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Temple Sinai
Temple Sinai
	Temple Sinai in 2014
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Lay led
Status	Active
Location
Location	11-13 Church Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150
Country	United States
	Location in South Carolina
Geographic coordinates	33°55′17.7″N 80°20′48.4″W / 33.921583°N 80.346778°W
Architecture
Type	Synagogue
Style	Moorish Revival
Date established	1895 (as a congregation)
Completed	1912
Materials	Brick
Website
	templesinaisumter.org
	Temple Sinai
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
NRHP reference No.	98001645
Added to NRHP	January 21, 1999

Temple Sinai, also known as Congregation Sinai, whose official name is the Sumter Society of Israelites, is an historic Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 11-13 Church Street, on the corner of West Hampton Avenue, in Sumter, South Carolina, in the United States.^[2]^[3]

Built in 1912 of brick in the Moorish Revival style, Temple Sinai was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1999. It also houses the Temple Sinai Jewish History Center that opened in June 2018.^[2]

History

The first Jewish settlers in Sumter were Sephardi who came from Charleston in 1815. Congregation Sinai was formed in April 1895, by the merger of the Hebrew Cemetery Society and the Sumter Hebrew Benevolent Society. Visiting rabbis from Charleston and Augusta, Georgia, served the congregation until 1904 when Rabbi Jacob Klein settled in Sumter. The sanctuary of the present temple was built in 1912 facing Church Street to replace an earlier wooden synagogue on the site.^[4]

The Barnett Memorial Addition, a two-story brick Moorish Revival auditorium/banquest hall and classroom/office building facing West Hampton Avenue, was built in 1932, behind the sanctuary, which it complements. In 1956, the one story brick Hyman Brody Building was attached to the rear of the Barnett Memorial Addition to provide a kitchen and more classrooms, offices and restrooms. Although simpler than the other two buildings, it still has some Moorish features.^[2]

Temple Sinai's archives have been donated to the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston.^[5]

Stained glass windows

Temple Sinai is noted for the eleven drapery glass stained glass windows on its side and entrance walls, which depict scenes from the Tanakh. With the exception of one round window high over the entrance portico, the windows are uniformly 5 by 20 feet (1.5 by 6.1 m) and in their shape mimic the castellated domed Moorish towers that flank the entrance.^[4]^[6]

Current status

Temple Sinai entered into an agreement with Coastal Community Foundation, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, and the Charleston Jewish Federation to maintain its cemetery and Temple and to address concerns regarding its long-term viability. Additionally, in 2015, Temple Sinai entered a partnership with the Sumter County Museum to create a permanent exhibit about Jewish history in South Carolina and in Sumter. The museum also includes a section devoted to the Holocaust and Sumter's ties to the Holocaust,^[7] and opened to the public on June 2, 2018.^[8]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richardson, Katherine H. (June 3, 2003). "Temple Sinai" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
^ "Temple Sinai, Sumter County (11 Church St., Sumter)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "History of Temple Sinai". Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
^ "Jewish Heritage Collection". College of Charleston Addlestone library. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
^ "Jewish Heritage Days, Sumter, SC". Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. March 2006. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008.
^ "Temple Sinai Jewish History Center". Sumter County Museum. n.d.
^ Levere, Jane L. (December 1, 2010). "Jewish Congregations Turn to Living Wills". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2018.

External links

Official website
"Directory of South Carolina Synagogues". Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. n.d.
"Temple Sinai Cemetery Listings". Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. n.d.
Schmidt, Kenneth (2005). "Transcription of Sumter Jewish Cemetery". Ancestry.com.
"History of Temple Sinai". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved November 30, 2010.