Temple Sinai (Sumter, South Carolina)

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Temple Sinai, also known as Congregation Sinai and officially the Sumter Society of Israelites, is an active Reform Jewish synagogue in Sumter, South Carolina. It is located at 11-13 Church Street, at the corner of West Hampton Avenue. The brick building was completed in 1912 in the Moorish Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. It also houses the Temple Sinai Jewish History Center, which opened in June 2018.

History
The first Jewish settlers in Sumter were Sephardic families from Charleston in 1815. Congregation Sinai formed in April 1895 from the merger of the Hebrew Cemetery Society and the Sumter Hebrew Benevolent Society. Visiting rabbis from Charleston and Augusta served the congregation until 1904, when Rabbi Jacob Klein settled in Sumter and began serving Temple Sinai. The sanctuary facing Church Street was built in 1912 to replace an earlier wooden synagogue on the same site. The Barnett Memorial Addition, a two-story Moorish Revival building, was added in 1932 behind the sanctuary. In 1956 the Hyman Brody Building was attached to provide a kitchen, more classrooms, offices, and restrooms.

Architecture and art
Temple Sinai is noted for eleven drapery glass stained glass windows on its sides and entrance walls, depicting scenes from the Tanakh. Most windows measure about 5 by 20 feet, with one round window high above the entrance; their design echoes the Moorish towers that flank the entrance.

Ongoing activities and partnerships
Temple Sinai works with the Coastal Community Foundation, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, and the Charleston Jewish Federation to maintain its cemetery and temple and address long-term needs. In 2015, Temple Sinai partnered with the Sumter County Museum to create a permanent exhibit on Jewish history in South Carolina and Sumter. The exhibit opened on June 2, 2018, and includes a section on the Holocaust and Sumter’s connections to it.

Preservation and archives
Temple Sinai’s archives were donated to the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston. The temple’s grounds occupy less than an acre.