Notes on the Early History of the Fresno Jewish Community

There were Jews in the San Joaquin Valley as early as the Gold Rush period but they were not organized as a community as they were in Stockton, California. At that time, they came to this area as peddlers and operators of general merchandise stores. Among the early pioneer merchants were the Kutner-Goldsteins, the Manasses, the Gundelfingers, the Einsteins, Herman Levy and others. They did very little to promote Judaism in Fresno - except for Herman Levy who was the first president of B'nai B'rith. Those who were religious went to San Francisco on the High Holy Days to worship. These merchants established a fine relationship with the farmers and the people living in Madera, Fowler, Visalia, Hanford and in Fresno.

The Jewish Cemetery had its beginning at the turn of the century and its operation was in the hands of a local committee of Jewish people. Later when Temple Beth Israel was organized, it became a part of its corporation to serve the Jewish community.

The B'nai B'rith Lodge preceded the organization of the two synagogues. Herman Levy was among the organizers under the first charter granted in the early part of the century. The lodge later dissolved and not until prior to World War I was a new charter granted when Louis Mendelsohn became its president: He was also one of the prime movers among others to organize Temple Beth Israel. The congregation met for worship services in the then Unitarian Church building and in the old Parlor Lecture club. The religious school met in various homes and at times in the back of Leon Diamond's furniture store. Temple Beth Israel did not then have a permanent rabbi and its spiritual leadership came from lay people and occasionally from visiting rabbis.

In 1919 Temple Beth Israel was organized as a religious corporation and Alexander Segal was elected as its first Rabbi. A building program had been established and in the 1920's the construction of the present building was started.

Some time after the founding of the Temple, Congregation Beth Jacob was organized and incorporated by such leaders as the Shenson Brothers and by Louis M. & J.E. Schwartz. It shared the same building with Temple Beth Israel and met only on the High Holy Days and during the year when Yarzeit observance was required for a traditional Maariv service. This relationship continued until the World War II period when the attendance of many soldiers stationed in the area required two Shabbat services: Liberal and traditional orthodox. Both services were held simultaneously in different parts of the Temple building.

After World War II, the Jewish community had grown in size and it was opportune at that time, for Beth Jacob to engage professional spiritual leadership and start a building program for its own house of worship.

The Temple building was under construction during the 1920's but came to a halt as a result of the depression of that period and the failure of the raisin crop. The sanctuary was left unfinished until 1938: Rabbi Segal had left the community, Rabbi Morris Urich occupied the pulpit for nine months and resigned due to illness. After several years without a rabbi, Rabbi David L. Greenberg was selected in 1931 to be the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel. Included among his duties, he was to meet the social needs of the Jewish community, coordinate our public and human relations program and to raise funds for overseas relief. In November 1945, these functions were incorporated as part of the newly formed Jewish Welfare Federation, for which Rabbi Greenberg served as Executive Director.

POPULATION: The Jewish population numbered about 75 families in 1931. Most of the family heads were merchants. There were two lawyers, two doctors, very few salaried persons; 75 children were enrolled in the religious school. School registration at the Temple gradually increased during the World War Il period and for about seven years afterwards - reaching a peak of 275 registrations. It began to decline after the war boom of babies subsided,

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