Members of Congregation Kol Ami, the largest of Utah's five Jewish congregations, helped build Utah into what it is today.
And they continue to build on that legacy.From the 1853 arrival of Gerson and Fanny Brooks, whose Salt Lake City millinery store and bakery was the state's first Jewish-owned business, to the state's only Jewish governor, Simon Bamberger, and Salt Lake City's only Jewish mayor, Louis Marcus, the congregation has produced community leaders who have helped shape the state's destiny.
Now, in this centennial year, Congregation Kol Ami and the United Jewish Federation of Utah are spearheading con-struction of a new Jewish Community Center in southeast Salt Lake City. A fund-raising drive is under way in Park City to pay for the construction of a synagogue there, and a growing number of Ogden-area Jews worship in the oldest synagogue still in use in Utah.
Congregation Kol Ami continues to sponsor community outreach programs such as its work with Salt Lake City's homeless. And activities at the existing Jewish Community Center, including a preschool and day care, as well as summer camp programs and an elementary school now housed at the Kol Ami synagogue, are open to the entire community.
"I think it's been, first of all, a tremendous dedication to maintaining the Jewish religion and the Jewish way of life here and also a tremendous history of general community involvement," Rabbi Frederick Wenger of Congregation Kol Ami said of the Jewish experience in Utah.
Though small in number, the impact of Utah Jews has been significant, even in the early years of the territory. Jews began arriving just a few years after the Mormons, many of them setting up shops or providing services for Mormon settlers and government troops. A Salt Lake business directory published in 1869 listed more than 25 Jewish-owned businesses. The total climbed to 91 by 1874.
Congregation Kol Ami is only 24 years old, a product of the merger of Congregation B'nai Israel and Congregation Montefiore. Nonetheless, the congregation has been granted centennial status by the state of Utah because Congregation B'nai Israel was one of the 13 religious institutions in existence when Utah became a state.
Congregation B'nai Israel was formed in 1893 primarily by German Jews.
"Their services were a little more liberal than the Eastern Europeans from Poland and Russians who came later were accustomed to, so they broke away and formed their own congregation around 1900," said Ralph Tannenbaum, 76, a past president of Congregation B'nai Israel and second president of Congregation Kol Ami.
From the beginning, Jews from both Salt Lake congregations and Mormons worked cooperatively for the common good. Brigham Young was instrumental in providing property for the first Jewish cemetery in Salt Lake City in the early 1900s. The LDS Church also helped pay for the construction of a synagogue for Congregation Montefiore, and Mormon leaders took part in the dedication program for the building.
Congregation Montefiore, named for a British diplomat, Sir Moses Montefiore, was built at 325 S. 300 East, not far from the B'nai Israel synagogue at 212 S. 400 East. But despite their geographical proximity, the memberships remained fairly separate.
"When I was growing up, unless you had family that happened to be in the opposite congregation, the communication was not that strong," said Tannenbaum. "In later years, (Montefiore) became more liberal, and then the reform (movement), which was B'nai Israel, became more traditional. The meeting of the minds became more frequent."
A merger of the congregations was attempted in the 1960s but failed, ultimately succeeding the next decade. In the 1920s, Utah's two Jewish congregations numbered about 100 families each. At the time of the merger 50 years later, each congregation had about 150 families - not a huge amount of growth.
"In those days, as our youngsters grew up, they definitely found at least economic opportunity elsewhere," Tannenbaum said.
No demographic studies have been undertaken recently, but it is believed Utah's Jewish community numbers about 4,000 people today. While it may never reach the numbers of some Eastern cities, the small size of Utah's Jewish community has its advantages.
"Because it is a smaller population, when Jewish people move here they might have a tendency to want to participate more in the Jewish community than if they moved into one of the large urban areas," said Donald Gartman, executive director of the United Jewish Federation of Utah.
But the numbers are increasing as Utah's job growth continues to attract newcomers of all faiths.
With the construction of the 60,000-square-foot Community Center, Congregation Kol Ami will position itself for another century of growth in Utah.
The new building will house Jewish Family Services and the federation's offices and provide a meeting place for other organizations. The current Jewish Community Center will house a summer camp program, an elementary school, an after-school program and youth recreation leagues.