Congregation Sherith Israel (San Francisco, California)
Encyclopedia
Congregation Sherith Israel ("loyal remnant of Israel
") is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States
. It was established during California’s Gold Rush
period and reflects the ambitions of early Jewish settlers to San Francisco. Today it is a congregation widely known for its innovative approach to worship and lifecycle celebrations and is part of the movement of Reform Judaism
. Its historic sanctuary building is one of San Francisco's most prominent architectural landmarks and attracts visitors from all over the world.
-style synagogue on Post Street. Heeding this realization, congregational leaders first secured property on the northeast corner of California and Webster Streets on September 8, 1902, then hired École des Beaux Arts-trained architect Albert Pissis
to draw up plans for a new temple. Ground was broken on October 8, 1903, and the cornerstone was laid on February 22, 1904. The sanctuary was officially consecrated on September 24, 1905. While improvements have been made through the ensuing years, the building has been preserved close to its original construction.
Temple Sherith Israel, a fusion of Byzantine and Romanesque
forms, cost $250,000 to build in 1904–1905. The structure stands 140 feet (42.7 m) above California Street. Its signature dome — which can be seen from many vantage points throughout San Francisco — is 60 feet (18.3 m) wide at its outside diameter. The sanctuary's interior contains 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) of space, 3,500 organ pipes, nearly 1,400 seats, 1,109 decorative light bulbs, more than 89 ornamental leaded glass windows and 32 arched clear glass windows in its outer drum.
During the 1906 earthquake
, the building sustained only modest damage which was quickly repaired. It was also undamaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Nonetheless, the State of California has mandated that unreinforced masonry structures
like Temple Sherith Israel must meet stringent seismic resilience standards. In 2005, the congregation commenced a seismic retrofit
of the sanctuary, funded through an ambitious capital campaign.
. Meanwhile, Jews in Central Europe lived under repressive regimes that constrained employment, forced military conscription and restricted marriage. Understandably, many enterprising young Jews did not see much of a future for themselves in their homelands. Drawn by the lure of wealth, freedom and opportunity, California became their new Promised Land
.
, they were determined to celebrate Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur
.
These young Jews came from Prussia, Bavaria, England, France and the eastern United States. They worshiped together again during Passover
and the High Holy Days
in 1850, formed two benevolent societies to aid the needy and bought land for a cemetery
.
In April 1851, San Francisco’s frontier Jews met again, this time to form a permanent congregation and elect officers. In typical fashion they split almost immediately, forming not one but two synagogues. Congregation Sherith Israel followed the minhag Polen
, the traditions of Jews from Posen
in Prussia. Congregation Emanu-El chose to worship according to the German practices of Jews from Bavaria
. The synagogues have been friendly neighbors ever since.
So many Jews had left Europe for San Francisco that, by the end of the 1850s, a full six to ten percent of the city’s population was Jewish — a higher percentage (briefly) than in New York. After the Civil War
, another generation arrived to seek its fortune in California. In 1870, Sherith Israel moved to an impressive, Gothic-style structure on Post and Taylor Streets, where it remained for 34 years.
Initially Orthodox
in the Polish style, Sherith Israel took major steps toward becoming a Reform congregation while on Post Street. In a visible departure from tradition, this new sanctuary was designed for mixed seating. Gradually, with much discussion and struggle, wearing a kippah
became optional, Friday evening
services were initiated, a choir introduced and a new prayerbook chosen. Two dynamic rabbis hastened the move toward Reform: Rabbi Henry Vidaver
(1873–1882) and Rabbi Jacob Nieto (1893–1930). In 1903, as ground was broken for the current site on California Street, Congregation Sherith Israel made these changes official and joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now known as the Union for Reform Judaism
.
in New York City
.
Prior to his tenure at Sherith Israel, Rabbi Raphael was the first director of the department of Adult Jewish Growth at the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (1996–2003). There he created Torah
study programs for both individuals and congregations. He also initiated popular study retreats and programs on adult spirituality.
Deeply involved in training the next generation of rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators throughout much of his career, Rabbi Raphael served as national director of continuing education for the Rabbinic Alumni Association of the Hebrew Union College and the Central Conference of American Rabbis
(1993–1996).
During his 30 years in New York, Rabbi Raphael also led annual High Holy Days services for hundreds of young adults and college students. The participatory services, sponsored by the Metropolitan Conference of the National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods and the Hebrew Union College, created a unique community for young people building adult lives in a busy city.
