Temple House of Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 15 North Market Street, in Staunton, Virginia, in the United States.

[3] Founded in 1876 by Major Alexander Hart,[4] it originally held services in members' homes, then moved to a building on Kalorama street in 1885, the year it joined the Union for Reform Judaism.

[2] In 1925 the congregation constructed its current building at 115 North Market Street,[2] a contributing property to the Gospel Hill historic district.

[6] Temple House of Israel was founded in 1876 in Staunton, Virginia by Major Alexander Hart,[4] who had fought for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War.

[12] Fannie Barth Strauss, instructor and later assistant professor of Latin and German at Mary Baldwin College from 1918 to 1954, re-established the Hebrew school at House of Israel in 1916.

Decorated with "Early Assyrian motifs", the facade presented "[f]lanking twin towers with suppressed buttresses", and a "[l]arge arched opening in [the] central bay, supported by unusual columns",[5] and included Mercer tiles.

[5] The windows (sixteen in total) and screen cost $700 (today $12,000), and featured fruits or plants grown in the Land of Israel, including "olives, grapes, citron, pomegranate, and others".

[2] In 1947, a kitchen and small social hall were constructed at the back of the building, and a south bay was added to the sanctuary; Sam Collins was again the architect.

[16] In 2003, Joe Blair became the rabbi of Temple House of Israel and Beth El;[23] the two congregations combined had 120 member families.

and Master of Computer Science degrees from the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor from The College of William & Mary Law School.

[26] After working in the computer field for 15 years, and briefly as a general practice attorney, he returned to school, attending the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, from which he graduated with a Masters in Hebrew Letters in 1996.