Jews first arrived in the Tacoma area in the second half of the 1800s, shortly after Washington became a territory in 1853, and established their first congregation in 1892, three years after Washington became a state.
The first known Jew said to have settled on British territory in the Pacific Northwest was Adolph Friedman. A Latvian, at age 19 in 1840, he embarked for America, and, after several stopovers, in 1845 he and his crew of 35 Scandinavian sailors reached the deep-water port of present-day Tacoma, then part of the territory under jurisdiction of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Here Friedman became the first merchant, supplying goods to pioneer fishermen. He took up a homestead in the American Lake district. The U.S. government later built Fort Lewis army camp on this site. Friedman traveled to Victoria, B.C., to marry a relative, Masha Stusser. He died in Tacoma in 1911 at age 90. Branches of the Friedman and Stusser families still reside in Tacoma and Seattle and also Vancouver, B.C.
Another Jewish pioneer in the Tacoma area was Isaac Pincus, who arrived in 1858. Pincus reached the United States from Poland in 1853. He was a veteran of the Indian Wars and was to serve as County Coroner and Tacoma City Councilman. In the 1880s, he was in the liquor business.
Pincus, the son of a timber merchant, and his sons settled in Steilacoom and opened a store which grew to be the largest on Puget Sound. Tacoma was not then on the map and Steilacoom, Washington state's oldest community, was the busiest port in the area.
Pincus' father's business took him from Poland to Germany, and, just a few weeks before the family had planned to emigrate to America, the father took sick and died.
Isaac, a lad of 10 or 11, then left his European home and took a sailing ship for New Orleans, where he remained a short time. Fascinated by tales of Australian wealth, he bought a ticket on a sailing ship bound for the isthmus of Panama. His plans changed along the way and, after crossing the isthmus by land, he caught a vessel for San Francisco. He established residence in Nevada, where he went into the mercantile business. A fire destroyed his store.
With $500 in gold, all he and his partner had saved at Nevada City, Pincus left in 1857 for the Fraser River in Canada, lured by the gold craze. He grew disenchanted there. He grabbed a few pairs of boots to sell to pay his expenses back to San Francisco when he left Victoria, B.C.
He landed in Steilacoom. After being interrogated by the sheriff there, he sold him a pair of boots for $6, a 400% profit. He soon rented a building, opened a store and, in time, had the biggest store on Puget Sound.
Nearly all the goods sold by Pincus and his partner from Nevada City were brought from San Francisco. To save the cost of transportation, the firm obtained its own boats. Its first ship, the Clara Light, was built in Steilacoom and was later sold to be used for whaling in the Arctic. Two other vessels, the Andrew Buck and The Melrose, were used in the Orient trade, bringing lumber there and bringing cargo for San Francisco, Victoria and Steilacoom. The last cargo of the Andrew Buck was a load of Chinese workers for the Canadian Pacific railroad in the 1870s.
Tacoma soon became a competitor of Steilacoom and wooed Pincus. Finally, General Sprague, Frank Clark and others induced Pincus with an offer of the corner of 11th and Pacific for a price of $800, about $300 less than actual value. A two-story building was erected that, 18 months later, was sold for $12,000 in 1881. People told Pincus that, had he held onto that corner, he would have been a millionaire.
Soon afterward, the partnership dissolved, and Pincus went into the hop business. While Isaac spent most of his time at his ranch in Roy, his twin sons, James and Harry, built the firm into one of the largest hop businesses on the West Coast. A disastrous flood in 1910 ruined the business.
Pincus, who had gained acclaim as "one of the great hop merchants in the world" and as a pioneer in Steilacoom and building the first woolen mill on Chambers Creek, died in 1920.
In 1886, it was reported that the town of Tacoma, seat of Pierce County, was "fast increasing in population and importance."
By 1888, the Jewish Messenger of New York reported "Tacoma has 15 (Jewish) families." It was estimated that Seattle had 20 Jewish families and Olympia five.
And, by January 1891, news of Russian persecution of Jews aroused Tacoma Jewry to establish its first general group, the Tacoma Relief Society. Officers were Abraham Gross, president; D. Germanus, first vice president; S.S. Loeb, second vice president; Isaac Pincus, treasurer; and board members D.P. Lewis, M. Rosenbaum, Archie S. Ash, L. Wallerstein and S. Jacoby.
