May is Jewish American Heritage Month—and Glynn County has much to commemorate. While the Jewish history of Georgia extends back to the colonial era, the Jewish population of Brunswick first began to grow, albeit slowly, following the Civil War. By 1879, there were six Jewish families in Brunswick, among them immigrants from Europe like merchants Jacob Michelson, born in Prussia, and Jacob Lissner, from Poland.
The city’s Jewish community was active socially and religiously. In 1879, the small community founded a chapter of B’nai B’rith, a cultural organization for German Jewish immigrants, that boasted 20 members by 1881. Groups also held prayer meetings in private homes. By the mid-1880s, these gatherings had grown large enough to necessitate the rental of a larger space. It was evident that Brunswick’s Jewish population was just that: both Jewish and Brunswickian.
Coastal Georgia Historical Society
The rabbi and another member of the congregation viewing the temple's Torahs during Temple Beth Telfilloh's centennial celebration in 1990.
In December of 1886, a new arrival in Brunswick, David Glauber, convened a group of 22 Jewish men, hoping to pass a resolution uniting the city’s Jewish community. In part, the resolution read: “Imbued with a like spirit, a number of Israelites of this city of Brunswick … have taken the initiary step to form a Hebrew Congregation and to devise ways and means to erect … a house to the Lord, to the glory of Him and the well-being of mankind.” The resolution passed, cementing Glauber’s reputation as the founder of the city’s first synagogue, Temple Beth Tefilloh—a Hebrew phrase that means “house of prayer.”
The congregation grew to 60 even before the temple building was completed. Local architect Alfred Eichberg provided the building’s design, and on November 7, 1890, an official dedication ceremony was held for the new Temple Beth Tefilloh, attended by Jewish and non-Jewish locals alike. The newspaper American Israelite (Cincinnati, Ohio) marked the occasion, noting the integration of the congregation into the wider Brunswick community. In 1890, Brunswick had a Jewish president of the Board of Education, Fire Commission chief, and city treasurer, along with several members of the Brunswick Board of Trade.
Coastal Georgia Historical Society
The interior of Temple Beth Telfilloh
Today, the Temple Beth Tefilloh building on Egmont Street is often noted for both its beauty and its history as the third oldest synagogue in Georgia. It is equally noted for the continuity and strength of its community. Beth Tefilloh’s historian, Mason Stewart, writes that the temple’s story is “the story of a small group of Jewish immigrants from central Europe who, through struggling to survive in a strange new world, clung to their ancient faith and coalesced into a vibrant and dynamic community that became the congregation of Temple Beth Tefilloh.”
This month’s featured images from the Coastal Georgia Historical Society show the interior of Temple Beth Telfilloh and the rabbi and another attendee viewing the congregation’s Torahs during the temple’s centennial celebration in 1990.
The Coastal Georgia Historical Society presents this article and images from our archives as part of our mission “to connect people to Coastal Georgia’s dynamic history.” The Society operates the iconic St. Simons Lighthouse Museum and the World War II Home Front Museum, housed in the Historic Coast Guard Station at East Beach. To learn more about the Society, its museums, diverse programs, and membership, please visit coastalgeorgiahistory.org.
