Temple Adas Israel is a historic synagogue located at the intersection of Washington and College streets in Brownsville, western Tennessee, United States. Built in 1882, it is the oldest synagogue building in Tennessee and one of fewer than a hundred surviving 19th-century synagogues in the country. On January 19, 1979, Temple Adas Israel was added to the National Register of Historic Places.HistoryBrownsville's Jewish community began when two German Ashkenazim immigrants, brothers Joe and Sol Sternberger, founded the Adas Israel Congregation in 1867. As immigrants to the United States, the Sternbergers had brought a Torah written on sheepskin. Led by Isaac Levi, the Orthodox community first met for prayers in the home of Jacob and Karoline Felsenthal. Over the next fifteen years, Adas Israel moved towards Reform Judaism and membership grew to 25 families.In 1878, the congregation founded Adas Israel Cemetery, a Jewish burial ground still in use today. The congregation became too large to continue meeting in local homes; therefore, they built a 200-seat wooden synagogue in 1882. A large ceremony took place on March 2, 1882 for the synagogue's dedication. Attendees included not only congregation members, but many of the city's non-Jews. Emil Tamm became the first lay leader of the congregation in its new temple.