In spring 1892, Tacoma Jewry established Congregation Beth Israel. Sol Jacoby was first president and David Germanus vice president. Other founding officers: D. Magnus, secretary; Archie S. Ash, treasurer; and trustees M. Moses, M. Cohn and William Wolf. A reform ritual was adopted and a goal of $12,000 was set for a building fund. Six months later, it was reported that Ash was the prime mover in establishment of the congregation.
By July 1892, Congregation Beth Israel had 60 members (family units) and had acquired two lots "centrally located and worth about $3,200." The lots were purchased from the Tacoma Land Company, which donated half the purchase price, and the congregation still had a balance of $1,000 in its coffers. David Levin was credited with arranging the purchase of the lots "at one-half their market value," which were located at the corner of S. 10th and I Sts.
The congregational constitution and by-laws set dues at "$12 annually or such larger amount as the board may determine."
In late summer 1892, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, president of the Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati, announced Tacoma Jewry had asked for "an undergraduate from the College to officiate during the coming Holy Days, and (we) will comply with their desire."
The rabbinical student Wise chose was Charles Fleischer, who was then assisting in a Philadelphia congregation while attending HUC. Fleischer's 3,000-mile journey from Pennsylvania to Washington state for his High Holy Days post in Tacoma indeed was considered a newsworthy item. Fleischer, born in Poland in 1871, was ordained by the HUC in 1893. Later on, he was known for his radical reinterpretation of Judaism while serving as the spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Boston (1894-1912).
Before High Holy Days 1892, Tacoma Jewry had a social club and benevolent society. Samuel Posner was president, D. Germanus vice president, Archie S. Ash treasurer and D. Magnus secretary. The organization was designed to assist in charitable endeavors, and there were some complaints that San Francisco was referring too many beggars to Tacoma and that "we have our hands full...If the rush of applicants continues, we will be compelled to call for outside assistance."
After High Holy Days 1892, the building plans took shape. A fair was held in December by the ladies of the Temple Aid Society at the new Olympic Theater, with the mayor of Tacoma opening the event. Society officers were Miss Horence Donan, president; Mrs. Sol Jacoby, vice president; Mrs. M. Ball, secretary; Mrs. A.J. Steinman, corresponding secretary; and Mrs. Charles Reidenbach, treasurer.
At the fair, a price tag of $10,000 to build was announced, with furniture to add to the tab. Contributions were received locally and from the East Coast. The three-story building was completed in 1893 with stained-glass memorial windows and the Ten Commandments over the doorway.
From time to time, noted rabbis from nearby cities were hired to conduct services for the various holy days.
In the 1890s, the first Hebrew Benevolent Society was formed and Home of Peace cemetery was purchased. Another early Jewish settler was Latvian-born Samuel J. Friedman, who died at age 83 of injuries and complications following an auto accident. He arrived in Tacoma in 1884 and established a men's clothing store five years later. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of Congregation Talmud Torah and last founding member of the Tacoma B'nai B'rith chapter.
Another Jewish pioneer of importance was David Levin, who had arrived in Tacoma in 1874, five years after he had reached America from Kolmar, Germany at age 16. He was in the real estate field and was elected to the lower house of the Washington state legislature in 1897.
Julius Friedman married Augusta Stusser in 1898. Julius was a clothing merchant on Pacific Avenue for 45 years and a leader in Congregation Talmud Torah. Their son, Dr. Abedeaux Friedman, a dentist, married Rose Rotman at Tacoma's Winthrop Hotel.
Other prominent Jewish pioneers included the four Gross brothers, who had the "leading (business) house in this part of the country;" Sol Jacoby, managing partner of the Prager brothers firm of Portland, Ore., and San Francisco; and Mentheim Cohen, who operated two dry-good stores.
A walking tour of downtown Tacoma, which highlights the history of the Jewish merchants in Tacoma in the late 19th century, is available here in PDF format (2,874k) <check back soon for this link>.
Congregation Beth Israel had both traditional and reform elements in its membership. One report observed that the traditionalists were among the heaviest donors. Out of concern for them, the congregation followed "the conservative reform principle." By 1912, it was decided that hats would no longer be worn at services and the Union Prayer Book was adopted.
In 1912, the will of Herman Klaber, a victim of the Titanic disaster, provided $1,000 for installing memorial windows in the temple in honor of his parents. He owned a large business block in Tacoma as well as a big hop ranch at Klaber, Wash.
