A House of David in the Land of Jesus Capa dura - 2010

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"Bob Berman concludes his tribute with a well thought out and impassioned but feasible plan to keep the traditions of Temple Beth El alive. Should Bob's dream become a reality, it will be a significant contribution to Mississippi, to the South, and to the nation."
-W. Charles Sallis, Emeritus Professor of History at Millsaps College, from the foreword

Lexington, a small rural town in the heart of the Mississippi Bible belt, is the home of a thriving Jewish community. Set within a predominantly Christian region, Lexington may seem an unlikely place for a Jewish population to live, let alone prosper. Yet, the welcome and hospitable environment offered by this town has provided an exceptional place for a great number of Jews to settle, multiply, and thrive for more than a century.

Filled with true, heartwarming stories about the lives of the individuals living in this unique Jewish town, this community biography paints a compelling portrait of the remarkable accomplishments, failures, triumphs, and tragedies of the devout and dynamic society. Detailed descriptions of the synagogue-Temple Beth El-and its storied stained-glass windows accompany photographs and profiles of the families and individuals whose community activism furthered the prosperity of the town.

Pillars of the community profiled in this book include Jacob Sontheimer, the town's first permanent Jewish resident; the Cohen and Flowers families and their department store successes; and the philanthropic endeavors of the Waterman Herrman brothers, among many others. With his intimate and conversational style, Robert Lewis Berman demonstrates how through their leadership, the Jews of Lexington have made significant contributions to the town, the state, and their religion as a whole.

Robert Lewis Berman served as the president of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, president of the 350-member Rotary Club of Jackson, and district governor of Rotary International. He earned his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. As a former resident of Lexington, Mississippi, Berman felt compelled to share his experiences living there. In response, the town honored him by proclaiming a "Robert Lewis Berman Day."