The Sisterhood of B’nai Israel

            B’nai Israel’s sisterhood is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in North Dakota.  Although Sisterhood activities and interests have varied in the over one century of its existence, the organization remains an intra-temple group devoted to the synagogue’s upkeep, to religious instruction, and to preserving Jewish heritage.  The Sisterhood furthers many of its goals by sponsoring and hosting fundraisers.  Such events have included annual summer picnics, social teas, rummage, food, and Hanukkah candle sales, and annual Chevra Kadisha[6] suppers.

            The group was founded in 1891 as the “Ladies Aid Society.”  After a lapse in activity in the 1920’s, synagogue members reorganized the group and adopted the name of the “Sisterhood” during a meeting on November 12, 1933.  During that meeting, twenty-nine women voted to become members and signed pledge cards to that effect.  Nine others requested time to decide whether to join.  those present voted as well to charge fifty cents in yearly dues.  Five days later, on November 17, 1933, Isadore Papermaster, Rabbi Papermaster’s son, and Louis Rosoff, then serving as the Congregation’s President, each addressed the twenty-two women assembled as the Sisterhood.  Both emphasized that cooperation between women’s and men’s temple groups would be necessary to build a community “… that would stand out as an active Jewish group among the Gentiles.”

            Sisterhood members played a vital role in Establishing such a community, and in reaching out to the larger community of Grand Forks.  The Sisterhood’s frequent fundraisers in the 1930’s and 1940’s, open to the public, provided an opportunity for residents of all faiths to gather for social teas and picnics, or to play cards – bridge or grand nola – for an evening in secular halls and clubs.  The considerable funds the Sisterhood generated from these events initially went directly into a trust fund to erect a new synagogue.

The Sisterhood ceased turning over all of the funds it raised to the congregation’s coffers after the construction of the temple of B’nai Israel.  In addition to providing significant financial support to maintain the temple, Sisterhood members purchased books for the temple and for its rabbis, tombstones for deceased members, made donations to various causes (including the Palestine Fund), and helped pay the salaries of the Temple’s Sunday School teachers.  Members also established a scholarship of the Sisterhood at the University of North Dakota in the 1960’s.

            In the late 1970’s, Sisterhood members began to focus on their role as women active in the Jewish faith.  At Sisterhood meetings, papers on the subject of women in Judaism replaced the literary lectures and discussions often featured during meetings of the preceding decades.  A group of members traveled to Winnipeg in 1983 to join women from nine other American and Canadian congregations attending a regional conference on women in Judaism.  An event held in the same year bespoke how much the role of women had evolved within the congregation of B’nai Israel.  The Sisterhood held its first Shabbat service on November 18, 1983, a service written by Robin Silverman, Dina Stern, Art Bennett, and Kitty Maidenberg.