History

Congregation House of Israel of Hot Springs was organized in 1875 by 20 families, utilizing a small room as its meeting place.  It is told that the families had been worshipping together since 1872, but without a formal name. 

According to some records, the first Jewish settler in Hot Springs was Jacob Kempner, who arrived in 1856 from Cracow, Galicia, and who operated the stagecoach between Little Rock and Hot Springs. 

In 1876, Emanuel Burgauer, a Confederate veteran who had been taken prisoner by the Union forces at Vicksburg, was appointed by Leo Mayer, then President of the congregation, to find a suitable place for building a temple. 

The Jewish services on the High Holy Days in 1875 were conducted in rented quarters on the 2^nd floor of a store adjacent to the present six-story First Federal Savings and Loan building.  In May 1881, property was purchased on Central Avenue and Olive Street. 

The first temple building was completed in 1885, but damaged by fire in 1896.  During the period that it was being rebuilt, worship services were conducted in the First Methodist Church.

The temple was included the the 33 city blocks that were consumed by flames in the “Great Fire” of February 25, 1905, and all the temple records were lost.  In May of that year, the property was sold and the current property (corner of Quapaw and Market streets) was purchased. 

Another fire on September 16, 1913, engulfed the building, and again, many precious historical records were lost.  During that fire, it is reported that Billy Gross (founder of Gross Mortuary and great uncle of Fannie McLaughlin) rushed into the flames and saved the Torah scroll.  That scroll is still presently in use in the congregation.  And in 1924, the “great flood” of that year took its toll and virtually all remaining historical records for the congregation were lost. 

1894 – 1901:  Rabbi Frank Louis Rosenthal 

Born in 1865 and educated at New York City College.  Initiated the movement for the establishement of the hospital for arthritis, which became the Leo N. Levi Hospital. 

1901 – 1902:  Rabbi E.L. Schreiber

Born and educated in Germany, author of The Bible from the Viewpoint of Modern Science, and Reform Judaism and it’s Pioneers.

 1902-1941:  Rabbi Abraham Benedict Rhine

Educated at the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College.  Married to Annette Weiner of Hot Springs in 1905, he served as a member of the Hot Springs Board of Education from 1925 – 1941, and was it’s president from 1931 – 1933.  He also served on the Executive Committee of the Arkansas Tuberculosis Association and the Arkansas Industrial School for Girls, as well as the American Academy for Jewish Research, the B’nai Brith,  Rotary International, and the National Jewish Welfare Board.  He was elected to the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College.  Author of numerous books and articles, including a translation of the five volumes of Graetz’s History of the Jews from German into English.

1941-1943:   Rabbi Martin M. Perley

Education:  McGill University and the Jewish Institute of Religion.  Also served as Executive Director of Leo N. Levi Hospital.

1943 - 1945:  Rabbi Frank Minsker

Education:  University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College.

1945-1949:  Rabbi Wolli Kaelter

Education:  University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College.
Also served as president of the Hot Springs Symphony Society

1949-1951:  Rabbi Martin M. Weitz

Education:  University of Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College and Harvard Chaplain’s School

1951-1956:  Rabbi Samson A. Shain

Education:  Harvard University, Columbia University and Jewish Institute of Religion

1956-1974:  Rabbi Albert A. Michels

Education:  University of Michigan, Jewish Institute of Religion.  Doctorate at the University of Colorado.  Chaplain of Levi Hospital.  President of Hot Springs Ministerial Alliance.

Rabbi Vickki Hollander

The late Dave Burgauer, former president of Arkansas Bank and Trust Company, was the first to be Bar Mitzvah (son of the Commandments) in 1887.  The late Mrs. Bertha Newman was the first girl to be confirmed in the congregation, and it was in the home of her mother that Sunday School classes were first held.

Until the organization of the National Federation of Temple sisterhoods in 1912, what is now the Temple Sisterhood of Hot Springs was known as the Ladies Aid Society of the Temple.  The original membership numbered twenty-eight, and the first president was Mrs. Emanuel Burgauer.  Dues were fifty cents per month.  It was, in truth, and aid society, as its main project was aiding needy families, several of whom received regular monthly help.  Within the Aid Society, a Mother’s club was organized and funds were raised through the media of bazaars and dinners. 

When National was organized, the Ladies aid Society became the Temple Sisterhood, and the aims, purposes and ideals outlined by the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods became the core of the organization.

In 1961, it was felt that the sanctuary, built in 1905, should be replaced.  It was razed, and during the interim period services were held in Burgauer Hall.  The new sanctuary was designed by local architect I.G. McDaniel.  Combining the use of ancient and modern indigenous and foreign building materials, the structure conveys  a religious message through Architectural symbolism.  Praised by visitors from the world over, the design is a unique harmony of rock, water, alabaster, un-hewn stone and native wood.

Ground breaking Ceremony in 1965

 The ascent to Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments is symbolized in the incline from the pulpit to the Ark which contains the Torah scrolls.  Occupying a prime place on the alter is an eighteen foot high monolith, a symbol of man’s enlightenment and freedom of choice, truth and spirit.  When the Torah is brought down to the lower altar and placed into the position for reading adjacent to the monolith, it is in a line with Mount Sinai, at the base of the symbolic Sinai, built of Arkansas rock and alabaster.  The first Bar Mitzvah in the new sanctuary was Jeffrey Rosenzweig.