Temple Sinai (Sumter, S.C.) records

Temple Sinai, a Reform Jewish congregation located in Sumter, South Carolina, was established in 1895; however, the history of Sumter's Jewish population dates from the early 19th century. The first sign of a Jewish organization in Sumter appeared in 1874 with the purchase of land for a cemetery by the Sumter Hebrew Cemetery Society. Some time later, another group founded the Sumter Hebrew Benevolent Society, which merged with the Hebrew Cemetery Society in 1881 under the Benevolent Society name. In 1895, the Benevolent Society merged once again, this time with the recently formed Sumter Society of Israelites, the official name of Temple Sinai.

The congregation, consisting largely of members of the Phelps, Moïse, Moses, Ryttenberg, and Barnett families, met at the local Masonic hall on the northwest corner of Main and Liberty Streets until the first temple was constructed on the southeast corner of Hampton Avenue and Church Street. The original wooden synagogue was replaced in 1912 by a brick building with ten stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Several major additions to the synagogue were built over the 20th century, including an auditorium, banquet hall, classrooms, and offices in 1932 funded by the Barnett Memorial; the Hyman Brody building consisting of a kitchen and additional classrooms and offices in 1957; and a substantial remodeling of the sanctuary in 1969. In 1999, the synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places and, in 2009, a South Carolina State Historical Marker was placed outside the temple.

Temple Sinai was served by visiting rabbis from Charleston and Augusta, Georgia, until 1904, when Rabbi Jacob Klein settled in Sumter. Tenures were also held by Rabbi Ferdinand Hirsch (1920s), Rabbi Hirsch Freund (late 1920s-early 1930s), Rabbi Samuel Shillman (1930s-1940s), Rabbi Jacob Aaron Levy (1950s-1970s), Rabbi Edward Miskin (early 1970s), Rabbi Avshalom Magidovitch (1970s), Rabbi Milton Schlager (1980s), and Rabbi Richard Leviton (1990s).

Besides providing regular services, Temple Sinai offered religious education courses for all ages, maintained a cemetery, and supported an active sisterhood, men's club, and youth group. Members were involved in numerous charitable organizations, including the Jewish Welfare Fund of Sumter, the United Jewish Appeal for Refugees and Overseas Needs, and Sumter's Covenant Place senior living community. Synagogue attendance peaked in the 1970s. With its membership aging and declining in numbers, the congregation partnered with Charleston's Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in 2011 to prepare for its eventual closing.