The History of Congregation Brith Shalom
For an individual, fifty years is a significant portion of a lifetime, but in the span of Jewish history it is but a moment; a moment which every Jew must make significant.
The founders of Brith Shalom fulfilled that obligation and have left us a heritage of which we can be truly proud.
It was September 15, 1954, when a meeting of the Hebrew Education Committee, a sub committee of the Jewish Community Council, met to explore the needs of the Jewish families living west of Main Street. Indications resulted in an interest in forming a congregation to meet the worship and Hebrew school needs of families in Southwest Houston.
The synagogue first met in 1955 in a rented house at 2203 Bellefontaine. That year the constitution was ratified and the conservative synagogue became Congregation Brith Shalom.
The Sisterhood was formed that spring and the first High Holy Daly services were held in the Knights of Columbus Hall with the first rabbi, Samuel Scolnic.
In March 1956, the first service was conducted at 4301 Bellaire Boulevard in a prefabricated structure built by the members. The rabbi was Harry Sky.
The Men’s Club was formed in 1958. In the fall of 1959 the First Baptist Church at 4610 Bellaire Boulevard, the present location of the congregation, was purchased. The building was dedicated in April 1961.
Rabbi Moshe Cahana became the spiritual leader in 1958.
Over the span of its fifty year history, the congregants have also been served by spiritual leaders, Rabbi Herbert Yoskowitz, Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, Rabbi Howard Siegel, Interim Rabbi Danny Horowitz, and now, Rabbi Ranon Teller.
Fifty years ago, in the beginning, we had as our primary goal the integration of each individual into synagogue life – into Jewish life.
We wanted to remain small in number and large in ideology. We wanted every member to know every other member, and we wanted every member to know the rabbi and for the rabbi to know every member.
Children were encouraged to participate in every facet of synagogue life. We were a family oriented congregation where membership dues included a religious education for our children, as well as tickets for the High Holiday Services. Through the efforts of our members, we have become a unique congregation. We have built our sanctuary with the labor of our hands. We have created art through our glorious ark cover, our bimah cover, our beautiful windows, and our chuppah.
We have made an immeasurable impact on our Jewish community. We were instrumental in ensuring that the tradition of the Brit Milah ceremony be performed on the eighth day – and by either a mohel or an observant Jewish doctor.
Brith Shalom was the first in the Houston area to offer aliyahs to women and classes were offered to prepare her for the honor.
We established Religious School, not a Sunday School, one in which religion, Hebrew, contemporary problems, customs, and history were integrated into the curriculum. As an extension of classroom learning, students participated in a project to clean up areas in the inner city – one of the first programs of its kind. The synagogue became an extension of “family” with members fully participating in productions of “The Follies,” in having Shabbat family dinners and in organizing weekend Shabbatons.
Our impact on the community has been so big and we have had so many firsts.
Our first woman president, during her tenure, organized the Council of Congregation Presidents, which set a precedent throughout the country.
In Houston, the Yom Hashoah Commemorative Service began as a community wide observance at Brith Shalom in 1978, with Dr. Emil Fackenheim, theologian, as our guest. Through the efforts of Brith Shalom, the 27th of Nissan was declared the official commemoration date of Yom Hashoah.
Our participation in Social Action is unsurpassed. Our spiritual leadership and our lay leadership were in the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, both locally and nationally. Our congregation gave Rabbi Moshe Cahana a standing ovation when he walked into the sanctuary upon his return from marching in Alabama.
In 1964 when our county hospital, Ben Taub, was in crisis, Jan de Hartog, the author, spoke on the issue from our pulpit, while the Rabbi read the names of the “jewels” of our synagogue that had taken Red Cross training and were volunteering as nurses aides.
In 1983, a group of Brith Shalom members with the leadership of our rabbi opened the doors in Houston for all future group trips to Russia and to personal contacts with the Refuseniks.
Our Social Action program came to the attention of the Chairperson of the Rabbinical Assembly Social Action Committee on Racial Justice, who wrote to us commending us on our involvement and our work.
Over the years Brith Shalom has treated this community to entertainers such as opera singer Robert Merrill, folk singer Theodore Bikel, vocalist Liza Minelli, and actress Olympia Dukakis to lecturers such as Rabbi Harold Kushner, psychologist Haim Ginott, and Congresswoman Barbara Jordan; and to Scholars-in-Residence such as Dr. Theodore Gester, Professor Nahum Sarna, and Dr. Ismar Schorsch.
The larger Jewish community has benefited from Brith Shalom. We have provided the United Synagogue with regional leadership, the National Women’s League of Conservative Sisterhoods with regional and national leadership, the National Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs with regional and national leadership, as well as Hadassah, B’nai Brith, Jewish Women’s International, Brandeis, and O.R.T.
Brith Shalom members have chaired the women’s division of the United Jewish Campaign; have served as presidents of the Jewish Family Services, Seven Acres, the Federation, the Jewish Community Center and the AJC, as well as chairpersons of the JCC Book Fair.
Our past is glorious. The last five decades have been filled with memorable events. It is in this synagogue that we have shared life experiences: births, bar/bat mitzvahs, marriages, anniversaries, and the loss of loved ones. It is in this synagogue that we have found friendships, shared goals, our holidays, and our prayers. It is here we have identified ourselves as Jews, and affirmed our faith in G-d.
It is here at Brith Shalom, our Covenant of Peace, that we carry the world’s oldest heritage and its newest dreams into the next fifty years.
