was located, to the eastern suburbs; by 1957 over half of the members, and three-quarters of those with children in the congregational school, lived there. School attendance increased rapidly, and the student body soon outgrew its 1951 building. The school had to split attendance in 1959, with the younger children attending on Saturday and the older ones on Sunday,\xe2\x80\x8b and by 1961, 780 children were enrolled.\xe2\x80\x8b In the early 1960s, Temple Israel began holding weekday classes at Beth Sholom, which was closer to most members.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In 1963, Temple Israel drew up plans for a new building, and in 1964 purchased land on White Station Road.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1966, the members voted against building there, as older members were attached to the existing building, and concerned about expenses,\xe2\x80\x8b but by the early 1970s, the situation could no longer be ignored. Plough offered to donate one-quarter of the $4 million cost of a new building.\xe2\x80\x8b The land on White Station Road was sold, and a 30\xc2\xa0acres (\xc2\xa0m) property on East Massey Road was purchased;\xe2\x80\x8b the congregation moved into the new building in September 1976.\xe2\x80\x8b The old synagogue was sold to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, which would occupy it for the next twenty years.\xe2\x80\x8b The new building was designed by Francis Gassner of Gassner, Nathan and Partners, with Percival Goodman as consulting architect.\xe2\x80\x8b It was constructed of steel and masonry, which was used for both the exterior and interior, and had copper roofing.\xe2\x80\x8b In the front, a glass covered garden entered into a two-story reception area, which led to a smaller foyer, and ultimately to the main sanctuary.\xe2\x80\x8b It had 32 classrooms,\xe2\x80\x8b and a 300-seat chapel, later named the Danziger Chapel in honor of rabbi Harry Danziger and his wife Jeanne.\xe2\x80\x8b\xe2\x80\x8b The ner tamid, Torah ark doors, and Ten Commandments wall decoration from the Poplar Road building were installed in the new chapel.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_The sanctuary, which sat up to 1,500, was semi-circular in shape, and designed so that no worshiper was more than fifteen rows from the Torah ark.\xe2\x80\x8b It was lit by skylights, and had a balcony. Its ceiling, along with those of the entrance foyer and chapel, were of oak, as were the doors, trim, and paneling.\xe2\x80\x8b The building\'s interior art work was designed by Efrem Weitzman, including the Torah ark, most ritual objects, stained glass, mosaics, and tapestries.\xe2\x80\x8b In the architect\'s view, the compact design of the sanctuary, and the liberal use of stained glass and wood, "achieved the desired feelings of intimacy".\xe2\x80\x8b On the same level as the balcony was a gallery, originally designed for art and Judaica exhibits.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1994, upon the donation by Herta and Justin Adler of the Adler Judaica Collection, this became a permanent museum.\xe2\x80\x8b The complex at 1376\xc2\xa0East Massey Road had a final cost of $7 million (today $26.8\xc2\xa0millones), of which Plough donated over $2 million.\xe2\x80\x8b In gratitude for his donation, Plough was named honorary president for life.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In 2003, the congregation embarked on a significant renovation and expansion of its facility. Over 100\xc2\xa0000\xc2\xa0pies cuadrados (\xc2\xa0m) of space, including the social hall, was renovated, and a 25\xc2\xa0000\xc2\xa0 (\xc2\xa0m) early childhood and family center addition was built, creating a U-shaped wing around a courtyard. Architect Walt Reed of The Crump Firm said he kept the emphasis on "simple, geometric, contemporary forms" that existed in the original building, as well as using the same copper roofing and detailing materials. The approximately $15 million construction project took two years, and was completed in 2007.\xe2\x80\x8b "Wings to the Heavens", David Ascalon\'s 30\xc2\xa0 (\xc2\xa0m)-high, welded aluminum and stainless steel abstract kinetic sculpture, was installed in the atrium.\xe2\x80\x8b\n_START_SECTION_\nDanziger era (1978\xe2\x80\x932000), 21st century\n_START_PARAGRAPH_\nHarry K. Danziger succeeded Wax as rabbi in 1978.\xe2\x80\x8b The son of a rabbi, Danziger was a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, and ordained by the HUC.\xe2\x80\x8b He joined Temple Israel as assistant rabbi in 1964, but in 1969 moved to Monroe, Louisiana, to lead Congregation B\'nai Israel.\xe2\x80\x8b He was replaced first by Howard Schwartz, then by Richard Birnholz.