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Jewish Life

    The Jewish community in Nashville is small, comprising less than 1 percent of the population of the Nashville metro area, but is very active and has numerous community organizations.
    The community traces its roots to the mid-19th Century and the first congregation was established in 1851. Today there are five congregations, along with a Jewish day school, a community center and a Jewish federation, among other organizations.

History

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    While there were Jewish residents of the Nashville area earlier, the first Jewish organization inNashville began in 1851 when a burial association was established. It evolved into a Jewish congregation that became, Ohabai Shalom, also known as The Temple. Ohabai Shalom means Lover of Peace in Hebrew. The Temple, affiliated with the Reform movement, is the largest Jewish congregation in Nashville.     Another of today's congregations, West End Synagogue, had its beginnings in 1876 and today is located on West End Avenue. It is affiliated with the Conservative movement.
    Sherith Israel, located near West End Synagogue, also began in the 1870s as the Hungarian Benevolent Association. It is affiliated with the Orthodox movement.
    It was not until 1992 that a fourth synagogue was established, Congregation Micah. Named after the Biblical prophet, it is also affiliated with the Reform movement.
    A fifth congregation, Beit Tefilah, affiliated with the Hasidic Chabad movement, was founded in 2001. Beit Tefilah means House of Prayer in Hebrew.

The old Vine Street Temple in downtown Nashville.

The Young Men's Hebrew Association was established as a community center in 1902 and today is known as the Gordon Jewish Community Center. The JCC has a place in the history of Civil Rights in Nashville. On March 16, 1958, a bomb went off at the JCC building, then on West End Avenue. It was believed to have been set in reaction to the active support for the Civil Rights movement by some members of the Nashville Jewish Community.
    The Akiva School, a day school for the Jewish Community, was founded in 1954.
    Other Jewish communal organizations include the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and Jewish Family Services. There are also Nashville chapters of national Jewish organizations, including Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women and B'nai B'rith.
    The Jewish community is also involved with Hillel, an organization for Jewish students at Vanderbilt University. 

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