On the eve of the third anniversary of the doors opening to the Augusta Jewish Museum, officials will celebrate the installation of its exhibits with a ribbon cutting and dedication from 1 to 3 p.m., July 21.
On July 22, 2021, a ceremony marked the saving of two historic Augusta buildings the Court of the Ordinary and the Telfair Street synagogue, which is the oldest synagogue building in the state of Georgia.
At that event, Erick Montgomery, Historic Augusta executive director, recounted events in 2015 when the two buildings stared at the possibility of a wrecking ball to add parking spaces.
He knew at the time that “if someone does not speak up, this historic building will not be saved,” Montgomery said in July 2021.
The Greek Revival-styled synagogue was built in 1869, and the court of the ordinary, adjacent to the synagogue, was constructed in 1860. It was unique for its day with its state-of-the-art fireproof design; it housed historic documents dating back to 1777.
Jack Steinberg was the first to champion the idea of a museum. He had worshipped at the synagogue as a child and his bar mitzvah was held there.
Not long before he died in 2019, Steinberg passed the torch to Jack Weinstein, museum board president.
Over the past three years, HW Exhibits in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina has worked with Weinstein and other museum officials to bring their vision into existence. The building has been used for educational events as work progressed.
“It is exactly what Jack wanted; first to save the building and then to educate the people,” said Weinstein in a May 3 Augusta Good News article.
Installation of the exhibitions began on April 22. Patrons of the annual Historic Augusta loft tour in May got a sneak peek into the space. Exhibits focus on four areas — Jewish contributions in the Augusta area, Jewish traditions and practices, Holocaust remembrance and the nation of Israel.
A Czech Holocaust Torah will be dedicated at the museum at 1 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 25.
Another addition to the museum is a Holocaust Memorial that once was located on the grounds of the former Augusta Jewish Community Center in Columbia County.
The sculpture depicts six flames representing the six million Jewish people killed during the Holocaust. It was donated to the community center by Micki and Alan Lavine and their children Lenore and Mark.
“Engraved on the sculpture are also the names of the communities in Europe from which Jewish men, women, and children were displaced and then murdered during the Holocaust,” according to information from the Augusta Jewish Museum.
The next phase of the project will be to raise money for the renovation of the synagogue itself.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Thank you Charmain and Augusta Good News for this article. Congratulations to Augusta Jewish Museum, Historic Augusta and the City of Augusta for this important project to educate the community about Jewish heritage in the Augusta and Aiken areas.