B'er Chayim Temple

B'er Chayim Temple

B'er Chayim Temple, May 2008
Location Union and South Centre Streets, Cumberland, Maryland, United States
Coordinates 39°39′2″N 78°45′38″W / 39.65056°N 78.76056°W / 39.65056; -78.76056Coordinates: 39°39′2″N 78°45′38″W / 39.65056°N 78.76056°W / 39.65056; -78.76056
Area Less than one acre
Built 1866 (1866)
Built by John B. Walton
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 79001106[1]
Added to NRHP November 15, 1979 (1979-11-15)

The B'er Chayim Temple (Hebrew for Well of Life, a metaphor in which Torah is likened to water) is a synagogue in the American city of Cumberland, Maryland.

It was built in 1866 for the local Jewish congregation. Originally an Orthodox congregation, it is now a Reform congregation. It is one of the oldest congregations in Maryland and its 1865 building is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the United States.[2]

History

The first Jewish resident recorded in Cumberland dates to 1816. Twelve Jewish families were living in Cumberland, which then had a population of 6,150, in 1853 when congregation B'ere Chayim was incorporated by the state legislature. The congregation was Orthodox when the temple was built,[3] although it is now a Reform congregation.

Between 1865 and 1867, the congregation built a two-story, Greek Revival synagogue building on the corner of South Centre and Union Streets. The facade is ornamented with four pilasters, a handsome pediment, and four very un-Greek Rundbogenstil, or round-arched, windows.[3] The building was constructed by local builder John B. Walton.

Prayers and sermons were originally held in German, rather than Hebrew.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ (registration required) Gordon, Mark (1996). "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues". American Jewish History. 84.1. pp. 11–27.
  3. 1 2 Staff (undated). "B'er Chayim Temple". National Park Service. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ William Pratt and Dave Dorsey (December 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: B'er Chayim Temple" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-01-01.

External links

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