Congregation Etz Chaim
Was Founded by Congregation Ohav Shalom & Congregation B’nai Tzedek
On Sunday Night, September 7, 2014 both congregations met separately and voted with a responded “YES!” to merge and continue our future together.
While there were several joint services held during the merger courtship
the first official services as one synagogue were held on Friday Night, January 30, 2015 at Cornell Road.
On Sunday, March 29, 2015 – The 9th day of Nissan 5775
Congregations Ohav Shalom & B’nai Tzedek “married” and celebrated
with the entire Jewish Community as they formed Congregation Etz Chaim.
By uniting these two incredible synagogues we know we have a bright future ahead of us. Our eyes are on the future but our hearts and minds will never forget the incredible lineage of these two remarkable founding synagogues.
Continue scrolling down to learn more about their respective formations, history and journeys.
Ohav Shalom
1882 – 2014
Ohav Shalom was founded by twenty recent Russian immigrants in 1882. The original Ohav Shalom, known as the Russische Schul (Russian Synagogue) was located at the foot of Broadway in the old Spencer House. Over the next few years, the congregation moved several times, first to a small room on Sycamore Street; then to Fourth Street; from there to a rented hall on George Street between Central Avenue and John Street.
By 1888, Ohav Shalom had 30 members and five Torahs and it was felt that the time had come to formally incorporate. Ohav Shalom was chartered by the State of Ohio on December 29, 1888, and four years late in 1892, the congregation moved to a new home on Court Street. This property was purchased in 1899 for $9,000. By 1903, the membership of Ohav Shalom had grown to 90.
B'nai Tzedek
1964 – 2014
Late in 1964, a group of families in the Roselawn area of Cincinnati, along with others in neighboring communities, gathered together and committed themselves to a new and exciting task. Their goal – create a Synagogue dedicated to Conservative Jewish practices in the Roselawn area. At the time Roselawn was a major hub of the Cincinnati Jewish population and the site of the Jewish Community Center. Follow-up meetings to this first gathering yielded a board of officers, by-laws, functional committees, including a Sisterhood, and a name – Congregation B'nai Tzedek.
Bnai Tzedek as a place for prayer – After announcing its formation, B'nai Tzedek held its first Saturday morning Shabbat Service. The date was November 28, 1964, which appropriately enough corresponded with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Hence, the Shecheyanu pronounced at the service had dual meaning. This first Shabbat Service was held in the Jewish Community Center Nursery School building. The event marked the beginning of what became and remains a distinguishing feature of B'nai Tzedek worship. Specifically, the Service was entirely led by lay congregants who assumed the roles of service leader, sermonizer, cantor, and Torah reader. In subsequent services, these roles were rotated among still other members. Giving reinforcement to this practice, our rabbis coached members in how to lead parts of the service, and welcomed them to share the pulpit in offering sermons on Shabbatot. The latter resulted in the publication of two editions of member sermons appropriately titled, “Voices from the B’nai Tzedek Bima – The Congregants Speak”.
