By 1844 there must have been several Jews because in that year two young Jewish brothers died, one in Hawkinsville and one in Perry. A plot of land was purchased in the City's newly established Rose Hill Cemetery. The brothers named Bettman had come out of Germany. Several others were buried in this Hebrew Burial Ground before the official opening of the congregation.
On October 30, 1859 eight men met in the home of E. Brown: E. Einstein, E. Isaacs, H. Goodman, M. Laundauer, I. Weill, E. Feuchtwanger, I. Hertzfield and A. Dessau. They established a group called Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Israel and agreed that the form of worship should follow the German Minhag. The German Minhag was probably spelled out to distinguish from the Sephardic practice, for any congregation of this period would have likely been Orthodox. The beginning services were in Hebrew and German. There were 78 members on the initial roll. With this large number I think it is reasonable to suppose that some form of worship must have been held prior to the formal organization. The newly formed Congregation rented a room on Cherry Street upstairs over Horn's Confectionary Shop, now the Federal Bankruptcy Court. The first house of worship was twenty eight by fifty feet and was made useable for a cost of less than $200. A sefer Torah was purchased for $110. The rent was $12.50 monthly.
The first Rabbi was hired. The Reverend Henry Lowenthal of London left his congregation in Hartford, Connecticut and came to Macon. He stated in his resume that he was qualified to serve as a melamed, a bal torah, a mohel, a schochet, and a bodek. He also states that he was able to teach Hebrew, German, and English and could deliver a discourse if required. The new Congregation could not pass up this paragon and he was hired. Both he and the Congregation were disappointed and he left within a few months. Since that date 142 years ago, the Congregation has engaged 22 Rabbis, with one Rabbi Isaac E. Marcuson serving fifty years.
The Congregation subsequently had a meeting place on Second Street in Macon.
By 1871 the progress was such that they began construction of the first Temple on the corner of Poplar and Second Street. (The large pink abandoned telephone company building now occupies this space.) Obviously the Congregation was moving in the direction of reform because a pipe organ was installed. This evoked a controversy and Mark Isaacs, one of the affluent members, wrote a beautiful letter to the organization in which he stated he was unwilling to fulfill his pledge to the building fund because the faith of the Fathers had been dishonored. Isaacs later returned to London. (It is not known whether he is related to E. Isaacs, one of the eight founders of Temple Beth Israel.) The controversy apparently divided the Congregation, those being opposed to the reform direction generally from Prusia and perhaps Poland. Actually we know very little about it except that the disturbed group set up a separate Congregation B'Nai Israel because they purchased a separate burial ground in the city cemetery. It still exists today and contains eleven marked graves and eight unmarked graves. The cemetery was apparently abandoned with the arrival of the Eastern Europeans who established a new burial ground and a new Congregation.
Service in this first Temple building on Poplar Street began in 1874. About twenty-five years later Poplar Street became the market street on Saturdays when all the surrounding farmers drove their wagons into town. It was not possible to keep the windows of the temple closed and the noise became unbearable. The present property was purchased on the corner of Cherry and Spring Street and in 1902 the first services were held in the new facility.
The congregation moved further towards reform practices and in about 1880 joined the reform Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
A few years later there was a discussion about the wearing of hats by the male members during the services. The Hebrew Union College was consulted. They responded that it was not a matter of Jewish law but of custom and shortly thereafter the practice was discontinued. Heads remained uncovered until about 1990 when the head covering was resumed with the kippah. Almost concurrently the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah were introduced.
In the Congregation's 142 year history it has been led by fifty lay Presidents and the membership has fluctuated from about 300 to 100 members.
Researched and written by Gus B. Kaufman
website: ga011.urj.net
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