Shana Tovah from Michiana Jewish Historical Society
Here's to good health and happiness for your family and friends in the year ahead.
It’s been some time since you last heard from us, but we couldn’t let the holidays pass without wishing you all a sweet new year, and letting you in on some of our recent happenings.
When Temple Beth-El members came to the Jewish Federation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, they saw something that seemed old but was new to them. Some have asked about the ark that was being used, so here’s some interesting information.
The building that now houses the team shop for the South Bend Cubs used to be a synagogue. Becoming a souvenir shop was not the first change for this building. It started out as the Sons of Israel Orthodox synagogue in the early 1900s and later became the Reconstructionist synagogue, B’Nai Yisrael.
Around 1993, B’Nai Yisrael ceased to exist and its artifacts were distributed. The yahrzeit plaques now hang in Sinai Synagogue. Four Torahs were given to a scribe to “kasher” and a fourth was donated to a women’s group in Israel. Of the three remaining Torahs, two were sold and one was donated, along with this ark to the Michiana Jewish Historical Society. For a time, the ark was used by Temple Beth-El while it was renovating its chapel.
This information comes from a letter from Mendel Piser to the B’Nai Yisrael congregation dated August 18, 2003 and from Marzy Bauer.
This past August, Michiana Jewish Historical Society and Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley hosted the first-of-its-kind South Bend BBYO Reunion for all eras and age groups. BBYO consisted of B’Nai Brith Girls and Aleph Zadek Aleph, which were separate (but equal) very active youth organizations here and around the country throughout much of the 20th century. Over 50 former South Bend BBYO-ers reminisced over old photographs, sang songs, laughed, and of course, we ate. Probably everyone who attended would agree it was nice to find an oasis amid all that is going on in our world.
Did you attend the program? We want to hear what you thought and what you’d like to see happen in the future!
The annual meeting of the Michiana Jewish Historical Society will take place on Sunday, December 8th at 2:00 PM at the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley. This year’s featured program will be Jewish History Trivia, featuring both broad topics and local. More information to follow in the coming weeks, but please save the date and start gathering your team to play!