Temple Israel is the second oldest congregation in the Boston area, and the largest Reform congregation in New England. Founded in 1854 in Boston, our long history follows the rise of the local Jewish community. The Temple Israel Wyner Archives serves as the repository for records, documents, publications, and images relating to the history and administration of Temple Adath Israel of Boston. These records document the congregational history and provide primary source material to assist the clergy, staff, and members of the synagogue. The Wyner Archives also serve as a resource for researchers who are interested in the history of Boston’s Jewish community, or in family research.

1895 Confirmation Photo

FROM THE TEMPLE ISRAEL ARCHIVES

Partial Friday evening Sabbath service with sermon by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn: “Beyond McCarthy,” December 3, 1954.

“If the tide has indeed begun to surge, as I hope with my whole heart it has, against McCarthy and the evil things for which he stands, the credit goes to those whose personal courage impels them to fight back, even when it would have been so much safer and more comfortable to turn the other way.”

The final sermon in a series about current issues, Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn’s sermon discusses Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin who gained power and created hysteria by accusing public servants and others of being Communists during the Red Scare. He describes McCarthy, who had just been censured in the Senate, as a liar who spews hatred and creates divisiveness, but also as the “cause and product of a social system that transcends any one person.” Gittelsohn argues that McCarthy’s popularity can be explained only by a sick, irrational level of anxiety and the fear of taking on the burden of freedom in a terrifying world where it is tempting to look to a totalitarian leader who seems sure of all the answers. He is proud of the healthy socially responsible figures who have stood up to reject McCarthy over the past 4 and a half years and concludes that freedom can only survive through “large scale militant decency and the courage to defeat.”

FROM THE TEMPLE ISRAEL ARCHIVES

"This is Temple Israel" television program: Chanukah And Its Rituals, December 13, 1953

It is December 13, 1953. Temple Israel has just installed a new Senior Rabbi, Roland B. Gittelsohn, and the Temple Israel Brotherhood, which has sponsored radio broadcasts for more than thirty years “on behalf of human relations,” has added a television program, “This is Temple Israel,” to “keep pace with the times” in a new medium. Designed to acquaint a broad audience with Jewish teachings and practices, today’s episode, the third, focuses on the history and rituals of Chanukah, with Rabbi Gittelsohn telling the story of the Maccabees’ battle for religious freedom, their reconsecration of the Second Temple, and the legend of the tiny flask of oil that lasts eight days. He also discusses the holiday’s modern message—that minorities have the right to resist conformism and the power to defeat formidable oppressors through faith and courage.

More than a week ago, on December 5, the Sisterhood held the first Chanukah Mothers and Daughters Religious Service and Luncheon, which was also the first Temple Israel service ever led entirely by women. As part of that Saturday morning service, nine young girls performed a Chanukah ceremony in which they each represented one candle “light” and explicated its meaning: truth, mercy, holiness, justice, love, Torah, patience, God, and courage. Pleased, Rabbi Gittelsohn invited them to repeat their presentation on the television show. The episode concludes with “a candle lighting ceremony in our temple… such as you might have witnessed in almost any Jewish home around the world.” The prayers, and other holiday songs, including Mi Y’malel, Al Hanissim, Haneiros Halalu, and Rock of Ages, are sung by the Temple Israel Quartet, led by Temple Israel Music Director Herbert Fromm.

FROM THE TEMPLE ISRAEL ARCHIVES

"This is Temple Israel" television program: Model Passover Seder, April 11, 1954

In this recording from the Temple Israel Archives, Senior Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn stages an abridged Passover Seder to acquaint people who have never witnessed or held one with its rituals. Set up as a family event, Gittlesohn takes the role of the father, Helaine (Mrs. James M.) Berenson, President of the PTA, plays the mother, and the children, students in the religious school, are Vivian Gilman (who chants the Four Questions), Peter Coppelman, Carol Levy, Arthur Finstein, and Nancy Bayard. The Temple Israel Quartet, led by Temple Israel Music Director Herbert Fromm, performs choral versions of the prayers and sings Adir Hu, Hodu L’Adonai Ki Tov, and Eliahu Hanavi. This audio recording represents the seventh episode of the television program, This is Temple Israel, which aired from 1954-1978. It was sponsored by the Temple Israel Brotherhood, recorded at Temple Israel of Boston, and broadcast on Massachusetts television station WNAC on the second Sunday of each month.

This, and a large number of similar audio recordings of services, sermons, and events from 1934-1979, are currently being digitized by the Temple Israel Archives as part of a Recordings at Risk grant project sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources. Free streaming access to these recordings should be available in the winter of 2020/21.

If you have memories of this or similar TI events, or any other comments or feedback that you would like to share, please send them to Archives@tisrael.org.

