One of Miami’s oldest synagogues plans to close next summer, citing costly upkeep

The congregation, which has been shrinking for years, can no longer afford to keep up its landmark synagogue.

“Temple Israel of Greater Miami has a huge history … we’re in our 103rd year, but it is almost impossible to operate a 64,000-square-foot building with a small congregation of our size,” Shari Debowsky, the executive director of Temple Israel told The Miami Herald on Monday.

In its official announcement, Temple Israel of Greater Miami called the move a sunsetting– a plan to gradually move operations from the current location by June 30, 2025. Temple leaders said the decision to transition out of the property on the fringe of fast-upscaling neighborhoods south of Midtown was made mainly due to “significant budgetary restrictions.”

Temple Israel, Miami’s first Reform synagogue, has a current membership of about 130 families. That’s a fraction of what the temple maintained in its heydays with as many as 1,800 families in the 1960s.

As the current synagogue, originally built in 1927 with expansions in the 1950s and 1960s, continues to age, there have been challenges and costs to maintain it.

“Changing demographics, financial, and facility considerations necessitate a significant change in operations and the temple’s future,” Temple Israel wrote on its website in a Sunday announcement.

During the transition, temple services, including Shabbat services, High Holy Days, and Jewish holiday celebrations, will continue to be held as usual in the current building. All staff and clergy will remain in their current positions.

“This coming year, now until June 30, our congregation will be operating totally normally,” said Debowsky.

The current building will be maintained and kept operational until July 2026, due to a lease agreement with BridgePrep, a charter school that rents a portion of the property. But by summer 2025, Temple Israel will face a new future in terms of where services will be held. The fate of the property also remains undecided. The temple’s financial struggles aren’t unusual. Older churches in South Florida, particularly in cities with soaring real estate values and changing demographics, have been forced to close down and sell sites.

“We will do everything we can to support our congregational community to find a place to stay as a congregation, we just know that it cannot be here long term,” said Debowsky.

The future of Temple Israel will be decided by a task force made up of congregants, which will begin meeting this month. The Transition Task Force will explore new options for a new location as well as what to do with the current building. Temple leaders say the decision to announce the closure a year in advance was made so that the synagogue has enough time to “make really good decisions” and to ensure “we are not pushed up against a wall,” Debowsky said.

History of inclusion

Formed in 1922, Temple Israel has been a cornerstone of the Reform Jewish community in Miami, providing a place for worship, education, social justice, and community.

Temple Israel has been long known as an inclusive temple, welcoming LGBTQ members and clergy for decades, including Rabbi Amy Morrison, a lesbian, who was appointed senior Rabbi in 2019. Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn, who was a rabbi for the temple in 2000, declared the synagogue “a warm and welcoming place” for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.

At its highest membership, the synagogue was so popular that High Holy Day services had to be held off campus in the Miami Beach Convention Center to accommodate the number of attendees, according to the temple’s website.

She is leading one of Miami’s oldest temples, focusing on a more diverse congregation

Social justice is also a tenant of Temple Israel’s congregation, described on its website as a “unifying mandate of Reform Judaism, central to who we are and what we do in contributing to Tikkun Olam, repairing the world – through direct service, Tzedakah (righteous giving), and advocacy.” The synagogue is involved in an array of social justice actions including protecting reproductive rights for women, homelessness outreach, and Florida farmworker rights, among others.

Transitioning out of the current location is the most responsible decision for the temple from a financial standpoint, said Debowsky. Still, temple leaders are adamant that the legacy of Temple Israel will continue regardless of the change in location.

“We are trying to leverage our future into something new,” said Debowsky. “This is not doom and gloom. This is an opportunity for us to create something amazing, just the next iteration of Temple Israel.”

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.