November 24, 2004
Beth El honors historic roots
Synagogue built in 1885 still in use by Jewish congregation
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
On Sunday, members of Congregation Beth El celebrated the country's 350th anniversary of the first Jewish settlement by harking back to their own roots in Traverse City.
The congregation hosted an open house at their synagogue on Washington Street and also welcomed visitors to an exhibition of historical artifacts at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center.
The synagogue, which was built in 1885, is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in Michigan. Three devout families founded the congregation and helped build the simple building on a lot donated by Perry Hannah, one of the founding fathers of Traverse City.
According to synagogue history, donations from $2 to $50 helped build the facility, the latter amount a significant sum in the 1880s. The synagogue features a main worship room, an upstairs nook now used as a study by the visiting rabbi and a basement fellowship hall. Originally, women were segregated during services and sat upstairs while the basement had a ritual bath called a mikvah.
Vivid stained glass windows brighten the main sanctuary, which serves as a spiritual focus for about 50 families in the area. Rabbi Albert Lewis visits monthly from Grand Rapids and the congregation expanded the visit to include a weekend of services and celebration.
"We do have quite a few families who go way back, some for decades and some over generations," said Caren Smith, a member of the congregation with her family for 12 years. "The congregation does fluctuate, when we moved here there were more children."
Smith noted that the decorative windows are original to the structure and feature the distinctive wavy glass of the era. In addition, the congregation has two Torah scrolls, one with a significant history.
"It was saved from the Holocaust from Czechoslovakia, we only use that once a year during High Holidays because it is so fragile," she noted.
A range of historical documents, items and artwork has lined the walls of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center this month as part of a historical display about the congregation.
The items were drawn from the personal collections of members include a prayer book brought from Latvia in the late 1800s, a Torah cover, a Torah binder and a yod, which is a pointer used to read the scrolls. Some items, including an embroidered challah cover, hand-carved figurines of a Jewish man and women and a silver spice box, are from the collection of Emmy Lou Cholak. Cholak's personal collection includes pieces dating back 150 years, passed down through her family.
Artwork in the exhibit includes works by Glenn Wolff, such as Little Synagogue on the Prairie and a Historic Jewish Map of Michigan. An original woven prayer shawl by weaver Terry Tarnow, who helped cull items from Congregation Beth El members for the exhibit, is also displayed.
The historical exhibit of Congregation Beth El will be displayed at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center through December 3. The Heritage Center is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.