Congregation Beth Israel

Duane's take

The marker on W. Beauregard Ave. tells this story, and here's how I'd put it to you. Way back in the 1880s, Jewish families were already well-established in the Concho Valley.

No formal building, no grand sanctuary, just people gathering for religious observance, keeping their traditions alive out on the Texas frontier. That alone is worth sitting with for a moment. Now fast forward a few decades.

By 1926, San Angelo had around 35 Jewish families and individuals, and the community decided the time had come. Procedures to erect a synagogue began, and that same year, a Sunday School and a Young Judea chapter organized. The pieces were moving.

Then on April 7th, 1928, the congregation acquired land from H.C. Ragsdale for fifteen hundred dollars, with David Goldman serving as trustee, and construction on the synagogue at W. Beauregard and Milton began.

March 24th, 1929, the building was dedicated. It had a home. Over the years, that home filled up with life.

A Hadassah Women's Organization, a local chapter of B'Nai Brith, a B'Nai Brith Youth Organization where teenagers held monthly meetings with Jewish youth from other cities across west Texas. During the 1940s through the 1960s, the community was especially active, most of its members owners or associates in San Angelo's retail businesses, many of them immigrants or children of immigrants from eastern Europe. And here's the part that sets Congregation Beth Israel apart from just about any other synagogue you'll encounter in Texas.

It never affiliated with any major division of Judaism. Always independent, from the very beginning right on through. The congregation also served not just San Angelo, but Jewish communities in smaller surrounding towns, and as far out as Midland, Odessa, and Abilene, before those cities had synagogues of their own.

Rabbi David Shnayerson served as spiritual leader from 1951 to 1966, guiding the congregation through a stretch that was, by any measure, the heart of its most vibrant years. Now, the congregation is smaller. Only a few families remain.

But weekly services have continued here since 1928. In its original building. With its original outward appearance and design intact.

The marker calls it one of the oldest congregations in Texas still holding services in its original building, and the most intact in outward appearance and design. Out here in west Texas, where so many things get swallowed up by time and distance, that's not just a historical footnote. That's a kind of quiet, stubborn grace.

What the marker says

In the 1880s, Jews were well-established in the Concho Valley and met for religious observance although they did not have a formal building. By 1926, there were approx. 35 Jewish families and individuals in San Angelo, and procedures to erect a synagogue began. The same year, a Sunday School and Young Judea chapter organized. Construction on the synagogue at W. Beauregard Ave. and Milton St. began once land was acquired from H.C. Ragsdale for $1500 on Apr. 7, 1928, with David Goldman as trustee for the congregation. The building dedication occurred on Mar. 24, 1929. Over the years there have been a Hadassah Women's Organization, a local chapter of B'Nai Brith, and a B'Nai Brith Youth Organization, whereby teens held monthly meetings with other Jewish youth in other cities in west Texas. During the 1940s through the 1960s there was a very active Jewish community here, most of whom were owners or associates in the city's retail businesses; many were immigrants or children of immigrants from eastern Europe. The synagogue never affiliated with any major division of Judaism, but has always remained independent. The congregation has served not only the spiritual needs of Jews in San Angelo but also those in many smaller towns, and as far as Midland, Odessa, and Abilene before their synagogues were built. Rabbi David Shnayerson served as spiritual leader from 1951-1966. Although there are only a few families left now, the congregation has continued to hold weekly and holiday services here since 1928. It is one of the oldest in Texas still doing so in its original building and is the most intact in its outward appearance and design. (2012)