{{Short description|Historic synagogue in Cumberland, Maryland, United States}} {{use mdy dates|date=June 2014}} {{use American English|date=June 2014}} {{Infobox religious building | name = B'er Chayim Temple | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Congregation B'er Chayim.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The synagogue, in 2024 | religious_affiliation = [[Reform Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival = <!-- or |festivals= --> | organisational_status = [[Synagogue]]<!-- or |organizational_status= --> | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = Cantor Jessica Roskin | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = 107 W Union at South Centre Streets, [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]], [[Maryland]] | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = USA Maryland | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[Maryland]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|39|39|2|N|78|45|38|W|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = [[Synagogue architecture]] | architecture_style = [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = John B. Walton | established = 1853 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = {{start date and age|1864|paren=yes}} | construction_cost = | date_demolished = <!-- or |date_destroyed= --> | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m = <!-- or |elevation_ft= --> | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{url|berchayim.org}} | module = {{infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = B'er Chayim Temple | nrhp_type = | added = {{start date and age|1979|11|15|paren=yes}} | area = Less than one acre | refnum = 79001106 }} | footnotes = <ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> }}
'''B'er Chayim Temple''' ([[transliterated]] from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] as "Well of Life",<ref name = reno>{{cite web |author=Barkley, Kristin Harty |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=139DD9343288C098&p_docnum=38&p_queryname=3 |title=B'er Chayim temple had a major renovation in 2014. Built in 1864, brick building recognized as longest continuously operating synagogue in Maryland |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=September 18, 2011 |access-date= }}</ref> a [[metaphor]] in which [[Torah]] is likened to water) is a [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]], located in [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]], [[Maryland]], in the United States. {{as of|2008}}, B'er Chayim counted approximately 50 families as members.<ref name= sole>{{cite news |author=Pash, Barbara |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12430653A2046F60&p_docnum=19&p_queryname=3 |title='We Don't Give Up': Cumberland's sole synagogue helps maintain Western Maryland's Jewish presence |work=[[The Baltimore Jewish Times]] |date=October 31, 2008 |access-date= }}</ref>
B'er Chayim is the oldest synagogue building in continuous use as a synagogue in Maryland and the sixth [[List of oldest synagogues in the United States|oldest in the United States]].<ref name= oldest>{{cite web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=15158DB2A38F5908&p_docnum=73&p_queryname=2 |title=Jewish community celebrating restoration of historic city temple |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=November 2, 2014 |access-date= }}</ref><ref name=Gordon2019/>
==Clergy and leadership== Jessica Roskin is the spiritual leader of B’er Chayim since July 2024.A native of North Miami Beach, FL, Cantor Roskin graduated from Indiana University with degrees in music and religious studies and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She was ordained in 1994. Prior to joining B’er Chayim, Cantor Roskin served as interim cantor at Temple Beth El in Charlotte, NC and at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, AL for 20 years.
Brian Lang serves as President of B'er Chayim.
==Religious services and programs== [[Shabbat]] services are held Friday evening.<ref name= services>{{cite web |url=http://berchayim.org/index.php/worship/services |title=Services |work=B'er Chayim Temple |date=n.d. |access-date=October 9, 2016 }}{{self-published-inline|date=February 2024}}</ref> Services and celebrations of [[Jewish holidays]], such as [[Rosh Hashanah]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Shapiro, David |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=135221EF6471E520&p_docnum=27&p_queryname=3 |title=Jewish New Year starts Sept. 8 |work=Mineral Daily News-Tribune |date=August 28, 2010 |access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=131FE43F4AA88400&p_docnum=28&p_queryname=3 |title=Celebrations offer hope for new birth, new ways |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=September 1, 2010 |access-date= }}</ref> [[Yom Kippur]],<ref name= reno/> and [[Chanukah]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12C28EA54EBE0858&p_docnum=23&p_queryname=3 |title=How area residents celebrate Chanukah |work=Mineral Daily News-Tribune |date=November 22, 2009 |access-date= }}</ref> are held throughout the year.<ref name= services/>
==History== The first Jewish resident recorded in Cumberland dates to 1816. Twelve Jewish families were living in Cumberland, which then had a population of 6,150, in 1853 when congregation B'er Chayim was chartered by the Maryland state legislature.<ref name=oldest/> The congregation was Orthodox when the temple was built,<ref name="nps.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/cumberland/ber.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816054552/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/cumberland/ber.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 16, 2007 |title=B'er Chayim Temple |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |date=n.d. |access-date=June 2, 2014 }}</ref> although it is now a Reform congregation.
