Congregation Shaare Emeth
{{short description|Reform synagogue in Creve Coeur, Missouri, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Congregation Shaare Emeth
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| image = Congregation Shaare Emeth.jpg
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| religious_affiliation = Reform Judaism
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| organisational_status = Synagogue
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| leadership = {{ubl|Rabbi Jim Bennett|{{nowrap|Rabbi Andrea Goldstein}}|Rabbi Rachel Bearman|Rabbi Lori Levine {{small|(Education)}}|Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman {{small|(Emeritus)}} }}
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| location = 11645 Ladue Road, Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri 63141
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| country = United States
| map_type = Missouri
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| established = 1867 {{small|(as a congregation)}}
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| year_completed = {{ubl|1869 {{small|(17th and Pine Sts.)}}|1897 {{small|(Lindell Street)}}|1934 {{small|(University City)}}|1980 {{small|(Creve Coeur)}}}}
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Congregation Shaare Emeth (transliterated from Hebrew as "Gates of Truth") is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 11645 Ladue Road, in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, in the United States.
History
Founded in St. Louis in 1867, out of the Orthodox B’nai El congregation, Shaare Emeth constructed its first synagogue building at 17th and Pine Streets in 1869, designed by Thomas Brady and Otto H. Stickel in the Moorish Revival style,{{cite journal |author=Simmons, David J. |title=The Architecture of Nineteenth-Century Synagogues in St. Louis |journal=Society of Architectural Historians Missouri Valley |volume=12 |number=4 |date=Winter 2006 |pages=1–8 |doi= }}{{cite book |author=Wischnitzer, Rachel |title=Synagogue Architecture in the United States: History and Interpretation |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Jewish Publication Society of America |year=1955 |isbn= |pages= }}{{cite book |author1=Olitzky, Kerry M. |author1-link=Kerry M. Olitzky |author2=Raphael, Marc Lee |title=The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |location=Westport |year=1996 |pages=200–201 |isbn=9780313288562 }} with tow onion domes.{{cite web |author=Gruber, Samuel D. |url=https://synagoguesofthesouth.cofc.edu/synagogues/st-louis-mo-congregation-shaare-emeth-1869/ |title=Congregation Shaare Emeth (1869) |work=Synagogues of the South |publisher=College of Charleston |date=2024 |access-date=January 2, 2024 }} Rabbi Solomon H. Sonneschein was the congregation's first rabbi, who later went on to be founding rabbi at Congregation Temple Israel.{{Cite book |title=A Centennial History of Congregation Temple Israel |last=Rosenkranz |first=Samuel |publisher=Congregation Temple Israel, Creve Coeur, Missouri |year=1986 |pages=1–77 |lccn=85-73578}}
The 1869 synagogue was replaced by the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building designed by Link, Rosenheim, and Ittner, completed in 1897. With seating for 1,000 worshippers, the building was notable due to its {{convert|25|sqft|m2|adj=on}} tower, some {{convert|140|ft|m}} high. Alfred S. Alschuler of Chicago designed the congregation's third synagogue, located in University City, completed in 1934.{{cite web |author=Gruber, Samuel D. |url=https://synagoguesofthesouth.cofc.edu/synagogues/st-louis-mo-congregation-shaare-emeth-1897/ |title=Congregation Shaare Emeth (1897) |work=Synagogues of the South |publisher=College of Charleston |date=2024 |access-date=January 2, 2024 }} In 1980, the congregation moved to Creve Coeur.
Shaare Emeth is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism. It is the oldest Reform and largest congregation in the greater St. Louis area. In addition to religious services, the Shaare Emeth has a religious school, Shirlee Green Preschool, and two summer camps, Camp Micah and Camp Emeth. In 2016, the former Orthodox B’nai El and the Reform Shaare Emeth congregations merged.
Clergy include Senior Rabbi Jim Bennett, Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, Rabbi Rachel Bearman, Cantor Seth Warner, and Rabbi Educator Lori Levine; and Rabbi Emeritus is Jeffrey Stiffman.
Notable members
- Rosa Sonneschein, rebbetzin, editor, and activist for female synagogal rights{{cite book |year=1998 |title=Jewish Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/jewishwomeniname00hyma |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415919355 }}.{{cite book |year=1997 |title=The Journey Home: Jewish Women and the American Century |url=https://archive.org/details/journeyhomejewis00antl |url-access=registration |quote=Rosa Sonneschein. |location=New York |publisher=The Free Press |isbn=0684834448}}
- Solomon H. Sonneschein, founding and controversial rabbi
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.sestl.org/}}
{{Synagogues in the United States}}
{{Creve Coeur, Missouri}}
{{St. Louis County, Missouri}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaare Emeth}}
Category:1867 establishments in Missouri
Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States
Category:Jewish organizations established in 1867
Category:Reform synagogues in Missouri
Category:Synagogues completed in 1869
Category:Synagogues completed in 1897
Category:Synagogues completed in 1934
Category:Synagogues completed in 1980
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