OUR COMMUNITY SYNAGOGUE SPOTLIGHT
COURTESY OF TBI
Temple B’nai Israel in Kalamazoo
A Fixture in Kalamazoo
Temple B’nai Israel still going strong after 150 years. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
R
eform synagogue Temple B’nai Israel (TBI) has been a fixture in the Kalamazoo community for over 150 years. TBI was officially organized in Kalamazoo by a group of 20 Jewish families who emigrated from Germany. The bylaws were signed on Jan. 7, 1866, and Temple B’nai Israel officially came into being. Temple B’nai Israel was one of the 34 founding members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Rabbi Samuel Thurman was elected as the fifth spiritual leader in 1908. With Rabbi Thurman’s encouragement, a new building site was pur-
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chased on South Park Street. The congregation thrived under the leadership of Rabbi Thurman. However, following his departure, membership declined. Unable to secure a permanent rabbi, the congregation’s needs were met by using the services of rabbinic students. Without a full-time resident spiritual leader, the congregation declined in membership. The decline continued through the 1930s and 1940s, and the congregation struggled to survive. When membership declined to 20 families, the congregation decided that maintaining the building was no longer practical and, in
1946, the Park Street building was sold. In the summer of 1992, the congregation was a beneficiary of the estate of David Lowe, a former member of Temple B’nai Israel. The financial security this gift granted the congregation stimulated a great deal of interest in pursuing a permanent home for TBI. After a lengthy search, TBI purchased the Judson Baptist Church on Grand Prairie Road in August 1994. Temple B’nai Israel had a permanent place to call home for the first time in 48 years. During this time, the decision was made to seek an
ordained rabbi, instead of student rabbis, to serve the congregation on a part-time basis. Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana was the first rabbi to assume this position. Eventually, following his ordination in May 2014, Rabbi Matthew Zerwekh (who now serves at Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park) was the first fulltime spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Israel since 1969. In July 2018, the congregation welcomed its first full-time woman rabbi, Rabbi Simone Schicker. “The congregation as a whole is very proud of Rabbi its history and Simone the presence of Schicker the community in Kalamazoo,” Schicker said. “A big piece of that is our welcoming nature. We’re a small place, about 100 household units, and we span the age
