As described on the Union for Reform Judaism’s website, the Reform movement began in Germany in 1810 and became more widely adopted throughout the 1820s. Led by Rabbi Abraham Geiger, congregations in several German cities instituted changes in worship, including use of German instead of Hebrew for prayer, mixed-gender seating, one-day observance of festivals, and participation of a cantor and choir. In the 1820s, German Reformers brought Reform Judaism to America. In 1845, Temple Emanu-El became New York City’s first Reform congregation.

At B’nai Jeshurun, by the middle of the nineteenth century, the majority of congregants were of German descent and many were advocating for modern reforms. As long as Rabbi Morris Raphall held sway, attempts at reform were mainly rebuffed. Following his death in 1868, the pressure for change grew—as did dissension within the congregation.

Rev. Dr. Henry Vidaver—who succeeded Rabbi Raphall in 1869—was more sympathetic to many of the proposed changes. In 1868, a resolution was adopted that a committee of seven would be appointed for the purpose of recommending changes to the service under the guidance of the rabbi. Between 1869 and 1875, multiple changes were incorporated into the service (see the June 1, 1856, essay for more on this topic). These contributed to Dr. Vidaver leaving in 1874 and the synagogue being described as being in a “state of transition from orthodoxy to moderate Reform.” In the years that followed:

The congregation’s decisions were made and unmade, amidst turbulent sentiment. Many of the members threatened to resign if the changes were not introduced. Others threatened to resign if the changes were introduced. Questions were repeatedly resubmitted and reconsidered, and the sentiment shifted as each faction in turn gained ascendancy. (Goldstein)

The dissension and controversy contributed to the short tenure of Rev. Dr. Vidaver, who in 1874 tendered his resignation. At the end of the year, with no rabbi in place, a committee appointed by the Board of Trustees prepared a plan introducing family pews (i.e. mixed seating) and an organ. A former president of the congregation obtained a legal injunction from a U.S. civil court against the changes. In July, 1875, the injunction was dissolved—and in September, it was discontinued.

In 1878, the congregation voted to join the Reform movement’s Union of American Hebrew Congregations. That association was short-lived, and by 1884, the congregation withdrew from the UAHC and threw its support behind the newly forming Jewish Theological Seminary. The then-rabbi, Rev. Henry Jacobs, was now classified as a Conservative Reformer. The association with JTS would remain, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker, until ultimately solidified by Rabbi Israel Goldstein in 1918.

B’nai Jeshurun would remain a Conservative congregation until 1988, when BJ became “unaffiliated.”

Sources

• Israel Goldstein, A Century of Judaism in New York: B’nai Jeshurun 1825–1925
• Union for Reform Judaism