Collection Policy

We actively collect the institutional records from the administration, clergy, religious school, preschool, committees, synagogue members, lay leaders, the Riverway Project, the Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center, and other auxiliary organizations. We also collect the personal papers of temple members. Records include manuscripts and papers, meeting minutes, bulletins, religious school yearbooks, photographs and digital images, scrapbooks, and memorabilia.

Researching Your Family History

We have various records that are useful for genealogists and others interested in their family history. While some membership and cemetery records exist from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, most life cycle records date from the 1940’s and are organized according to the clergy member who performed the ceremony. When making inquiries, please include as much information as possible to help expedite your search.

List of Temple Israel Archival Collections

The majority of the material in the Wyner Archives documents the administrative history of Temple Israel, its affiliated clubs and committees, and congregational life of its members. Manuscripts, minutes, published and printed material, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisual recordings, vertical files, memorabilia, and other material illustrate the ways the temple has changed and grown, as well as the traditions it has maintained. While the earliest records come from the 1850s, most date from 1900 to the present.

List of Archival Collections (click to expand)

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-)

Researcher Packet

Download here

Beyond the Wyner Archives

Interested in finding out more information about Temple Israel, its members, or other aspects of the Boston Jewish community? For a complete list of sources, see the bibliography to Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan, Susan L. Porter, and Lisa Fagin Davis, Becoming American Jews: Temple Israel of Boston (Brandeis University Press, 2009), but here are a few resources to get you started:

Academic Guide to Jewish History

American Jewish Archives
Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Tel: 513/221-1875, Fax: 513/221-7812

American Jewish Historical Society
15 W. 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212/294-6160, Fax: 212/294-6161
101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02216
Phone: 617-226-1245, Fax: 617-226-1248

Brandeis University Libraries
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department
415 South Street
Mailstop 045, P.O. Box 549110
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Tel: 781/736-4686, Fax: 781/736-4719

Boston Public Library, Main Branch and Research Library
700 Boylston Street
Copley Square
Boston, MA 02116
Tel: 617-536-5400

Boston University Special Collections
771 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Tel: 617/353-3696, Fax: 617/353-2838
Email

Combined Jewish Philanthropies
126 High Street
Boston, MA 02110-2700
Tel: 617/457-8500, Fax: 617/ 988-6262

Harvard University Archival Repositories

Massachusetts State Archives
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Massachusetts Archives
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
Tel: 617/727-2816, Fax: 617/ 288-8429

National Archives and Record Administration (Waltham branch)
Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center
380 Trapelo Road
Waltham, MA 02452-6399
Tel: 866/406-2379
Email: waltham.archives@nara.gov

Temple Ohabei Shalom
1187 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02446
Tel: 617/277-6610, Fax: 617/277-7881

Temple Mishkan Tefila
300 Hammond Pond Parkway
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-1723
Tel: 617-332-7770, Fax: 617-332-2871

Newspapers (available both online and on microfilm at the Boston Public Library and elsewhere)

Boston Hebrew Observer, 1883-1886
[Boston] Jewish Advocate, 1905-present
Jewish Chronicle, 1891-1893
Jewish Herald, 1893-1894
Boston Globe [digitized from 1874]
Boston Herald
Boston Traveler
Boston Post
New York Times

Becoming American Jews

Brandeis University Press, 2009

Description
“From its beginning in 1854 as a traditional German shul to its current status as the largest Reform synagogue in New England, Temple Israel has been an important force in Boston and American Jewish life. The congregation’s ongoing efforts to adapt to changes in American society while preserving balance–between tradition and innovation, between acculturation and distinctiveness–exemplify the transformations in religious worship practices, education, and social justice that mark modern American Reform Judaism. This volume, based on hundreds of archival documents, demographic data, and oral histories, and illustrated with more than 200 images, brings to life the stories of the men, women, and children who have built and maintained this vital Jewish community for more than 150 years.”

Endorsements
“This trio of historians has done more than produce a solid institutional biography, although the tell the story of a single place with aplomb. They offer here instead a microcosm of American Jewish history, narrating the broad sweep of the American Jewish past through the lens of one synagogue in one city. What emerges is both local and national.” –Hasia R. Diner, Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History, New York University
“The authors help round out the picture of Reform Judaism in America. This history of Temple Israel in Boston highlights the significance of strong rabbis that move congregations in important new directions. Temple Israel has attracted some of the best American rabbis–and some of the strongest lay leaders.” –Michael Feldberg, Former Director of Research, American Jewish Historical Society and President, The History Consultancy, LLC.

About the Authors

Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan is Assistant Professor of History at the University of South Carolina Aiken and the former archivist at Temple Israel.
Susan L. Porter is a historian and scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center, a research consultant, and lecturer in Museum Studies at the Harvard University Extension School.
Lisa Fagin Davis is an independent scholar and manuscript consultant in the Boston area.

Reviews

Read the Jewish Advocate review.

Read the New England Quarterly review.

Read the Journal of the American Jewish Archives review (pp. 113-115).