Congregation Beth Israel

A Bit of History

8th and Cumberland Street meeting hall                                    8th and Cumberland Street meeting hall

It was not long after that first gathering of Lebanon's Jews in 1907 that plans began to be formulated for a permanent place for Jewish worship. After eight years of worshipping in rented meeting halls at Eighth and Cumberland Streets, the congregation bought its first home at the corner of Cumberland and Old Cumberland Streets. By 1915, the handful of members had grown to 25 -- not large in numbers, but big in imagination, spirit, and plans for the future.

Chestnut Street synagogue
subsequently the original Lebanon Community Library

Over the next 14 years, an ever increasing membership necessitated a series of moves to increasingly larger quarters. By 1929, the congregation now numbered 90, and the first real home was founded on Chestnut Street at the site which was later to become the original Lebanon Community Library. The congregation remained there until 1953, when the modern Beth Israel building at Oak and Eighth Streets was dedicated. Designed by widely-respected synagogue architect Percival Goodman, the building has become a local landmark and is a continuing source of pride to all of our members.

Oak and Eighth Street synagogue

<previous    next>

For more information about Beth Israel Congregation, contact the Synagogue Office at (717) 273-2669. We welcome your inquiry.