Jewish Heritage Collection Panel Discussion: Looking at the Past and to the Future: From the Pulpit of Brith Sholom Beth Israel

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Title:

Jewish Heritage Collection Panel Discussion: Looking at the Past and to the Future: From the Pulpit of Brith Sholom Beth Israel

Date:

2004

Interviewer:

Gurock, Jeffrey

Interviewee:

Galinsky, Hirsch Moshe;Klaperman, Gilbert

Description:

This panel discussion, "Looking at the Past and to the Future: From the Pulpit of Brith Sholom Beth Israel," was presented at "Jewish Roots in Southern Soil," a joint conference of the Southern Jewish Historical Society, the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, and Brith Sholom Beth Israel Synagogue [BSBI] in Charleston, South Carolina. At the time, BSBI was celebrating its 150th anniversary. The panelists were Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman, who served the Orthodox Brith Sholom from 1948 to 1950, prior to its merger with Beth Israel, also Orthodox, and Rabbi Hirsch Moshe Galinsky, who held the pulpit of BSBI from 1963 to 1970. Rabbi Klaperman notes "I came here in a period of tension," soon after a schism in 1947 when a significant portion of Brith Sholom's congregants left to form Conservative Synagogue Emanu-El. The loss of members and leadership that resulted from the split was "a kind of a blow to the ego" of the congregation and the split extended to families. "It was a terrible thing." Rabbi Klaperman was aware of a "pecking order" among the Jewish congregations in Charleston, which he associated with their degree of Americanization and religiosity. He closes his comments with this advice: "It's important for us to live together so that we can survive. We cannot rule anybody out of the Jewish community." Rabbi Galinsky recalls how he came to BSBI, stating that his additional duties as principal of the Charleston Hebrew Institute presented an appealing challenge. He was impressed with the people he encountered when he arrived in his new home city. "When you come to Charleston, you feel it, the unbelievable link to history." He describes how certain members of the Jewish community represented links to the past. Yet they had a vision of the future. He found the ties between Charleston's Jewish congregations and the connections among Jewish and non-Jewish Charlestonians remarkable. Rabbi Galinsky talks briefly about battling the Blue Laws, responding to the 1969 hospital workers' strike, and establishing a Head Start program at BSBI's day school for black children in the neighborhood.

Collection Title:

Jewish Heritage Collection Oral Histories

Contributing Institution:

College of Charleston Libraries

Media Type:

Oral Histories

Personal or Corporate Subject:

Brith Sholom Beth Israel (Charleston, S.C.), Brith Sholom (Charleston, S.C.)

Topical Subject:

Hospital Workers' Strike, Charleston, S.C., 1969, Jewish Sects--South Carolina--Charleston--History, Interfaith relations, Sunday legislation--South Carolina, Head Start programs--South Carolina

S.C. County:

Charleston County (S.C.)

Language:

English, Hebrew

Shelving Locator:

MSS 1035-287

Date Digital:

2013-01-03

Digitization Specifications:

Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival masters are wav files.

Format:

audio/mpeg

Copyright Status Statement:

Copyright © Jewish Heritage Collection

Access Statement:

All rights reserved.

Access Information:

For more information, contact Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries, 66 George Street, Charleston SC 29424.

Admin ID:

263063