Jewish temple readied for museum transition
Published 5:00 am Monday, August 31, 2009
The old hard wood and light stained glass remains, but theTemple B’nai Shalom in Brookhaven is no longer an official house ofworship.
Jews from around Southwest Mississippi gathered Sunday afternoonfor the final service in the city’s only Jewish house of worship,softly speaking the ancient Hebrew prayers in concert with RabbiMarshal Klaven from the Goldring-Woldernberg Instutite of SouthernJewish Life to deconsecrate the temple. After more than one hour ofceremony, Klaven grasped the temple’s Torah scrolls and led thecongregation out for the final time, officially retiring theroughly 110-year-old building as a synagogue and paving the way forits use as a museum by the Lincoln County Historical andGenealogical Society.
“This service will highlight a moment of transition as thisJewish house of worship becomes what Isaiah had envisioned – ahouse for all people,” Klaven said during the ceremony.
With the temple deconsecrated, the historical society is poisedto lease the building from its facilitating families for 99 yearsfor its perpetual use as a museum for Lincoln County artifacts.Society officials have said the temple will not be a Jewish museum,but the city’s Jewish history will be preserved in a permanentdisplay alongside other artifacts.
The Friedman, Liverman and Samuels families of Wesson andBrookhaven, and the former members of B’nai Shalom’s congregationnationwide, consented to the temple’s donation to the societyunanimously as a way to see the historic site preserved. The templehas been mostly dormant in recent years, used only occasionally forspecial services.
“This building has a spirit, and that spirit has been renewed,”said Rita Rich, historical society chairwoman. “Soon this buildingwill have a new beginning as a place of remembrance.”
The temple was built in the late 1800s after local Jews met andworshipped privately for almost 50 years.
Temple facilitator Hal Samuels said the first Jews beganarriving in Brookhaven in 1852, and although small in number, wenton to have a great impact on the city, becoming merchants andfounding many successful businesses that helped grow the community.He said the first Jewish men’s organization was founded in 1856,two years before Brookhaven was incorporated.
“The Jewish community never exceeded more than 100 people inBrookhaven, but we always felt welcomed here,” Samuels said Sunday.”There are rather mixed emotions in this ceremony (Sunday) as weleave one era and begin another. I am proud we can give backsomething to Brookhaven.”
Wesson’s Dr. Steve Liverman, another of the temple’s longtimecaretakers, said the deconsecration ceremony was like attending afuneral.
“But the redeeming factor is there is going to be a remembranceof the Jewish people,” he said.
Former Brookhaven mayor Harold Samuels, however, showed no signsof sadness or regret Sunday.
“You gotta go on,” he said. “(The society) is going to put it toa good use again.”