Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas

For similarly named synagogues, seeTemple Shalom.

Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Rite	(Unaffiliated)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Rabbi Jacob Adler(Emeritus)
Status	Active
Location
Location	699 North Sang Avenue,Fayetteville,Arkansas
Country	United States
Location inArkansas
Geographic coordinates	36°04′26″N94°11′22″W
Architecture
Type	Synagogue
General contractor	Fadil Bayyari
Date established	1981(as a congregation)
Completed	2009
Site area	1 acre (4,000 m2)
Website
templeshalomnwa.org

Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansasis anunaffiliatedJewishcongregation andsynagogue,located at 699 North Sang Avenue, in theFayettevillearea ofArkansas,in the United States.The small, mixed-denomination congregation is affiliated with theUnion for Reform Judaism,yet it supports a variety of activities and services forJewsof all backgrounds.

Early history

Breaking ground for the 2009 building

Students from the congregation's religious school

Arising out of anindependent minyanfrom the 1970s,Temple Shalom was formed on February 23, 1981, following a meeting of approximately 30 people in Fayetteville on January 21, 1981 held with Rabbi Lawrence Jackofsky of the Southwest Council,Union of American Hebrew Congregationsof Dallas.

A month later, Rabbi Norbert L. Rosenthal, emeritus rabbi ofTemple IsraelinTulsa, Oklahomawas invited to serve as the first rabbi. At the consecration ceremony on April 25, 1981, the officers of the newly-formed organization were installed. Temple Shalom arranged to use theUnitarian UniversalistFellowship Hall for monthly services. The religious school that was founded in the 1960s was organized and conducted by parent volunteersand took place at the Sam Barg Hillel House at 607 Storer Avenue.

Building history

In 1999, theUniversity of ArkansasHillelbegan leasing a building from the University at 608 N. Storer Avenue. Temple Shalom leased space in this building. Larger gatherings continued to take place at the neighboring Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

In 2004, when Temple Shalom was growing out of that building, some members from the Rogers and Bentonville area decided to form a new congregation in Bentonville, called Congregation Etz Chaim,temporarily easing the need for Temple Shalom to move again to a bigger facility.

By 2005, Temple Shalom had again grown and needed its own building. The membership included nearly 60 families. There were about 30 children attending the religious school, several of whom celebrated theirBar and Bat Mitzvaheach year. The project to acquire a building for Fayetteville's first synagogue was launched in 2005, headed by the synagogue's president.

In 2006, Fadil Bayyari, a localPalestinianMuslimbuilder, fromSpringdale,proposed to build a new building for Temple Shalom at his cost, a savings of an estimated 20% of the total cost of the project, or $250,000.Bayyari's offer spurred much interest in the local and national press.

In 2007 Temple Shalom purchased a little less than 1 acre (4,000 m²) at the corner of Sang Avenue and Cleveland Street to create a facility for Temple Shalom, University of Arkansas Hillel, and to house a multicultural library. This building was completed in 2009.

Clergy

Until 2006, Temple Shalom was served by a variety of visiting rabbis, student rabbis, and cantors, who made monthly visits to Fayetteville during the academic year.In 2006, Jacob Adler, a University of Arkansas professor of philosophy, became the first resident rabbi after he had recently acquired his rabbinical ordination. Adler led the congregation into 2020.

External links

• Official website