\xe2\x80\x8b Birnholz tendered his resignation in 1973, and Wax began to think of retirement. Danziger, then at Baltimore\'s Temple Oheb Shalom, was approached as Wax\'s successor, and returned to Temple Israel that year as associate rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b Synagogue membership had been around 1,350 families from the mid-1960s, but increased after the move to East Massey Road.\xe2\x80\x8b By Wax\'s retirement it had reached around 1,500,\xe2\x80\x8b and over half Memphis\'s 10,000 Jews were members of Temple Israel.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_In his first sermon as associate rabbi, Danziger said "we can afford to look Jewish after all these years and\xc2\xa0... out of self-respect alone, we cannot afford not to". As senior rabbi he slowly brought more traditional observances back to Temple Israel, moving it away from the radicalism of "Classical Reform" Judaism.\xe2\x80\x8b These observances included the chanting of Torah blessings, a Torah procession through the sanctuary aisles,\xe2\x80\x8b fasting on Yom Kippur, circumcising baby boys, and saying the kaddish for the deceased.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1979, he gradually replaced the old Union Prayer Book with the new Gates of Prayer prayer book, and later began wearing a tallit while on the bimah. The changes were not uncontroversial, and the latter prompted one member to resign in protest.\xe2\x80\x8b Though more traditional than his more recent predecessors, he was willing to perform intermarriages, but also counseled the couples as to the meaning of making a Jewish home.\xe2\x80\x8b Danziger was involved in the Central Conference of American Rabbis and eventually became its president.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_John Kaplan joined as cantor in 1981, and made the services less formal and more interactive.\xe2\x80\x8b His innovations included bringing in more modern tunes, encouraging congregational singing, and accompanying the services with a guitar, rather than the organ.\xe2\x80\x8b By 2006, Friday night services included a "spirit" service, at which a house band played.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_During Danziger\'s tenure, assistant rabbis included Alan Greenbaum (1977\xe2\x80\x931981), Harry Rosenfeld (1981\xe2\x80\x931984), Constance Abramson Golden\xe2\x80\x94Temple Israel\'s first female rabbi\xe2\x80\x94(1984\xe2\x80\x931986), and Marc Belgrad (1986\xe2\x80\x931991).\xe2\x80\x8b Micah D. Greenstein, the son of rabbi Howard Greenstein,\xe2\x80\x8b succeeded Belgrad as assistant rabbi in 1991, and was subsequently promoted to associate rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b A graduate of Cornell University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, he was ordained by the HUC. On Danziger\'s retirement in 2000, he became senior rabbi.\xe2\x80\x8b An advocate for social justice, he tried to convince the Shelby County Commission to pass a law forbidding discrimination against LGBT people, and has used the Bible to present counter-arguments to those supporting such discrimination based on  biblical verses.\xe2\x80\x8b He has served twice as president of the Memphis Ministers Association, and sits on the boards of several local non-profit organizations.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_Valerie Cohen joined as assistant rabbi in 1999, and served until 2003, before becoming rabbi of Beth Israel Congregation of Jackson, Mississippi.\xe2\x80\x8b Adam B. Grossman, a graduate of Ohio State and Xavier universities, and ordained at HUC, joined as assistant rabbi in June 2008. He had previously served as a rabbinic intern at Dayton, Ohio\'s Temple Israel. Katie M. Bauman, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and ordained at HUC, joined as assistant rabbi in July 2009. She had previously served in rabbinic roles in Natchez, Mississippi and Marion, Ohio, as a cantor in Cincinnati, Ohio\'s Rockdale Temple, and in 2003\xe2\x80\x932004, as Temple Israel\'s Artist and Educator in Residence.\xe2\x80\x8b_NEWLINE_Temple Israel experienced modest fluctuations in membership during the 1990s and 2000s, and approximately half the Jews attending services in Memphis worshiped there.\xe2\x80\x8b In 1995, membership was over 1,700 family units, and by 2004, it had reached 1,800, and the religious school had 800 students.\xe2\x80\x8b By 2008, the school (renamed the Wendy and Avron Fogelman Religious School) had 500 students, and by 2010 membership had fallen to under 1,600 families.\xe2\x80\x8b It remained, nevertheless, the only Reform synagogue in Memphis, the largest and oldest synagogue in Tennessee, and one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United States.\xe2\x80\x8b A\xc2\xa02015, Micah Greenstein is the senior rabbi, with Katie Bauman as associate rabbi, Harry Danziger as rabbi emeritus, and John Kaplan as cantor emeritus.\xe2\x80\x8b'