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The Congregations Second House Oj Worship, Corner South Pryor
ons, at least for the first five
years, were preached in Ger
man, but the ritual was basic
ally Orthodox. A lead editorial
in The Atlanta Constitution,
September 25, 1870, describes
the congregation in this man
ner:
“Among her most orderly,
enterprising, and public-spirit
ed citizens, the Israelites of At
lanta may be justly classed. . .
The solemnity and good order
which prevails during worship
in their synagogue is worthy
of imitation by many of us
Gentile Christians. Their wor
ship is, for the most part, con
ducted in the Hebrew langu
age. A choir and organ dis
course music which rivals in
beauty and execution that of
other houses of worship in the
city. . . The Israelites of At
lanta have never divided upon
the question of orthodoxy and
reformation. They are extre
mists on . neither side. While
many of the prayers and cus
toms if not applicable t’o the
present age and the present
condition of the descendants of
Jacob are omitted by the mem
bers of their Hebrew Benevo
lent Congregation, theV do not
go so far in ignoring ancient
traditional usage as do the ex
treme reformers in many other
places. .
Rabbi Burgheim remained
in Atlanta only two years, but
he made at least one notable
contribution to the city during
that time. He established a
secular school, The English-
German Academy, which some
authorities believe to have
been the immediate precursor
of the Atlanta- Public Schools.
After the establishment of the
Public School System in 1870,
Rabbi Burgheim added He
brew to his curriculum and his
academy became more *closely
affiliated with the congrega
tion.
The principal of this school,
Rev. Benjamin Aaron Bonn-
heim, succeeded him as rabbi
of The Temple in 1870. Like
his predecessor, Rabbi Bonn-
heim was a native of Germany.
Also like his predecessor, he
remained as spiritual leader in
Atlanta only two years. He was
replaced in 1874 by Rabbi Hen
ry Gersoni, as colorful a cha
racter. as ever graced the pul
pit of any congregation.
Henry Gersoni became a
rabbi in his native Russia when
he was only sixteen years old.
He then left the family fold—
disinherited because of his de
termination to pursue secular
studies—enrolled at the Uni
versity of St. Petersburg, sup
ported himself by writing and
selling Yiddish poetry and tu
toring in the home of a Rus-'
and Richardson Streets.
sian nobleman. Deciding to
come to America, he worked
his way to the port of Ham
burg repairing watches and
jewelry, then sailed steerage to
London where he was warmly
received by “fellow Jews” who
turned out to be apostate mis
sionaries. After ten months in
a Christian “Bible House”, he
went to Paris where he earned
a living writing letters in He
brew for one to five francs
each and assisting in a “photo
graphic gallery”. This proved
so bad for his health that he
almost died before being res
cued by another Russian no-
Our Congratulations To
It Is A Privilege To Honor
The Temple
The Temple s Distinguished Century
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The Southern Israelite