Temple B'nai Sholom was founded in July 1876 by thirty-two families.

The first Confirmation was held in 1897.

The land for the synagogue was purchased in May 1898.

The building was constructed for $16,000 and dedicated on November 26, 1899.

The first Bar Mitzvah was held in 1958, and the first Bat Mitzvah in 1967.

The educational building was built in 1968 at a cost of $100,000.

A complete renovation of the Temple sanctuary was begun in 1993 and completed in 1994.

Architectural Information

The view shown is that of the southwestern facade, a composition of symmetrical elements in an asymmetrical pattern that both intrigues and puzzles one. It begins to make sense when the temple is entered and one sees that the true axis of the central octagonal space is on the 45° diagonal from the dominant corner tower main entrance to the Bimah (platform) and Ark on the east -- the focal point of the temple. The building is symmetrical about this diagonal axis.

The central space is lighted by daylight through the large Palladian style windows on either side which thus light the space slightly from the rear of the congregants visual focus. The plan has fan shaped seating about a radius centered upon the Ark, with the floor sloped for greater visual access.

The arrangement of the elements of the interior of Temple B'nai Sholom declare its Reform Jewish heritage. The Bimah and the Ark are both at the focal point of the central space with the Choir off slightly to the side. A 19th century Orthodox synagogue would not have had a Choir, nor would it have had the Bimah immediately in front of the Ark with all of the seating focused in one direction toward it. The Bimah would have been in the center with the seating arranged in the round focused upon the Bimah. The advent of social and civil rights reform in 19th century Europe affected the religious expression and the architectural expression of Reform Judaism.

The roots of the architectural expression of Temple B'nai Sholom are concurrent with the roots of its founders. In Germany in the 19th century, Reform Jews took the lead in trying to develop architectural styles that would be expressive of Judaism. prior to the religious freedom of 19th century Germany, Jews were suppressed by the political systems in all European countries and their synagogues were usually designed and built off the major thoroughfares in such a way as to be anonymous and unrecognizable as an expression of religion. These dynamic Reform Jews developed a style beginning in 1830 called Rundbogenstil (round arched style) that mixed elements of Romanesque, classical and Renaissance architecture.

The founders of Temple B'nai Sholom came mostly from Germany. Isaac Schiffman was born in 1856 in Hoppstaedten, Germany and came to Huntsville in 1875. He served as President of the Congregation and Chairman of the Building Committee during the design and construction of the current Temple in 1899. The Congregation was started in 1876, with many of the members from a German background. The writer believes that the Congregation was well aware of architectural developments taking place contemporaneously in Germany and the remainder of western Europe, and that they conveyed this aesthetic to the architect of the Temple, R. H. Hunt of Chattanooga.

The Romanesque style was believed to be suitable for experimentation, and this is exactly what Hunt did in this example with the diagonal floor plan axis and the folded planes of the wooden ceiling of the main worship space. This experimentation was a necessity because of the lack of design paradigms due to the aforementioned cultural history. There were few "model" synagogues to draw from

We are the only congregation affiliated with the Reform Movement in northern Alabama & south central Tennessee.

Our membership is currently just under 200 families.

Reform on the Rise: With eight new synagogues joining the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in June 1997, the Reform movement now has 869 affiliated synagogues. Among the new temples are those in Fairbanks, Alaska; Woodstock, Vermont; and Wildomar, California. The Reform movement has an affiliated temple in every state and in Canada, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

Below are some facts detailing the Reform movement's growth over the last 125 years:
1873: 56 congregations, 2,700 families
1920: 222 congregations, 31,000 families
1955: 505 congregations, 170,000 families
1983: 773 congregations, 269,000 families
1997: 869 congregations, 300,000 families
The smallest Reform congregation: Temple B'nai Israel, Laredo, Texas: 3 families.
The largest congregation: Temple Emanu-El, Manhattan: 2,900 families

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Temple B'nai Sholom is a member of the URJ since 1877

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