History

In 1886, a group of 21 Jewish families formed a congregation and built a house of study and Jewish worship. In 1888, they purchased a parcel of land on Egmont Street and established a building committee. Temple Beth Tefilloh’s was dedicated on Nov. 7, 1890. The event was attended by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of Reform Judaism in America.

For more than a century, the members of Temple Beth Tefilloh, or “House of Prayer,” have been active in the community and maintained a sense of Jewish identity and pride. In the years ahead, they will continue to teach Torah and demonstrate how a small number of dedicated people can keep Jewish beliefs and traditions alive in a small corner of coastal Georgia.