B'er Chayim Temple (transliterated from Hebrew as "Well of Life",[2] a metaphor in which Torah is likened to water) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Cumberland, Maryland, in the United States. As of 2008[update], B'er Chayim counted approximately 72 families as members.[3]
B'er Chayim Temple | |
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Religion | |
Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
Leadership | Rabbi Mark J. Perman |
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | Union and South Centre Streets, Cumberland, Maryland |
Country | United States |
Location in Maryland | |
Geographic coordinates | 39°39′2″N 78°45′38″W / 39.65056°N 78.76056°W |
Architecture | |
Type | Synagogue architecture |
Style | Greek Revival |
General contractor | John B. Walton |
Date established | 1853 (as a congregation) |
Completed | 1866 |
Website | |
berchayim | |
B'er Chayim Temple | |
Area | Less than one acre |
NRHP reference No. | 79001106 |
Added to NRHP | November 15, 1979 |
[1] |
B'er Chayim is the oldest synagogue building in continuous use as a synagogue in Maryland and the sixth oldest in the United States.[4][5]
Mark J. Perman has served as the rabbi of B'er Chayim since July 2016.[6] A native of New York City,[7] Perman graduated from the High School of Performing Arts, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and New York University.[6] Perman was ordained a cantor in 1997,[6] and he was ordained a rabbi by Mesifta Program in Queens, New York, in 2013.[6] Prior to joining B'er Chayim, Perman served as the interim cantor at Congregation Emanu El in Houston.[7]
Shabbat services are held Friday evening.[9] Services and celebrations of Jewish holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah,[10][11] Yom Kippur,[2] and Chanukah,[12] are held throughout the year.[9]
Torah study sessions are held twice a month.[9]
The first Jewish resident recorded in Cumberland dates to 1816. Twelve Jewish families were living in Cumberland, which then had a population of 6,150, in 1853 when congregation B'er Chayim was chartered by the Maryland state legislature.[4] The congregation was Orthodox when the temple was built,[13] although it is now a Reform congregation.
Between 1865 and 1867, the congregation built a two-story, Greek Revival synagogue building on the corner of South Centre and Union Streets. The building cost $7,427.02 to construct.[4] The facade is ornamented with four pilasters, a handsome pediment, and four very un-Greek Rundbogenstil, or round-arched, windows.[13] The building was constructed by local builder John B. Walton.[5]
Prayers and sermons were originally held in German, rather than Hebrew.[14]
Beth Jacob Synagogue, which was also located in Cumberland, merged with B'er Chayim Temple in 1996.[3]
In 2011, the synagogue underwent renovation.[2] The brickwork's mortar was redone, the wrought iron gates outside the entrance were restored, improved the interior, and made the synagogue wheelchair-accessible.[15][16] The synagogue's building was reopened on August 17, 2014, and the synagogue was rededicated on November 7, 2014.[17] The Cumberland Historic Preservation Board gave an award to B'er Chayim for the synagogue's restoration.[18]