Guide to the Temple De Hirsch Sinai Records
1883-2001

From a pamphlet celebrating the dedication of the Temple Center, 1924. Special Collections, UW Libraries, UW23493z

Historical Note

Temple De Hirsch Sinai, the first and largest Jewish Reform congregation in Seattle, was founded in 1899 by a group of 70 area families. Originally named Temple de Hirsch after Jewish philanthropist Baron de Hirsch, the congregation was renamed after merging with Temple Sinai of Bellevue, Wash., in 1971.

The location for the first proposed sanctuary of Temple De Hirsch Sinai was Boylston Avenue and Marion Street in Seattle, and a cornerstone containing the congregation’s founding documents and other time capsule materials was laid there in 1901. However, after rapid growth of the congregation warranted a larger facility, this site was abandoned in favor of Union Street and 15th Avenue, where the first sanctuary was completed in 1907. In 1924 the adjacent Temple Center was built to house the new Religion School and other subordinate organizations. Steady growth required further expansion, and in 1951, an addition for the school was built next to the Temple Center. By 1959, sufficient funds had been raised to build a new sanctuary, and although many Jewish families were moving into suburban areas, the congregation chose to keep a central location in downtown Seattle. A new temple with a 1000-member capacity was built on the corner of 16th Avenue and Pike Street in 1960, located on the same block as the original sanctuary, which was eventually demolished in 1993.

The first spiritual leader of Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Rabbi Theodore Joseph from Lancaster, Pa., oversaw the establishment of the religious school in 1899, which began with an enrollment of 65 students.

Rabbi Samuel Koch, senior rabbi from 1906 to 1942, established Temple De Hirsch Sinai as an important and steadily expanding congregation. Particularly committed to the growth and development of the Religion School, he welcomed all students, regardless of whether their parents were Reform Jews. Koch was also civically active, with memberships in or associations with numerous Seattle agencies and organizations. In 1909 he established the congregation's newsletter,Temple Tidings, initially a weekly and later a monthly publication. Koch became Rabbi Emeritus on his retirement.

Rabbi Raphael Levine, senior rabbi from 1942 to 1970, developed many ecumenical programs, including “Challenge,” a television program he co-hosted with a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister. Addressing theological issues from different schools of religious thought, “Challenge” ran on local station for 14 years, appearing first on KOMO-TV and later on KING-TV. Levine was the founder of Camp Brotherhood, a religious, educational, and cultural center for Christians and Jews, and a co-founder of Camp Swig, an educational and recreational camp for Jewish youth. He served on boards and committees for many social service organizations and related groups, and founded the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis.

Rabbi Earl Stanton Starr, senior rabbi from 1970 to 2001, perpetuated the temple's long tradition of community service and outreach through his involvement in a wide variety of organizations, boards and committees.

Samuel Goldfarb, composer of the well-known Chanukah song “I Have a Little Dreidl,” was music director of Temple De Hirsch Sinai from 1930 to 1968. He employed a system of training his singers based on the farm system in baseball, advancing children into higher choir “leagues” as they matured. Under Goldfarb’s direction, the temple's choirs were considered among the finest in the country.

Long-standing organizations within Temple De Hirsch Sinai include the Sisterhood, formerly the Ladies Auxiliary, which was established a few months after the congregation was founded, and the Brotherhood, formerly the Temple Men’s Club, established in 1920. Both groups organize, sponsor, and promote services and activities for the Temple De Hirsch Sinai congregation and the Jewish community.

Scope and Content

The records span 1883 to 2001 and document the establishment and growth of Temple De Hirsch Sinai. The bulk of the unpublished records begin in 1899 and end in about 1986. Correspondence, committee meeting minutes, newsletters, and reports reports are the primary record series. In addition to regular temple operations, the records also represent related programs and organizations such as the Temple Men’s Club, the Ladies Auxiliary, and the Religion School.

The earliest records are the former contents of the strongbox placed in the cornerstone of the uncompleted sanctuary in 1901. They include membership lists of the congregation Bikur Cholim, the Seattle section of the 1900 Council of Jewish Women, and B’nai B’rith Lodge 342, along with ephemera such as newspapers, programs, and maps of Seattle. Other items, including confirmation programs, dedication programs, and photographs of early congregation member and philanthropist Caroline Kline Galland, were added after the strongbox was opened.

Correspondence is largely comprised of Rabbi Koch’s general correspondence from 1917 to 1918. Topics addressed include visits from Zionist speakers, the need for a Jewish children’s home, support for U.S. troops abroad, and cooperation with the Sephardic congregation Ezra Bessaroth to organize a fundraising bazaar.

Minutes, dating from 1899 to 1984, provide extensive information on temple activities from over twenty committees and subcommittees, including the Cemetery Committee, the Library Committee, and the Merger Committee. The latter documented meetings on the merger of Temple de Hirsch and Temple Sinai, organizations that are also described in annual reports from 1959 to 1976, included in the records.

Issues of Temple Tidings, the newsletter of the Temple De Hirsch Sinai, span 1941 to 2001. This bulletin contains a calendar listing temple events, member information such as lists of new members, marriages, births and deaths, and a message from the senior rabbi. Rabbi Koch’s card file, another abundant source of member information, includes names of members and dates of births, deaths, marriages, bar mitzvahs, and other data recorded on index cards. Some of the files were kept current through the 1970s.

The "Rituals" series contains mainly printed material for services, such as song and prayer books, as well as programs from bar mitzvahs and confirmations. Other materials documenting temple events over the years include the series "Speeches and Writings of Others," which contains biographical sketches of congregants involved in temple administration.

The subgroup “Helen Rucker” contains copies of news clippings, photographs, and notes about early Jewish pioneers in Seattle, including Sarah Rucker, the first Jewish child born in Seattle in 1869, and merchants Maurice and Julius Bornstein.

Other highlights include the 1916 and 1925 editions of the Famous Cookbook of the Ladies Auxiliary, containing hundreds of traditional recipes provided by its members.

Although sermons are not included in these records, the papers of Raphael Levine, also in the repository, contain many of his sermons.

Restrictions on Access

Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use

Some restrictions exist on duplication, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.

Acquisition Info

The records in Accession 2370-18 are a merger of numerous installments received from various Temple De Hirsch Sinai offices between 1974 and 1994.

Processing Info

Record installments were merged and processed in 2001.

Separated Material

Photographs have been transferred to the Jewish History Project photograph collection in the repository.

Related Material

See also the Raphael H. Levine Papers, 1889-1985, and the Samuel Koch Papers, 1902-1962, in the repository. Levine and Koch were senior rabbis at the temple. The repository also holds the Helen Rucker Papers, 1900-1967, which complement the Helen Rucker subgroup included in these records.

Inventory