Temple Israel Synagogue

The Children of Israel Synagogue, later known as Temple Israel, in Memphis, Tennessee, is the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in the state. Founded in 1853 by 36 mostly German Jewish families as Congregation B’nai Israel, it transitioned from traditional Orthodox roots to Reform Judaism and became a cornerstone of Memphis’s civic, interfaith, and civil rights history. Officially chartered by the Tennessee Legislature on March 2, 1854, the Congregation of the Children of Israel became the first permanent Jewish house of worship in Tennessee. In 1858, they built their first synagogue near Main and Exchange streets in Downtown Memphis, with Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise presiding over the ceremony. The congregation grew and moved to a larger Moorish-style building in Midtown on Poplar Avenue in 1884.

In 1916, under the leadership of Rabbi Fineshriber, a magnificent Byzantine-inspired synagogue on Poplar Avenue was dedicated. The temple was built to replace the outdated 19th-century Moorish-style temple located a few miles away. Designed by local architects Walk C. Jones Sr. and Max Furbringer, the building is an excellent example of an early American domed synagogue, with a large central dome and two smaller flanking domes, a type that would become widespread by the 1920s. The new sanctuary sat 1,200 patrons and featured an enormous $10,000 organ (equivalent to roughly $220,000 today). The new synagogue included an auditorium with a stage in the basement and 14 classrooms that were used as part of a religious school. Worshipers entered through three sets of double doors, passing under an entablature carved with the biblical verse fragment, “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself”.

One of the most significant chapters in Temple Israel’s history unfolded during the 1910s and early 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was experiencing a resurgence across the United States. Rabbi William H. Fineshriber arrived in Memphis in 1911 as an assistant rabbi. Following the unexpected death of Rabbi Samfield, he became the congregation’s senior rabbi in 1915, a position he held until 1924. During his tenure, Fineshriber emerged as a vocal opponent of the Klan and racial violence, courageously challenging the hatred and intolerance spreading throughout the South.

Fineshriber believed that religious leaders had a responsibility to confront injustice rather than remain silent. He spoke against lynching, advocated for African Americans, supported improvements to Black housing, and spoke at Black churches. In 1917, following a particularly brutal lynching of Ell Persons in Memphis, he convened a congregational meeting and secured support for a public condemnation of the attack which was subsequently published in the local newspaper.

Rabbi Fineshriber’s opposition to the KKK became especially pronounced in 1921, when the Klan was attempting to reorganize in Memphis. He publicly announced his intention to preach about the Klan at the synagogue, hoping to draw a broader audience beyond his own congregation. From the pulpit he condemned the organization, challenging its racism and its claims to represent American values. His opposition to the Ku Klux Klan came at a considerable personal cost. Speaking out against the Klan in the 1920s South required considerable courage. Those who challenged its influence risked not only violence and intimidation but also social ostracism and economic retaliation.

Historical accounts report that Rabbi Fineshriber received threats against himself, his wife, and his children in retaliation for his outspoken condemnation of the organization. Yet intimidation did not silence him. He continued to denounce the Klan from the pulpit at Temple Israel and at other public gatherings, challenging its racism and the climate of fear it sought to impose.

Fineshriber continued to encourage civic leaders to stand against the Klan, helping rally opposition to its influence in Memphis. His willingness to confront the organization demonstrated the power of religious leadership in challenging racial hatred and injustice. Although the Klan gained influence in many Southern cities during this period, it never established the same level of dominance in Memphis, where Fineshriber and other community leaders helped resist its reach.

Three decades after Fineshriber’s departure, another Temple Israel rabbi emerged as an influential voice in Memphis’s struggle for racial equality. On April 8, 1946, Rabbi James A. Wax was appointed assistant rabbi at Temple Israel in Memphis, beginning a 32-year association with the congregation. Under the mentorship of senior rabbi Harry W. Ettelson, Wax found an environment that encouraged his growing interest in public policy, community service, and social justice. Promoted to associate rabbi just 18 months later, he quickly became a prominent voice for equal rights in Memphis, speaking throughout the community and serving on numerous civic boards. In 1954, he was installed as Temple Israel’s sixth senior rabbi, where he continued advancing social justice while also strengthening Jewish traditions within the congregation. He encouraged B’nai Mitzvah ceremonies, introduced Hebrew classes to the religious school, incorporated the traditional shofar into Rosh Hashanah services, and established dietary restrictions within the temple, bringing a renewed emphasis on Jewish religious practices.

During the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement, Rabbi Wax worked alongside Christian clergy, civic leaders, and civil rights organizations to challenge segregation, poverty, and racial discrimination. Often working behind the scenes, Rabbi Wax helped build interracial and interfaith coalitions, using cooperation, negotiation, and moral leadership to advance the cause of equality in Memphis. Jewish communities across the South occupied a complicated position during the Civil Rights Movement. While many Jewish leaders and congregants supported racial equality, they also faced antisemitism and threats from white supremacists who viewed advocates of integration as enemies of the established racial order. The danger became painfully clear in 1958, when a synagogue in Atlanta known as the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation was bombed in an act of antisemitic violence. Although the attack occurred in Atlanta, not Memphis, it heightened concerns among Jewish congregations throughout the South about the risks of publicly supporting civil rights. At Temple Israel, Rabbi James A. Wax’s commitment to integration was not universally shared, and some congregants were reluctant to take a public stand. The resulting tensions reflected the difficult choices facing Southern Jewish communities as they weighed their commitment to social justice against the very real threat of intimidation and violence.

In 1976, the Temple Israel congregation moved to a 30-acre wooded campus in East Memphis. The new building was designed by Francis Gassner of Gassner, Nathan, and Partners, with Percival Goodman as consulting architect. Besides a larger 1,500-seat sanctuary, the modern complex includes a 300-seat chapel and 32 classrooms. The former synagogue on Poplar Avenue was sold to a theological seminary, which occupied the site until 1996, after which, it became the property of Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering. When the congregation vacated the building, they took with them the ner tamid (eternal light), Torah ark doors, and a Ten Commandments wall decoration, all of which were installed in the new chapel.

In early 2026, the pending demolition of the former Temple Israel was announced. Efforts were made to attempt to save the former historic synagogue. Crews began tearing down the old Temple Israel building on October 22, 2026. Heavy equipment removed the facade that morning, confirming that demolition is underway. The property is owned by Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, which is replacing it with a major expansion of its Midtown campus, including a 73,000-square-foot sanctuary within a $310 million redevelopment plan.

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