Temple Anshe Amunim

Temple Anshe Amunim is a Reform Jewish temple located at 26 Broad Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded by German-Jewish immigrants in 1869 as Orthodox, but adopted Reform practice in 1879. It is "the second oldest Reform congregation in the United States" and its temple is the oldest synagogue edifice in Western Massachusetts. In 1904, Anshe Amunim joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. It is also affiliated with the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.HistoryA group of around 40 German-Jewish immigrant families established Society Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in November 1869. The congregation originally subscribed to Orthodox Judaism, but by 1879 had realigned itself with Reform practice.The congregation first convened in private homes and later rented space for its activities, including a building owned by founding member Moses England at Fern and North Streets. In 1927 the congregation purchased an Advent church building on the corner of Fern and Willis Streets and redesigned it as a temple. In 1959 the England-Blau families gifted to the temple a property at Broad Street and Wendell Avenue for the construction of a new edifice. The new temple building was completed in the summer of 1964 and formally dedicated in 1965.ArchitectureThe block-like temple building, designed by architect Henry L. Blatner, stands atop a graded slope. The entrance is fronted by two bulky stone pillars. The effect for arriving worshippers, Blatner said, is to "symbolize the journey of Moses up Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets of the Law".