Administrative records
These records relate specifically to the administration of Temple Israel. They include but are not limited to correspondence, meeting minutes and reports, mailings and notices, brochures, finance reports, and supplemental photographic material. The collection includes:
- Minutes of the Board of Trustees, December 1861-present
- Annual and Special Congregational Meetings, 1942-present
- Membership Committee, 1861-present (with gaps)
- Temple Committee, 1944-1990
- Bylaws/Legal Committee, 1923-present
- Treasurer’s Reports, 1921-present
- Fundraising/Development records, 1925-present (with gaps)
- President and Executive Director papers, 1918-1994 (with gaps)
- Membership files (for inactive members only)
Anniversaries collection
This collection contains material related to important temple anniversaries, including planning records, publicity, programs, photographs, and so forth.
Audio, Audio-visual, and Visual collection
This collection contains audio and video recordings of temple services, rabbinic sermons, special events, and other functions/activities related to the temple, as well as a large amount of physical and digital visual material. Formats include: photographs, lantern slides, glass slides, magnetic tape recordings (cassette, VHS, reel to reel, etc.), vinyl records, and CDs/DVDs.
Biographical and Subject Files
The archives maintains informational files about the temple, American Judaism, Jewish Boston, and select congregants, staff, and clergy. The files include some correspondence, pamphlets, brochures, clippings, and other secondary sources.
Book collection
This collection includes prayer books, books of sermons, books written by Temple Israel clergy and staff, and selected books written by temple members.
Buildings collection
This collection contains records regarding the various buildings Temple Israel has owned and occupied over its 150-year-plus history. Material includes fundraising records, architectural and construction plans, deeds of ownership, maintenance records, and a significant collection of photographs for the following buildings:
- Pleasant Street (1854-1885) (no plans or images)
- Columbus Ave. (1885-1902)
- Commonwealth Ave. (1907-1968)
- Longwood Ave. (1928-present)
Cemetery records
Temple Israel’s cemetery in Wakefield, Massachusetts, was founded in 1859. The archives contains a variety of records pertaining to this historic cemetery, including burial records, maps and plans, legal deeds, maintenance records, and photographs. It also contains the records of the temple’s cemetery committee and programs for the annual Memorial Day service.
Club and committee records
Temple Israel has always offered a variety of social and cultural activities and community service opportunities for its members, including, among others:
- Women of Reform Judaism (formerly Sisterhood), 1920s-present
- Brotherhood, 1949-1986
- Social Action Committee, 1959-present
- Israel Committee, 1959-1986
- Garden Club, 1940s-1990s
- Art Committee, 1900s-1980s
- Couples Club, 1958-1984
- College Club, 1959-1982
- Music Committee, 1920s-present
- Archives/Oral History/Museum committees
Educational programs
Temple Israel’s educational programs for both children and adults have been a central focus throughout the synagogue’s history. Documentation is incomplete, but includes material concerning the religious school curriculum; consecration, bar/bat mitzvah, confirmation, and graduation services; youth programs and activities; the PTA; the education committee; and the nursery school. A large amount of material is also available regarding the temple’s continuing/lifelong education programs, lecture series, and library.
- Education committee, 1948-1963
- Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center, 1989-present
- Religious School, 1870s-present (bulk 1950s-1980s)
- Parent/Teacher Association, 1950s-1980s
- Confirmation, 1950s-present
- Bar/Bat Mitzvah, 1950s-present
- Continuing Education Committee, 1920s-present
- Youth programs (youth committee, RYFTI, NEFTY, FASTY), 1930s-present
- Library and Library Committee, 1940-present
- Adult Education Committee, 1940-present
- Temple Israel Lifelong Learning Initiative (TILLI), 2009-present
- Samuel Nemzoff Papers, 1942-1974
Holidays and Festivals collection
This collection contains material related to various holidays and festivals, including but not limited to Passover, Purim, and High Holidays. Material includes programs; prayer books; pamphlets, brochures, and other printed material; and photographs.
Life cycle records
These include records of births, baby naming, bar/bat mitzvah, marriages, and deaths, all generated by the rabbinic staff.