Between 1865 and 1867, the congregation built a two-story, [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] synagogue building on the corner of South Centre and Union Streets. The building cost $7,427.02 to construct.<ref name= oldest/> The facade is ornamented with four [[pilaster]]s, a handsome [[pediment]], and four very un-Greek [[Rundbogenstil]], or round-arched, windows.<ref name="nps.gov"/> The building was constructed by local builder John B. Walton.<ref name=Gordon2019>{{cite web |author=Gordon, Mark W |year=1996 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_jewish_history/v084/84.1gordon.html |title=Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues |work=[[American Jewish History]] |volume=84 |number=1 |pages=11–27 |url-access=registration |edition=2019 update |access-date= }}</ref>
Prayers and sermons were originally held in [[German language|German]], rather than Hebrew.<ref name="mht_ihp">{{cite web |url=https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-584.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: B'er Chayim Temple |date=December 1977 |access-date=2016-01-01 |author1=Pratt, William |author2=Dorsey, Dave |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}}</ref>
Beth Jacob Synagogue, which was also located in Cumberland, merged with B'er Chayim Temple in 1996.<ref name= sole/>
In 2011, the synagogue underwent renovation.<ref name= reno/> The brickwork's mortar was redone, the wrought iron gates outside the entrance were restored, improved the interior, and made the synagogue wheelchair-accessible.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bieniek, Matthew |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=13C470FBC3F09B20&p_docnum=43&p_queryname=3 |title=Cardin visits city temple |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=13B1A2B7F07E6DC0&p_docnum=41&p_queryname=3 |title=Temple renovations |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=November 17, 2011 |access-date= }}</ref> The synagogue's building was reopened on August 17, 2014, and the synagogue was rededicated on November 7, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=14F484008413AF98&p_docnum=63&p_queryname=2 |title=Congregation announces move back to temple |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=July 24, 2014 |access-date= }}</ref> The Cumberland Historic Preservation Board gave an award to B'er Chayim for the synagogue's restoration.<ref name= award>{{cite web |author=Barkley, Kristin Harty |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=141038F1C3B02EF0&p_docnum=53&p_queryname=2 |title=Commission recognizes B'er Chayim temple - Greene Street property also receives preservation commission award |work=The Cumberland Times-News |date=August 30, 2012 |access-date= }}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Architecture|Judaism|Maryland}} * [[1866 in architecture]] * [[List of oldest synagogues in the United States]] * [[History of the Jews in Maryland]]
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{commons category|B'er Chayim Temple}} * {{official website|berchayim.org}} * {{MHT url|id=586|title=B'er Chayin Temple, Allegany County}}, including 1979 photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
{{Synagogues in the United States}} {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:1853 establishments in Maryland]] [[Category:19th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Ashkenazi synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Cumberland, Maryland]] [[Category:Downtown Cumberland, Maryland]] [[Category:German-Jewish culture in Maryland]] [[Category:Greek Revival architecture in Maryland]] [[Category:Greek Revival synagogues]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1853]] [[Category:Jews and Judaism in Cumberland, Maryland]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Allegany County, Maryland]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Allegany County, Maryland]] [[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1866]] [[Category:Synagogues in Maryland]] [[Category:Brick buildings and structures in Maryland]]