Peoria Synagogues
Around 1847 the first Jewish settlers began arriving in Peoria. Their number had grown enough by 1863 that they formed the Anshai Emeth congregation and purchased the old Presbyterian Church on Fulton between Adams and Jefferson. In 1874 new arrivals from Eastern Europe plus others who favored a more Orthodox approach formed the Congregation Beth Israel and purchased the church on Seventh Street near Franklin that had originally been erected by the Central Christian Church in 1855. By 1886 the two congregations decided to re-merge and the Beth Israel property was sold and the proceeds turned over to Anshai Emeth. In 1896 the temple on Fulton was destroyed by fire, so a new temple was erected in 1898 on the corner of Monroe and Hancock Streets. This temple, constructed of the same Lake Superior sandstone used in the City Hall building, served Anshai Emeth until 1967 when the congregation moved to a new facility. The building on Monroe was sold to the Christian Assembly Church.
In the second half of the 1800s, the Orthodox Jews who could not be accommodated by the Reformed congregation continued to grow in numbers, so they organized the Agudas Achim congregation in 1897 and purchased the old Cumberland Presbyterian Church on Monson Street at a cost of $3,000 for the land and building and $1,200 for improvements. In 1912 a new temple was constructed a half block away at the corner of Monson and Sixth Streets. The old site subsequently housed several other churches, then served for many years as the Musicians Union Hall, and recently has been remodeled and is occupied by First Capital Bank. In 1958 a new temple was built near the corner of Sheridan Road and War Memorial Drive and served as the home of Agudas Achim until the congregation sold the building to the New Hope International Church. Agudas Achim now holds Orthodox services at the Anshai Emeth temple on University.
The Philosophy Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. It is considered to be the most dynamic force in Jewish life today. The word "Chabad" is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of:chachmah-wisdom, binah-comprehension and da'at-knowledge. The movement's system of Jewish religious philosophy, the deepest dimension of G-d's Torah, teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of Creation, and the importance and unique mission of each Creature. This philosophy guides a person to refine and govern his and her every act and feeling through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge. The word "Lubavitch" is the name of the town in White Russia where the movement was based for more than a century. Appropriately, the word Lubavitch in Russian means the "city of brotherly love." The name Lubavitch conveys the essence of the responsibility and love engendered by the Chabad philosophy toward every single Jew.
The Movement Following its inception 250 years ago, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement -- a branch of Hasidism -- swept through Russia and spread in surrounding countries as well. It provided scholars with answers that eluded them and simple farmers with a love that had been denied them. Eventually the philosophy of Chabad-Lubavitch and its adherents reached almost every corner of the world and affected almost every facet of Jewish life.
The Organization The origins of today's Chabad-Lubavitch organization can be traced to the early 1940's when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of righteous memory (1880-1950), appointed his son-in-law and later successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, to head the newly-founded educational and social service arms of the movement. Motivated by his profound love for every Jew and spurred by his boundless optimism and self-sacrifice, the Rebbe set into motion a dazzling array of programs, services and institutions to serve every Jew. Today 4,000 full-time emissary families apply 250 year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,300 institutions (and a workforce that numbers in the tens of thousands) dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide.
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