What emerges from all the written records of this period is the desire of the congregation-like many of its German counterparts-to have the syna-gogue recognized and accepted as part of the broader community. To the consecration services of March 29 were invited the Mayor of the City of Brooklyn, the Common Council-and with an eye toward publicity-all the editors of the New York and Brooklyn newspapers.

For a largely poor immigrant people to conceive and assemble the kind of celebration that took place required great energy and imagination. The events that took place on that March afternoon bear telling today for their timeless symbolism and appealing drama.

Beautifully printed invitations called the con-secration service "a solemn and interesting occa-sion." Nevertheless, the day began with a festive parade of the congregation's members (including boys and girls) that ended at the Temple steps.

After three knocks, the doors were ceremoniously unlocked by Michael Goldsmith, who was picked for this honor. Standing under a canopy, with the congregation and hundreds of invited guests behind him, the Reverend Brandenstein pro-claimed: "Open unto us the gates of righteous-ness; we will enter them and praise the Lord."

Carrying the Torahs, the congregants entered Beth Elohim's first real home and circled the synagogue seven times. The Consecration sermon was delivered in English by Dr. S.M. lsaacs: the Reverend Joseph Sachs gave a lecture in German: and the Reverend Brandenstein sang prayers and songs, accompanied by choir and orchestra.

The immediate challenges faced by the young congregation bear a striking similarity to many of the problems that the Temple has faced over its 130 years: raising money, repaying mortgages. the matter of religious education, the conduct and content of the religious service.

From the beginning, Beth Elohim was a Reform congregation, even if by present standards it then practiced what could be called a liberal orthodoxy. But the common thread that runs through the history of the congregation is its constant need to make the religious form reflect the needs of modern times. The synagogue's founding fathers were strong in their commitment to Judaism. but they were equally resolved to become Americans in the process. So well did the new synagogue meet the needs of the community that by 1868 it had 103 members. Some people left in 1869 seeking even more reform in the services, but the Congregation still found itself with more members than t had seats to put them in.

While a committee searched for larger quarters. a plan was worked out to narrow the aisles in the existing synagogue and thus add more seats. As was done in 1862, the seats were sold to the members to help raise much needed revenue for the young congregation. In part, those revenues helped purchase an organ for the gallery, something Temple members intensely desired.

From the congregation's earliest days, Reverend Brandenstein instructed the children in Sunday School, the first such school in Brooklyn that invited all Jewish children to attend, even though their parents might not be Temple members. When the number of Sunday School students swelled to 96 by early 1867, it became clear that Reverend Brandenstein could not manage alone. A plan was adopted that ultimately guided the religious school for the next half-century. Specifically, it arranged for the Rabbi to establish the course of study and then to supervise a faculty of unpaid volunteers.

The teachers were to be selected from the religious school's finest graduates. Among them numbered many people who went on to become luminaries of Beth Elohim: Judge Harry E. Lewis, Oscar A. Lewis, Mr. & Mrs. Mortimer Brenner, and Daniel Schwartz were prized teachers.

In the 1880's, the membership continued to grow so that larger quarters were sought. Another church was acquired on State Street, between Smith and Hoyt; its dedication was held August 30, 1885. The sermon was delivered in German, but this time Dr. Sparger, the Rabbi-Cantor who succeeded Rev. Brandenstein, spoke to the congregation in English. Though Beth Elohim was not formally a member of the Reform movement, greetings were delivered from the young Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Under the leadership of Dr. Sparger, many reforms were initiated: a new "Jastrow" prayer book was introduced, and the Temple's musical bent was accented by the establishment of a full choir and the hiring of a new organist. In 1891, Dr. Sparger left to join Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, and when the Rev. Dr. George Taubenhaus was engaged, the functions of Rabbi and Cantor were finally separated. Dr. Taubenhaus was to be the Rabbi and the Rev. Mauritz Weisskopf was hired as Cantor. In 1895, Weisskopf was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Radnitz, an extraordinary man who led the musical service in our synagogue for 49 years until his death in 1944.

(In the basement of the old State Street building, a patriarch of our Temple liked to recall, beyond a small ramp down which children loved to slide, there were two class rooms. One room, the Infant Class; the other, the Bible Class. The children sat on circular benches; one class separated from the others stretched out along the basement walls only by the gift of persuasion of the volunteer teacher. In the chapel itself, worshippers wore high hats again, which they doffed during sermons, and wiped their brows in the heat with big red bandannas or white silk handkerchiefs.)

In 1901, when Dr. Taubenhaus left, the temple had undergone additional changes: most every sermon was now delivered in English instead of German; the official minutes were kept in English, as well; the second day of the High Holidays was eliminated as a day of worship; and, most impor-tantly, the children growing up within the Temple were American Jews born on American soil.