The Judith Montefiore Society was begun "to establish a Sabbath school and for the furtherance of Jewish teachings." In 1920, the name was changed to Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood, with meetings at the Harmony Club. Mrs. William Wolf was president, Mrs. M. Moses vice president, Mrs. Charles Richenbach treasurer and Mrs. M. Ball secretary.
Home Colony, a tiny commune established 13 miles west of Tacoma on Joe's Bay off Carr Inlet of Puget Sound, mainly because no roads linked the bay to civilization, was referred by government agents as a hotbed of revolution and anarchy and by its residents as the place to search for a new and daring lifestyle, including free love, coupled with self-government. There were no laws, rules or regulations.
Each family was expected to build and maintain its own home, without promises of future rewards. Members could obtain one or two acres by paying the association the cost of the land plus a dollar for a membership certificate; taxes were assessed against their tract.
It was composed of numerous ethnic groups, among them eastern European Jews who had arrived in search of a better life. Coming from St. Louis, they first stopped in San Francisco, then traveled by train to Tacoma and then, by boat, to Home. Lithuanian Jacob Litowitz worked the land. Louis Haiman was a barber and his brother, Joe, the first storekeeper.
Of the Jews who settled in Home Colony, many stayed for several years, then left, not finding the utopia they sought. Many moved to Tacoma or Seattle to make a living. There was no church or synagogue because settlers didn't believe in religion.
World War I brought demands for conformity. Bridges and highways were built, and nearby recreational real estate development brought further changes. The association was dissolved in May 1921.
Articles of incorporation for Tacoma's Chevra Talmud Torah -- predecessor of Sinai Temple-- were signed Dec. 15, 1908 at the corner of S. 13th and E Sts. by Philip B. Friedman, Samuel Friedman, Nathan Friedman, Max Zuckerkorn, Joe Sussman, Charles Stusser, Julius Friedman, M. Jacobson, R. Winkleman, Ike Moses and H. Stusser. The articles were "to further the orthodox Hebrew religion in which under no circumstances will any man or boy be allowed in the place of worship with head uncovered."
Elected officers were Philip B. Friedman, president; Max Zuckerkorn, vice president; Samuel Friedman, secretary; Joe Sussman, treasurer; and I. Moses, Nathan Friedman and Charles Stusser, trustees.
The property was purchased for $7,100 at 6 percent interest.
For a time, the rear of Stusser's clothing store served as a daily place of worship. Later, a hotel room was used for this purpose.
By 1914, a church on Tacoma Avenue was purchased and the congregation established at that location for eight years.
Hortense Shafer, in 1992 the oldest living native Tacoma member of Temple Beth El, recalled "my parents told me that my father would wheel me down to the synagogue when they went to services on South Tacoma Ave. From there, we went to the temple on S. 10th and I Sts., then to Sinai Temple. I was confirmed on top of the Merrick Studio of Dance because they were doing some building work at the temple at the time."
Temple Beth Israel hired Dr. Raphael Goldenstein of Pine Bluff, Ark., as its new rabbi at the salary of $2,000 per year plus train fare from Pine Bluff. The next year, on April 29, the rabbi's annual salary was raised to $3,000. Contract conditions included that the rabbi was not to leave the city without permission of trustees on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays or any Jewish holidays when services were required; he shall read all names handed in for memorial on the Day of Atonement; and he was granted a six-week vacation. Rabbi Goldenstein resigned Aug. 16 after he was advised by the board to return from Montana.
In 1924, Rabbi Montague N.A. Cohen was hired at a salary of $2,400 a year. Rabbi Cohen was rehired the next three years at the same salary, but no rabbi was hired in 1928, with Rabbi J.K. Levin of Los Angeles being contracted to do High Holyday services. Rabbi Cohen remained on a part-time basis in the 1930s, although Harold Davis led many services.
Temple Beth Israel-- built of Moorish design of brick and tile construction at a cost of $40,000-- was dedicated Sept. 18, 1923. The dedicatory address was delivered by San Francisco Rabbi Herman Rosenwasser. Theo Feist was president of the congregation. Plans were made to hold a bazaar and ways and means discussed how money could be raised to pay off the indebtedness. The Sisterhood held dinners, card parties and dances.
In February 1934, Temple Beth Israel minutes record: "Our president pleaded most sincerely for our members to put forth every effort to see that the temple is not closed as it is in grave danger of being."
Foreclosure of the synagogue's mortgage became imminent. As the payment deadline neared, $4,000 was immediately needed. Means of raising the money appeared almost hopeless. But then a member of the congregation offered $4,000 with instructions to use the money to pay off the debt.
