Beth-El is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, and has led the congregation in Reform services since the temple's foundation. The current rabbi, since July 2021, is Joel Fleekop.
History
The first Jews who migrated to northwest Florida originally stopped at Milton, 20 miles (32 km) to the east,[2] because Milton was a national hub for lumber production and distribution in the South (the first Jews to the area were skilled in lumber production; they came from heavily wooded areas in what is now southern Germany).[2]
Sensing more business opportunities to the west, a congregation settled in Pensacola and founded a Reform temple after forming in 1876.[2] Many of the lumber workers in Milton did not follow the congregation, and eventually started a smaller Jewish community in Okaloosa County when lumber opportunities dried up. The male members of Beth-El's first congregation consisted largely of businessmen and tavern owners.[2]
The first two buildings of Temple Beth-El were destroyed in fires, first in 1895 and again in 1929.[3]
In 1933 Temple Beth-El moved into its third and current building, designed in the Art Deco style.[2]
Today,[when?] many members of the current congregation are descendants of the men who founded the temple over 125 years ago. Immigrants from Eastern Europe, Israel, and the Caucasus eventually settled in Pensacola and became part of the congregation as well. Beth-El is unique today in that a large number of the congregation consists of Jews who converted from other faiths.[2]
Starting in 1962, Paula Ackerman, a member of the congregation since birth, was the first woman to perform rabbinical functions in the United States,. From 1962 until a suitable replacement was found in 1963, Ackerman served the congregation at Beth-El as an acting rabbi.[citation needed]
