Our History and Building

Rich in History

In August of 1838, Joseph Sporborg and others formed Beth El, House of God. The following year, Beth El attained a building to rent at 166 Bassett Street in Albany, NY. A faction of this group splintered from Beth El in 1841 to form Congregation Beth El Jacob at 76 Herkimer Street. These early congregations observed Orthodox rituals.

Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise served at Beth El for eight years as our first rabbi. He was a firm believer in the Reform movement, outrightly criticizing Orthodox practices that the congregants brought with them from Central and Eastern Europe. The criticism reached a fever pitch at the Rosh Hashanah service in 1850 where police were called to stop fighting between Rabbi Wise and the congregation's president on the temple's front steps. Following this event, Rabbi Wise and a group of supporters founded a new congregation called Anshe Emeth, or People of Truth. In December 1885, despite their differences, Anshe Emeth and Beth El came together again to form Congregation Beth Emeth.

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Our Cemetery

On August 27, 1851, almost a year after a group of followers of Isaac Mayer Wise broke off from Beth El and formed Congregation Anshe Emeth (which in 1885 re-emerged to form Beth Emeth) purchased two acres of land for their own burial ground adjacent to the Albany Rural Cemetery. We have since expanded to over 12 acres.

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Holocaust Memorial

Our cemetery is also home to a Holocaust Memorial, designed by architect and former congregation president Steven Einhorn. The memorial features bricks that were removed from a crematorium site at Auschwitz-Birkenaeu. The memorial dedication was one of several events in the area that coincided with the 60th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Learn more about the Holocaust Memorial at Beth Emeth Cemetery →

The Czech Torah Scroll

The Czech Torah Scroll MST#645 is on permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London.

This Torah Scroll came to Congregation Beth Emeth from the Czech town of Melnick. It was one of many Jewish communities destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. Part of the campaign carried out by the Nazis was the gathering of Torah Scrolls, their ornaments and vestments, books and other ritual items from synagogues in Czechoslovakia in preparation for a permanent exhibition in Prague of the works of exterminated people. 

Learn more about the Czech Torah Scroll MST#645 →

For more info, visit the Memorial Scrolls Trust website.