Eastern Shore Temple Moves into New Spiritual Home

An Easton temple will move into a new spiritual home, starting a new chapter of serving Eastern Shore Jewry.

In an era when many religious institutions face dwindling memberships, a shul in the small Eastern Shore town of Easton (pop. 16,617) is bucking the trend.

On Sunday morning, June 10, Rabbi Peter E. Hyman will lead congregants of Temple B’nai Israel on a 1.8-mile march carrying Torah scrolls from their longtime synagogue building to their new spiritual home off of Maryland Route 322 (also known as Easton Parkway). Besides the march, the temple will offer various festivities throughout that weekend.

The new home of the 68-year-old Reform temple will be a nearly 9,500-square-foot building at 7199 Tristan Drive, on six acres of rural land.

The single-story, handicapped-accessible building with a raised V-shaped roof will be called Temple B’nai Israel: The Satell Center for Jewish Life on the Eastern Shore. It will be named in honor of Philadelphia-based philanthropist and civic leader Edward and Cyma Satell, who are major funders of the building campaign and friends of Rabbi Hyman.

The congregation raised $6 million for purchase of the land, the facility’s construction and an endowment. Plans are underway to sell the congregation’s old building at 101 W. Earle Ave.

In 2015, the congregation purchased the tract of land on which to build the new synagogue. B’nai Israel held a groundbreaking ceremony last June.

Since the 2008 arrival of Rabbi Hyman, the congregation’s first full-time spiritual leader, B’nai Israel has grown to more than 200 members, and its old building no longer could accommodate the entire congregation for High Holiday services and other gatherings. Previously, the congregation held High Holiday services at Easton’s St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.

“It will be good to celebrate the holidays in our own home,” said Rabbi Hyman.

Drawing congregants from Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Dorchester and Kent counties, B’nai Israel includes families with children who attend religious school and confirmation classes; retirees who have made the Eastern Shore their full-time homes; and couples and families with second homes in the area. Among its membership are many interfaith couples and families.

The synagogue was founded in 1950 when a handful of Jewish women who belonged to the Jewish Sisterhood of the Eastern Shore raised the funds to create a local synagogue. Before the establishment of B’nai Israel, area families traveled to Baltimore to attend religious services. The congregation originally consisted of 50 members.

Five years ago, B’nai Israel hired Levin/Brown & Associates Inc. to design the temple’s new home. Based in Baltimore, Levin/Brown is the most prolific synagogue architectural firm in the United States, having designed or re-conceptualized more than 250 synagogues during the past three decades.

Jay Brown, the building’s lead architect, said B’nai Israel’s design was a collaborative effort between the congregation and its leadership.

“A lot of time was spent looking for the right site,” he said. “This is surrounded by farmland and woods, and the building was sited so it takes great advantage of the natural environment without being impacted by the heavy traffic on the bypass road. … It’s built with natural materials consistent with what would be used on the Eastern Shore. There’s lots of wood and stone, reflective of the numerous barns and stone walls in the area.”

Arna Meyer Mickelson, B’nai Israel’s president, described the new facility as “an effort of this congregation to create a building that is as useful as it is beautiful for our own needs and for the needs of the community.”

The new building’s sanctuary will hold 250 people, but can be divided into three areas for smaller functions. The facility’s design includes multi-purpose rooms for concerts, lectures and films, as well as a professional kitchen and social hall that can accommodate 150 at seated events and 250 for combined standing and seated gatherings.

A 3,000-square-foot patio with a pagoda will enable outdoor worship services, wedding ceremonies and other special events. Rooms at B’nai Israel will be available for rentals.

Despite its contemporary design, the new synagogue building will maintain features that honor the congregation’s history. For example, a niche in the Rabbi Peter E. Hyman Lobby will hold a framed section of a Torah scroll rescued during the Holocaust and other longtime synagogue memorabilia. In addition, a window featuring a Star of David from the front of B’nai Israel’s original building — donated by the Alvin Grollman family — will be moved to the new building.

A native of West Hartford, Conn., Rabbi Hyman said he is proud of what he and his congregation have accomplished over the past decade. Most paramount, he said, was “developing a cohesive community and building a new synagogue building.”

The rabbi said B’nai Israel’s next goal was “finding a klezmer band for the dedication weekend,” as well as hiring a full-time executive director and a part-time cantorial soloist.

For information, visit bnaiisraeleaston.org.

Judy Colbert is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.