In 1905, eighteen Jewish families met in Virginia, Minnesota, to plan the building of B’nai Abraham, the Iron Range’s first synagogue constructed from the ground up and not fashioned from a repurposed building.
Transcript
MN90 Intro: Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.
Britt Aamodt: In 1905, eighteen Jewish families met to talk about a project.
Most, if not all of them had fled Eastern Europe to escape the pogroms, and had now made their homes in Virginia, on Northern Minnesota's Iron Range. Among those gathered were the Shanedlings. The brothers owned a men's store in town. And John Mesberg, a furniture dealer.
Back in 1894, Mesberg had hosted the city's first Rosh Hashanah holiday at his home. But the Jewish population was growing. Nearby Eveleth and Hibbing already had synagogues. So it only made sense to start planning one for Virginia.
But unlike the other cities, Virginia would not repurpose an old building. It would build a synagogue from the ground up—in brick, as per city ordinance. Because Virginia had already been razed by fire twice.
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