About Us

Our History

Tree of Life Congregation (Reform) was incorporated in 1922 as Tree of Life Community Center. Our first permanent rabbi was Dr. Alfred Jospe in 1940. Briefly detained in the German Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Jospe emigrated to England, and the Morgantown Jewish community sponsored his coming here. The Congregation met in various rented locations in Morgantown until 1949, when the newly constructed Temple at 242 South High Street opened its doors. Tree of Life’s rabbi is Joseph Hample, who is a 1978 graduate of Harvard University and was ordained by Hebrew Union College in 2009.