Temple Beth El, founded in 1864, is the oldest Jewish congregation in East Tennessee. The congregation has always been associated with Reform Judaism, becoming a member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1875.
For eighty years, the congregation's home was located in downtown Knoxville, at the corner of Vine Street and Broadway. Today's Temple Beth El, in its present location on Kingston Pike since 1957, is a growing congregation with a membership of over two hundred families. In 1993, the present building was enlarged by one-third and the existing structure was renovated to meet the needs of a growing membership and expanding programs.
On the wheels of cannon and with the burst of gunfire, the year 1864 rolled into the Southland of our Nation. The beautiful hills of East Tennessee, being a part of the battlegrounds in the War Between the States, had endured sieges and skirmishes, just as other sections had borne scars of conflict.
Knoxville, having gone through its share of the war, was just a small town. Before the conflict, all of Knox county boasted a population of 3000, as the first Knoxville Directory of 1859 recounts. In this sparsely settled area, however, there were a few Jewish families, and it is with this small handful of Jewish residents that we begin our story.
With the Civil War came the necessity for many communities to open new cemeteries for the battle victims from both the North and the South. Early in the war a young Jewish man, Joseph M. Schwab, enlisted in the Confederate Army, and during combat in Virginia, he died. His father, A. Schwab, a Knoxville resident, was anxious to return the body of his son to a resting place here, but the small Jewish community had no burial ground. An offer of a parcel of land by another Jewish member of the community, Solomon Lyons, provided that ground in the form of a lot measuring 50 by 150 feet in what was then known as Shieldstown. It was accepted and Joseph Schwab was laid to rest there.
Several other interments were made in 1862-3, among them one Isaac Stern, also a soldier in the Southern army. This cemetery - "the Old Cemetery" on Linden Avenue near Winona Street, is still maintained by the Cemetery Committee of Temple Beth El, and services are routinely conducted there during High Holy Days.
In 1864 the first organization of Knoxville Jewry was formed, the Knoxville Hebrew Benevolent Association, and the cemetery was conveyed to that organization by the firm of Mayer, Lyons, & Co. Several years afterward, it was learned that the wrong lot had been used for the burials, that it belonged to one Peter Staub, and that the adjoining lot on the west side was the one that had been given to the Association. The Association then purchased from Mr. Staub the lot on which Schwab was buried.
On March 3, 1868, the Hebrew Benevolent Association was incorporated, and in July, 1875, the society joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In 1877, the name of the organization was changed to Temple Beth El, but the group was not incorporated under that name until 1893.
During these early years, the congregation held services in the basement of Mr. Herman Spiro's vinegar store, with members using vinegar barrels for seats. Later, worship services were held in rented halls and often in the homes of members. Services were led by congregation members and occasional student and visiting rabbis.
Although few in numbers, the members were beginning to dream of possessing a house of worship of their own. This dream was not to be realized until 1914, when a suitable building located at the corner of Vine and Broadway was purchased for $5000 from the Plymouth Congregational Church. The Vine Avenue Temple was dedicated on September 20, 1914, with Rabbi George Zepin presiding.
In 1922, Rabbi Jerome Mark moved from Helena, Arkansas, to become Temple Beth El's first resident rabbi. This important milestone in the history of our Temple was celebrated with an impressive installation program led by Rabbi Jacob Kaplan.
An era of growth began; 30 children were enrolled in the religious school in 1923. The first Bar Mitzvah ceremony was that of Victor Jacobs, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Jacobs in December 1923. The confirmation class of 1925, numbering 8, was the largest to that point.
In 1928, Temple member and generous benefactor Max Arnstein purchased and donated a lot adjacent to the Temple; by 1930, he had erected a building on the site and had given it to the Temple congregation as a Jewish Community Center for the use of the entire area Jewish community. By 1954, the Center had been deeded to an independent Jewish Community Center Association, which now operates the present-day Arnstein Jewish Community Center located on Deane Hill Drive in West Knoxville. The early Center probably represented a high point for the congregation, which fell upon difficult times during the depression era. Another high point occurred in 1938, as Temple Beth El was chosen to host a convention of the Kentucky-Tennessee Association of the UAHC.