The Congregation "Beth Elohim" of Charleston, S.C. pamphlet

Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) was organized in 1749 in Charleston, South Carolina, following the Sephardic ritual. Friction with the growing number of Ashkenazic members led the Sephardic group to withdraw in 1775; however, by 1790, the two factions had reunited. A year later, Beth Elohim was incorporated and, in 1794, dedicated a synagogue on Hasell Street. In 1824, forty-seven dissenters petitioned the governing body to introduce reforms. Rebuffed, the petitioners proceeded to create a separate organization, the Reformed Society of Israelites, which functioned on its own until 1835 or 1836, by which date, most members had rejoined the congregation. Beth Elohim's building was lost in the 1838 fire; a temporary tabernacle was constructed on the site and a new building was completed in 1841. The installation of an organ in the sanctuary prompted a schism; many congregants withdrew to form the orthodox Shearit Israel. After the Civil War, the two congregations negotiated a merger and made compromises in ritual. In 1872, another organ was introduced, and the next year KKBE became a charter member of the Reform Union of American Hebrew Congregations.