Rothschild took over as spiritual leader of The Temple in 1946, replacing "Dr. David Marx". Marx was originally from New Orleans, born to a prominent family, and favored Classical Reform Judaism. Marx had commanded The Temple's respect within the wider white community by carrying himself and the congregation like any other white Southern would. He become the face the Jewish community and painted them to be equal and similar to their Christian counterparts - hardworking, charitable, and white.
Marx opposed zionist affiliations and Jewish dietary laws. He even removed Hebrew from his services and preferred to be called Doctor - like a preacher would be. Marx's actions represent a obvious movement by the leaders of the Jewish community - and the community as a whole - to mesh inconspicuously with their white counterparts. By removing all visibility of differences between the Jewish and Christian communities - Marx hoped to allow Jews to assimilate quickly and easily into upper and middle class white society in the South, even if this meant staying silent about serious issues like civil rights. The Leo Frank case had pushed the German Jewish community to further demonstrate their white Southern Gentile lifestyle and group themselves overtly as white members of society, continuing to support a romanticized version of the "Old South". This "Americanization" and "Southern-ness" spilled over into all aspects of their lives. These complicated personal identities demonstrate the intersectionality of Jewish life in the South at this time - the difficultly to be white, to be supportive of marginalized groups and communities, to be overtly Jewish, and more.
Rothschild changed all of this when he came into his position at the Temple. In the beginning of his time, he spoke openly about civil rights but remained reserved as to not alienate members of his new congregation. However, by the mid 50s when the Brown v Board decision had broke, he was outspoken about integration and civil rights in both his sermons and his actions. He was ready to take the Jewish community of Atlanta into a new era of supporting civil rights and marginalized groups within Atlanta.