Oral History collection
This collections includes audio recordings and some transcripts of oral history interviews with various temple clergy, staff, lay leaders, and congregants from the 1970s through the present day. It also includes material from the “Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century” oral history project.
Print collection
The Archives contains a large collection of prints documenting congregational life at Temple Israel from the 1870s. Included are portraits of significant clergy, administrators, and congregants; photographs of special events and holidays in the temple and religious school; and prints of the temple’s various buildings.
Publications collection
The Archives holds numerous publications produced by Temple Israel administrators, clubs and committees, the religious school, and congregants, including:
- Histories of Temple Israel and affiliated groups
- Temple Israel Bulletin, 1907-present
- “Friday Night Handouts,” 1981-present
- Religious service programs
- Torchbearer (religious school yearbook), 1947-1972
- Confirmation, Post-Confirmation, Hebrew School, and Graduation service programs, 1900-present
- Annual reports, catalogs, and promotional literature (pamphlets, brochures, programs)
Rabbinical collections
The Archives contains records from many members of the clergy generated during their time at Temple Israel. The collection includes biographical sketches in the vertical files, miscellaneous documents, or published books. There are also photographs of rabbis in the portrait files. In certain cases, we hold more extensive material that documents some rabbis’ personal lives and professional careers outside of the temple. Here are some highlights for the senior rabbis:
Joseph Sachs (1854-1856): portraits; biographical file
Joseph Shoninger (1856-1874): portraits; biographical file
Solomon Schindler (1874-1894): portraits; photographs (including family album); some correspondence, sermons, and other documents; Messianic Expectations (1886); biographical file; (also see manuscript collection at American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati)
Charles Fleischer (1894-1911): portraits; correspondence; installation materials; biographical file
Harry Levi (1911-1939): portraits; audio recordings; correspondence; reports to board; sermons and speeches; life cycle records (marriages 1911-1913, deaths 1911-1913, confirmations 1912-1953); clippings, history of TI under his rabbinate, anniversary booklet, A Great Adventure and A Rabbi Speaks (books of sermons); obituary; prayer books; biographical file
Joshua Loth Liebman (1939-1948): portraits; audio recordings; correspondence; sermons; materials related to the book Peace of Mind (1946); memorial tributes; life cycle records (weddings and funerals); 1988 museum exhibit materials; biographical file; (larger manuscript collection at Boston University Archives)
Abraham J. Klausner (1949-1953): portraits; audio recordings; sermons; clippings; correspondence; reports to board; life cycle records; installation materials; biographical file
Roland B. Gittelsohn (1953-1977): portraits; photographs; audio recordings; sermons; memos and reports; life cycle records; biographical file; (also see manuscript collection at American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati)
Bernard H. Mehlman (1977-1999): portraits; photographs; audio and audio-visual recordings; correspondence; sermons; reports; life cycle records; biographical files; (also see manuscript collection at American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati)
Ronne Friedman (1999-2016): Portraits; photographs; audio and audio-visual recordings; correspondence; day files; life cycle records; education director materials; biographical file
Elaine S. Zecher (2016-): portraits; photographs; audio recordings; correspondence; sermons; reports; day files; life cycle records; biographical file
In addition, we have many materials for the following Assistant Rabbis and Cantors:
Assistant Rabbis
Samuel Wolk (1923-1929)
Beryl D. Cohon (1930-1939)
Leo A. Bergman (1940-1942)
Albert A. Goldman (1946-1948)
Irving A. Mandel (1948-1950)
Earl A. Grollman (1950-1951)
Maurice L. Zigmund (1951-1954)
Leon A. Jick (1954-1957)
Robert W. Shapiro (1957-1960
Charles A. Kroloff (1960-1963)
Harvey J. Fields (1963-1968)
Frank M. Waldorf (1968-1971)
Paul J. Menitoff (1970-1973)
Paul J. Citrin (1947-1978)
Jeffrey Perry-Marx (1983-1985)
William L. Berkowitz (1985-1990)
Ruth Alpers (1994-1999)
Jonah D. Pesner (1999-2006)
Jeremy Morrison (2001-2015)
Stephanie D. Kolin (2006-2010)
Cantors:
Herbert Fromm (1941-1972)
Murray Simon (1972-1983)
Roy Einhorn (1983-)