Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, Oregon)

For similarly named synagogues, see Beth Israel.

Temple Beth Israel
Hebrew: בית ישראל
Temple Beth Israel
Religion
AffiliationReconstructionist Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusSynagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Motzkin Rubenstein
  • Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin (Emeritus)[1]
StatusActive
Location
Location1175 East 29th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, Oregon) is located in Eugene OR
Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, Oregon)
Location in Eugene, Oregon
Geographic coordinates44°01′33″N 123°04′31″W / 44.025871°N 123.075364°W / 44.025871; -123.075364
Architecture
Architect(s)
  • Mel Solomon and Associates
  • TBG Architects & Planners[2]
TypeSynagogue
General contractorMcKenzie Commercial Construction[3]
Date establishedc. 1930s
Completed2008[4]
Construction cost$6 million[4]
Specifications
Capacity900+[4]
MaterialsConcrete, steel, wood[4]
Website
www.tbieugene.org

Temple Beth Israel (Hebrew: בית ישראל) is a Reconstructionist synagogue located at 1175 East 29th Avenue in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. Founded in the early 1930s as a Conservative congregation, Beth Israel was for many decades the only synagogue in Eugene.

The congregation initially worshipped in a converted house on West Eighth Street. It constructed its first building on Portland Street in 1952, and occupied its current LEED-compliant facilities in 2008.

In the early 1990s conflict between feminist and traditional members led to the latter leaving Beth Israel, and forming the Orthodox Congregation Ahavas Torah. Beth Israel came under attack from neo-Nazi members of the Volksfront twice, in 1994 and again in 2002. In both cases the perpetrators were caught and convicted.

Services were lay-led for decades. Marcus Simmons was hired as the congregation's first rabbi in 1959, but left in 1961. After a gap of two years, Louis Neimand became rabbi in 1963, and served until his death in 1976. He was followed by Myron Kinberg, who served from 1977 to 1994, and Kinberg in turn was succeeded by Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin. Maurice Harris joined Husbands-Hankin as associate rabbi in 2003, and served until 2011, when he was succeeded by Boris Dolin. In 2015 Rabbi Husbands-Hankin retired and became Rabbi Emeritus. The congregation became a one-rabbi synagogue and hired Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Motzkin Rubenstein to serve as Rabbi. Beth Israel has approximately 400 member households, and is the largest synagogue in Eugene.

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