Above all, Rabbi Raphael sees synagogues as transformative places for both individuals and communities. "Synagogues are where we grow Jews," he says. "Synagogues are where we fortify the Jewish spirit, address issues of Jewish literacy, cement the bonds of Jewish peoplehood, enhance the vibrancy of Jewish life, deepen our faith in God
and engage in the work
of making this a better world."
A native of Los Angeles
, Rabbi Raphael graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz
(1967), where he founded and became the first president of the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati (1974) and earned his Ph.D. in leadership and higher education from New York University
(1990).
A mystery buff, Rabbi Raphael has edited two volumes of Jewish mystery fiction
, Criminal Kabbalah and Mystery Midrash, now in its third printing. He also loves Jewish stories and poetry, both of which he uses frequently during services and talks.
from the Hebrew Union College in New York City in 1985. More recently, she completed the first program for cantors at the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She furthered her knowledge and interest in Jewish meditation, text study, and understanding the healing and transformative power of communal prayer. Before joining Congregation Sherith Israel in 2003, Cantor Glassman served congregations in New York
, Pennsylvania
and Iowa
, as well as Bay Area congregations Beth Sholom in San Francisco and Rodef Sholom in Marin County.
In addition to her love for chazzanut — the cantorial art — Cantor Glassman composes and records songs in both Hebrew and English in folk
, pop
and country
styles. Her deep interest in all styles of Jewish music and her experience as a cantor and artist have led to invitations to sing and teach in Progressive (Reform) synagogues in Argentina
and Brazil
. Cantor Glassman also serves on the Yad B'Yad Task Force of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
with an emphasis on outreach to Jewish communities in Latin America
. She has brought cantors from Argentina to Sherith Israel to share their inspirational voices and music.
Cantor Glassman likes to say that she began to learn Torah before she learned Hebrew from her deeply observant, traditional Jewish family. Her parents, Holocaust survivors from Lithuania
and Czechoslovakia
, stressed the importance of Jewish education and values, modeling mitzvot
and love of Torah. She was particularly inspired by weekly synagogue visits with her father where she heard famous cantors from his native Vilnius
, including the great Moshe Koussevitzky
.
Wherever Rita Glassman went — Jewish day school
, Yeshiva high school and Massad Summer Camp
in Pennsylvania — music was part of her life. She composed, sang, and played piano and guitar. During her junior year of college she studied abroad at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
and Hebrew University of Jerusalem
where she majored in musicology and Jewish studies.
Under Cantor Glassman’s direction, music at Sherith Israel embraces the entire Jewish musical canon. Musical styles range from modern participatory melodies, including folk rock
, jazz
and world music
, to classic 19th-century Reform compositions by artists like Louis Lewandowski
and Solomon Sulzer that integrate the sounds of the temple's historic Murray Harris organ with both professional and congregational choirs on the High Holy Days. "Music is a vehicle for transcending the mundane and getting closer to God," notes Cantor Glassman. "There are many ways to open our hearts and the gates of heaven through Jewish music."
In addition to her work leading the congregation in prayer, Cantor Glassman is a composer and recording artist. Her albums include Coming Into Light, Walk With Me and Love Songs. She can also be heard on The Song of Songs with narrators Jill Eikenberry
and Michael Tucker
. Her chant composition, an original interpretation of the Shema prayer
can be found on an interfaith album, Sacred World Chants. Her most recent release, Journey To Shabbat, a collection of contemporary Jewish prayer melodies that are part of Sherith Israel’s monthly service of the same name, was recorded in the temple's historic sanctuary.
Rabbi Saxe-Taller is involved in Congregation Sherith Israel’s education programs, working with everyone from preschoolers to adults. Each Friday she brings Shabbat to the preschoolers enrolled in the Sherith Israel-Marin Day School Bright Horizons program, and she facilitates the weekly "Mamas' Group" for parents of young children. In addition, "Rabbi Julie", as she is affectionately known, teaches a monthly parenting class. She also teaches middle and high school programs, as well as classes for adults. With Senior Rabbi Larry Raphael, she co-teaches Congregation Sherith Israel’s "Introduction to Judaism" class and works with conversion
students.
Passionate about social justice
and building community, Rabbi Saxe-Taller has been instrumental in connecting the synagogue with the San Francisco Organizing Project, enabling Sherith Israel members to build relationships within the community and to collaborate with other congregations on social action projects.
Born in San Francisco, Rabbi Saxe-Taller grew up in Marin County, where her family belongs to Congregation Rodef Sholom. Although she often preferred baseball practice to Hebrew school, she fell in love with Hebrew, which became her gateway to understanding Judaism. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1990, earning a bachelor of arts degree in peace and conflict studies, with a minor in Hebrew. She spent one year of college at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and returned to Israel following her degree to study Jewish text at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
.
