B'nai Israel Congregation is a ConservativeJewishegalitarian congregation and synagogue, located in Rockville, Maryland, in the United States.[3] B'nai Israel's mission is to study in the Jewish tradition, worship God, commit to social action, and address the needs of the Jewish people locally, in Israel, and worldwide.[3] The congregation consists of 1,200 families.[3]
Clergy and leadership
Logo of B'nai Israel Congregation
B'nai Israel's clergy includes rabbi Michael J. Safra, Rabbi Mitchell H. Berkowitz, Cantor Josh C. Perlman, and Cantor Sarah Bolts.[1] Rabbi Matthew H. Simon and Rabbi Jonathan A. Schnitzer both serve as rabbi emeritus, and Cantor Robert Kieval is cantor emeritus.[1] Marla Schulman serves as B'nai Israel's president.[4]
B'nai Israel's preschool has a religious curriculum and enrolls children between 15 months and 5 years of age.[8] B'nai Israel's religious school has classes for students in kindergarten through eleventh grade.[9] Classes are held on Sundays and weekday evenings.[9]
Lectures and classes are held during the year at B'nai Israel to educate Jewish adults.[10] Social action programs at B'nai Israel include school supply drives, fall and winter clothing drives, and blood drives.[11]
Award
In 2011, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Solomon Schechter Awards presented B'nai Israel with a gold award for Jewish education for adults.[12] United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism noted B'nai Israel's "varied courses and programs provide learners with a greater appreciation for the scope of Jewish history and thought and offer conceptual grounding in many key aspects of Judaism and Jewish life."[12]
In 1936, B'nai Israel was led by Rabbi Henry Segal and was located at 14th Street and Emerson Street NW in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Sixteenth Street Heights.[13] Membership increased, and B'nai Israel moved to a larger space at 16th Street and Allison Streets NW, which was also in Sixteenth Street Heights.[13] In 1952, B'nai Israel moved a few blocks away, to 16th Street and Crittenden Street NW.[13] At the time, B'nai Israel's members generally lived nearby.[13]
By the mid-1960s, however, many of B'nai Israel's members had moved away from the neighborhood, and those who had stayed felt unsafe in the neighborhood.[13] The synagogue was vandalized, and some members said they were afraid to attend services.[13]
In 1970, B'nai Israel bought 14 acres (56,700 m2) on Montrose Road in Rockville, Maryland.[13] The old building was sold to Nineteenth Street Baptist Church for $1.2 million.[13]
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