Temple B'nai Israel – Hattiesburg, MS

There are many traditions surrounding those of the Jewish faith after the death of a loved one. Yahrzeit is one tradition, in which we remember the anniversary of the death of someone who has passed.  It is observed each year by lighting a memorial candle and reciting the kaddish during services.  In this way we cherish our departed family members, and they are never really gone from us.  Our ultimate goal is to preserve the memories of those who founded and supported our synagogue by collecting further information about their lives.  Please email us at bnaiisrael901@gmail.com or leave comments below that will be archived into B’nai Israel’s history project.

Please visit the “cemetery” tab on the home page to view images of members’ headstones.

Congregation B’nai Israel was founded in 1915 with the current synagogue being built in 1945. In honor of its 100th year in Hattiesburg, B’nai Israel is kicking off a history project in order to compile as comprehensive a record as possible of its beginnings and a compilation of its members through the years. Who were they? What brought them to Hattiesburg? How may they have contributed to the life and growth of the city in which they lived and worked? Where are their families today?

Always a small congregation, today our congregation is comprised of a mix of retirees and a younger generation of working professionals employed and studying in the local area universities and colleges as well as in the medical fields and other trades. The importance of documenting historical information on our congregation’s past as a way of solidifying the cornerstone on which the congregation was founded can not be overstated.

If you would like to contribute to the history of the temple and it’s members, please email us at bnaiisrael901@gmail.com