The bimah of Congregation B’nai Israel in Butte, Montana.

Did you know that there is a synagogue in Butte, Montana? Congregation B’nai Israel is the oldest synagogue in Montana still used as a house of worship.  At one time there were three synagogues, two Orthodox and one Reform, in Butte. But the very first synagogue in Montana was built in Helena, the state capital. Now that building is used by the Catholic diocese. Today there are 1,350 Jews and five synagogues in Montana, a state that could hold the state of Rhode Island 192 times.

Jewish community was important to Butte businesses, beginning in 1875. Copper, silver and gold mining brought Jews to the area. The first mayor was German-Jewish immigrant Henry Jacobs, who served from 1879-1880. H.L. Frank was mayor from 1885-1886 and Sol Levy kept the jailhouse secure. A century ago, the total population of Butte was 100,000, including 1,000 Jews. Today the total population of Butte is 32,000.

Congregation B’nai Israel was organized on Aug. 10, 1897, and met in the Carpenter’s Union Hall and the Mountain View Methodist Church. In 1903, the building was constructed. It is on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest synagogue in Montana. At the present time, the congregation has 14 families. It brings in a student rabbi for the High Holy Days, and occasional services are led by lay members capable of reading the Torah. Originally Congregation B’nai Israel had five Torahs; today it has two. Rabbis are brought in to lead life-cycle events.

The congregation is working with the Jewish Community Legacy Project, an organization that works with synagogues so that when the time comes, the doors are not simply closed. The membership does not want the last person who walks out the door to have to deal with more than 100 hundred years of memorabilia.

For further information www.facebook.com/congregationb’naiisrealbuttemontana 

ANNE SHERMAN (rjhist@aol.com) is the office manager of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association.