Later on, in the 1942 celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the first Jewish Congregation, Temple Beth Israel noted that it was "lucky to have a Morris Kleiner. He has his business, and his success has not been due to mere chance. But a dozen times a day, his telephone rings with this request or that. There is a job to be done, and he does it-- quietly, efficiently, diplomatically, down to the last detail. No job it too large, too small, too distasteful. Whatever the cause, you will always find Morris Kleiner among the hardest workers and most generous donors. His presidency of the Federated Jewish Fund, Congregation Beth Israel and B'nai B'rith are but small indications of his tireless effort in behalf of Jewish organizations."
As Tacoma and its Jewish congregation grew, there was need for a larger temple. A site was purchased at the corner of N. 4th and J Street. Meanwhile, the former temple was sold to the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
On April 15, 1924, Chevra Talmud Torah purchased land at S. 4th and I Sts. for $4,754 at 7 percent interest. Two years after that, Chevra Talmud Torah added a bungalow.
That led to plans in 1924 for architects to begin preliminary sketches for a two-story synagogue at S. 4th and I Sts., not to exceed a total cost of $25,000.
Talmud Torah synagogue was dedicated as a house of Jewish worship in 1930. A few years later, the name was changed to Sinai Temple. Under Rabbi Baruch Treiger, the congregation joined the conservative movement in 1938. Rabbi Treiger was very prominent in Jewish and secular activities in Tacoma.
Rabbi Treiger's first Friday night service marked the formal switch of Talmud Torah congregation from an orthodox to a conservative house of worship. The only other conservative congregation in Washington state at the time was Herzl in Seattle.
Rabbi Treiger's wife, Lena Farber, was a member of a pioneer Tacoma Jewish family. She was a graduate social worker and she became an active member of many women's organizations.
Rabbi Treiger immediately launched a three-month lecture series which was held each year he lived in Tacoma. He brought prominent educators, civic leaders and professors from the College of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran College and the University of Washington to the lecture series held at the temple. Many of the lectures brought standing-room-only crowds.
In the 1940s, Temple Beth Israel grew under leadership of Rabbi Bernard Rosenberg.
During World War II, attempts were made to join Sinai Temple and Temple Beth Israel, but merger efforts failed.
In 1960, after many meetings and during a time when Sinai Temple was again without a spiritual leader, the two temples merged and Temple Beth E1 was formed as a religious institution belonging to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Only a few families, former members of Sinai Temple, refused to affiliate with the new temple.
Rabbi Richard Rosenthal, who came to Temple Beth Israel in 1956, became the spiritual leader of the combined congregations. He was named rabbi of the merged temples in 1960 and served Temple Beth El until his retirement in 1997. Rabbi Rosenthal then served as rabbi emeritus until his death in 1999. Rabbi Mark S. Glickman served as Temple Beth El 's rabbi from 1997 until June 2004. Rabbi Glickman's articles and sermons are still available on this website (link not available). Rabbi Bruce Kadden, Temple Beth El's current rabbi, began his rabbinate at TBE in July 2004.
The Temple Beth Israel building, located at N. 4th & J Sts., was sold to the Apostolic Faith Church in 1964 and Sinai Temple, located at S. 4th & I Street. and now part of the Tacoma General Hospital complex, was used for the combined congregation until the new Temple Beth El building, located in Tacoma's growing west end at 5975 S. 12th St., was dedicated in May 1968. Vic Lyon and Jerry Spellman were leaders in planning and fund-raising for the new temple. The building contains a number of interesting architectural, spiritual, and symbolic features.
Beginning in 1970, Tacoma's Jewish demographics changed greatly. There was an influx of professional families, lawyers, doctors, educators and persons providing various social services as opposed to the former components of merchants.
The nearby Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base military facilities figures prominently in the congregation's membership. Beginning with World War I, soldiers and airmen settled into the community, married Tacomans or were retirees who settled after leaving the armed forces.
Bev Buntain was the long-time secretary/receptionist for Temple Beth El, retiring in 1993. Temple Beth El's first director of religious education was Joan Garden, who served for 10 years before being succeeded by Tovah Ahdut. Nancy Pullen 
succeeded Tovah Ahdut in 2000 until 2005.
In 1993, Temple Beth El was renovated. Over 19,000 square feet in new space was added for the growing congregation.
