My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. - Isaiah 56:7
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. - Isaiah 56:7
Congregation House of Israel of Hot Springs was organized in 1875 by 20 families, utilizing a small room as its meeting place. It is told that the families had been worshipping together since 1872, but without a formal name.
According to some records, the first Jewish settler in Hot Springs was Jacob Kempner, who arrived in 1856 from Cracow, Galicia, and who operated the stagecoach between Little Rock and Hot Springs.
In 1876, Emanuel Burgauer, a Confederate veteran who had been taken prisoner by the Union forces at Vicksburg, was appointed by Leo Mayer, then President of the congregation, to find a suitable place for building a temple. The Jewish services on the High Holy Days in 1875 were conducted in rented quarters on the 2nd floor of a store adjacent to the present six-story First Federal Savings and Loan building. In May 1881, property was purchased on Central Avenue and Olive Street.
The first temple building was completed in 1885, but damaged by fire in 1896. During the period that it was being rebuilt, worship services were conducted in the First Methodist Church.
The temple was included in the 33 city blocks that were consumed by flames in the “Great Fire” of February 25, 1905, and all the temple records were lost. In May of that year, the property was sold and the current property (corner of Quapaw and Market streets) was purchased.
Another fire on September 16, 1913, engulfed the building, and again, many precious historical records were lost. During that fire, it is reported that Billy Gross (founder of Gross Mortuary and great uncle of Fannie McLaughlin) rushed into the flames and saved the Torah scroll. That scroll is still presently in use in the congregation. And in 1924, the “great flood” of that year took its toll and virtually all remaining historical records for the congregation were lost.
Due to the loss of
historical records (as outlined above), an absolutely accurate list of
board membership is not possible. However, the following list of Board presidents
through 1974 is considered to be reliable. The list is in
alphabetical order.
| Dr. Alex Benedikt | Dr. Martin Lax |
Dave Burgauer |
Jay Leiber |
| Emanuel Burgauer | Phil Levy |
| Leon Dinkelspiel | David Lockwood |
| Henry Fellheimer | Leo Mayer |
| Paul Forshberg | Albert Mendel |
| Leo Gartenberg | Hubert Mendel |
| Robert Gartenberg | Bernard Rephan |
| Lewis Goltz | Ed I. Rephan |
| H. Goodman | Dr. Joseph L. Rosenzweig |
| Billy Gross | Ed. N. Roth |
| Walter Kleinman | Bernard Silverman |
| Harry Kupperman | Gus Strauss |
| Dave Laser | Dr. Samuel D. Weil |
| Al Lasky | Samuel White |
The late Dave Burgauer, former president of Arkansas Bank and Trust Company, was the first to be Bar Mitzvah (Son of the Commandments) in 1887. The late Mrs. Bertha Newman was the first girl to be confirmed in the congregation, and it was in the home of her mother that Sunday School classes were first held.
Until the organization of the National Federation of Temple sisterhoods in 1912, what is now the Temple Sisterhood of Hot Springs was known as the Ladies Aid Society of the Temple. The original membership numbered twenty-eight, and the first president was Mrs. Emanuel Burgauer. Dues were fifty cents per month. It was, in truth, an aid society, as its main project was aiding needy families, several of whom received regular monthly help. Within the Aid Society, a Mother’s club was organized and funds were raised through the media of bazaars and dinners.
When National was organized, the Ladies Aid Society became the Temple Sisterhood, and the aims, purposes and ideals outlined by the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods became the core of the organization.
The current administration area, completed in 1957 consisted of the rabbi’s study, office, school classrooms and auditorium. The auditorium was named Burgauer Hall in honor of Dave and Carrie Burgauer, who contributed substantially to Temple as well as Civic life for many years. In 1961, it was felt that the sanctuary, built in 1905, should be replaced. It was razed, and during the interim period services were held in Burgauer Hall. The new sanctuary was designed by local architect I.G. McDaniel. Combining the use of ancient and modern indigenous and foreign building materials, the structure conveys a religious message through Architectural symbolism. Praised by visitors from the world over, the design is a unique harmony of rock, water, alabaster, un-hewn stone and native wood.
The ascent to Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments is symbolized in the incline from the pulpit to the Ark which contains the Torah scrolls. Occupying a prime place on the alter is an eighteen foot high monolith, a symbol of man’s enlightenment and freedom of choice, truth and spirit. When the Torah is brought down to the lower altar and placed into the position for reading adjacent to the monolith, it is in a line with Mount Sinai, at the base of the symbolic Sinai, built of Arkansas rock and alabaster. The first Bar Mitzvah in the new sanctuary was Jeffrey Rosenzweig.