Page 7 - Nov Dec 2022 MFMW.indd

dĞŵƉůĞ ŵĂŶƵͲ ů͕ ďƵŝůƚ ŝŶ ϭϴϵϬ͘ ŽƵƌƚĞƐLJ ŽĨ ůůĞŶ ĂƵŵůĞƌ͕
ŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ,ŝƐƚŽƌŝĂŶ͕ DŽŶƚĂŶĂ ,ŝƐƚŽƌŝĐĂů ^ŽĐŝĞƚLJ͕,ĞůĞŶĂ
ŽĂƌĚ ŽĨ dƌĂĚĞ͘
dĞŵƉůĞ ŵĂŶƵͲ ů ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐ ϮϬϮϮ͘ WŚŽƚŽ ĐŽƵƌƚĞƐLJ ŽĨ 'ĂƌĚŝŶĞƌ͕
ĂŶŝĞů :͕͘ '͘^͕͘ 'ƌĂŶĚ >ŽĚŐĞ ŽĨ DŽŶƚĂŶĂ͘
“The immigrants’ desire for an organized
community to unite them in their diverse origins
led to the formation of the Hebrew Benevolent
••‘ ‹ƒ–‹‘ ‘ ‡ ‡„‡” ͛ǡ ͙͡͞͞Ǥ Š‡ ƒ••‘ ‹ƒ–‹‘ǡ
numbing sixty-four members by 1867, designated as
its purposes: “To relieve the distressed and support
–Š‡ ƒƫ‹ –‡†ǡ ƒ––‡† –‘ –Š‡ •‹  ƒ† „—”› –Š‡ †‡ƒ†ǤǤǤdz
as well as aiding the poor. Both Moses Morris and
‘Ž –ƒ” ™‡”‡ –™‘ –Š‡ Ƥ”•– ”‡•‹†‡–• ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‡„”‡™
Benevolent Association.
The strength and wealth of the Helena Jewish
community of this time is best demonstrated by
–Š‡‹” ‡ơ‘”–• –‘ „—‹Ž† ƒ •›ƒ‰‘‰—‡ ‹ ‡Ž‡ƒǤ  Emanu-El was a curiosity to many Helenans.
July 28, 1889, “a meeting of the Hebrews called
by Mr. Herman Tonn for the purpose of organizing
a congregation met at the A.O.U.W hall.” Morris
‹Ž˜‡”ƒ ƒ† †‘Ž’Š ‹”‡Ƥ‡Ž† ™‡”‡ •‡Ž‡ –‡† –‘
serve as president and vice president, respectively,
until a constitution could be adopted. At the second
meeting, a motion was made and carried to call
themselves the Congregation Emanu-El. At a later
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DĞŶŽƌĂŚ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ͕ ĐŽƵƌƚĞƐLJ ŽĨ
,ĞůĞŶĂ sĂůůĞLJ ^ĐŽƫƐŚ ZŝƚĞ͕ ϮϬϮϮ͘
‡‡–‹‰ǡ ƒ ‘‹––‡‡ ™ƒ• ƒ’’‘‹–‡† –‘ Ƥ† ƒ Ž‘–
for the temple and to solicit contributions “from
everybody irrespective of religion; and in June 1890,
the congregation bought a lot on the corner of Tenth
and Ewing Avenues from Moses Morris for $4,000.
‘˜‡”‘” ‘•‡’Š ‘‘Ž‡ Žƒ‹† –Š‡ ‘”‡”•–‘‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡
temple building on October 2, 1890. The presence
of a synagogue in Helena was a source of pride for
the majority of citizens. Newspaper accounts of the
dedication ceremony recount that the temple was
–Š‡ Ƥ”•– ‹ –Š‡ ƒ ‹Ƥ ‘”–Š™‡•– ƒ† –Š‡ ‘Ž› ‘‡
between St. Paul and Portland. Also, the Temple
Helena in the 1800s contained a myriad of
religious, service, fraternal, and social associations,
and nearly every society (except for the religious
ones, of course) had at least one Jewish member.
Nearly every Jewish male in Helena belonged to
–Š‡ ƒ•‘‹ ‡’Ž‡ǡ ƒ† ƒ› ™‡”‡ ƒƥŽ‹ƒ–‡† ™‹–Š
‹‰ ‘Ž‘‘ǯ• ‘†‰‡ ‘Ǥ ͡ǡ ƒŽ–Š‘—‰Š ‹– ™ƒ• ‘–
‡š Ž—•‹˜‡Ž› ‡™‹•ŠǤdzΑ
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