Singing, celebrating Shabbat and working with others toward social justice highlight what Rabbi Saxe-Taller loves about Judaism. An avid bicyclist, she also enjoyed riding over the Brooklyn Bridge
to school while she lived in New York, and participated in the 1999 California AIDSRide
.
in Bologna
, Italy
who had been secretly baptized by his nurse. This incident sparked international outrage among Jews when the police, under orders from the Pope
himself, abducted the child and refused to return him to his parents. San Francisco responded in full: more than 3,000 people attended a protest meeting. Rabbi Henry later chaired a group that was formed to draft resolutions which called on the U.S. government to cooperate with European countries in their "endeavors to suppress religious intolerance and persecution".
family in Jamaica
and a noted speaker, Rabbi Nieto stood at the center of almost every major crisis and cause during his four-decade term of service. He intervened in the bitter Abe Ruef
scandal, led relief efforts after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and courageously defended labor organizer Thomas Mooney
, wrongly convicted of an anarchist
bombing in 1916
. He stood up for the disadvantaged, advocated for women’s rights, supported organized labor
, opposed the death penalty and objected to World War I
as an imperialist
venture. A religious reformer, Rabbi Nieto presided over the building of the California Street temple and guided Sherith Israel to prominence among San Francisco congregations.
and a Labor Zionist
, was so passionate about social issues that the city’s poor and unemployed often flocked to Sherith Israel just to hear his engaging sermons. His views proved too extreme for the congregational community at the time, however, and he was eventually forced to resign after supporting a dockworkers' strike in 1932. He subsequently departed San Francisco for Chicago
, where he became one of America’s most respected Reform rabbis. His later career also included a stint as president of Central Conference of American Rabbis
.
and the post-war era. Sherith Israel's temple house building — now Newman Hall — was built during his tenure, and he was instrumental in growing membership and programs, which solidified Sherith Israel’s place as a vital part of San Francisco’s Jewish community. While at Sherith Israel, Rabbi Goldstein focused his research endeavors upon the relationship of Jesus
to the Judaism of his day, earning a doctorate and publishing the book Jesus in the Jewish Tradition in 1950. Goldstein's work on Jesus and the Sanhedrin
continues to be quoted in scholarship on the subject.
for many years, as well as on the boards of many Jewish organizations. During the 1980s, under Rabbi Weiner and Rabbi Alice Goldfinger (later Dubinsky), Sherith Israel developed model programs to feed the homeless and the homebound. A leader in the national Reform movement, he mentored many associate rabbis who went on to congregational careers throughout the U.S. He also served as the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and sat on the editorial committee for the Reform movement’s new prayerbook, Mishkan T'filah
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
") is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
. It was established during California’s Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
period and reflects the ambitions of early Jewish settlers to San Francisco. Today it is a congregation widely known for its innovative approach to worship and lifecycle celebrations and is part of the movement of Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism (North America)
Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. With an estimated 1.5 million members, it also accounts for the largest number of Jews affiliated with Progressive Judaism worldwide.- Reform Jewish theology :Rabbi W...
. Its historic sanctuary building is one of San Francisco's most prominent architectural landmarks and attracts visitors from all over the world.
Sanctuary building
In the 1890s, Congregation Sherith Israel faced the prospect of outgrowing its 1870 Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
-style synagogue on Post Street. Heeding this realization, congregational leaders first secured property on the northeast corner of California and Webster Streets on September 8, 1902, then hired École des Beaux Arts-trained architect Albert Pissis
Albert Pissis
Albert Pissis was the architect who introduced the Beaux-Arts architectural style to San Francisco, California, designing a number of important buildings in the city in the years before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.-Biography:...
to draw up plans for a new temple. Ground was broken on October 8, 1903, and the cornerstone was laid on February 22, 1904. The sanctuary was officially consecrated on September 24, 1905. While improvements have been made through the ensuing years, the building has been preserved close to its original construction.
Temple Sherith Israel, a fusion of Byzantine and Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
forms, cost $250,000 to build in 1904–1905. The structure stands 140 feet (42.7 m) above California Street. Its signature dome — which can be seen from many vantage points throughout San Francisco — is 60 feet (18.3 m) wide at its outside diameter. The sanctuary's interior contains 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) of space, 3,500 organ pipes, nearly 1,400 seats, 1,109 decorative light bulbs, more than 89 ornamental leaded glass windows and 32 arched clear glass windows in its outer drum.
During the 1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, the building sustained only modest damage which was quickly repaired. It was also undamaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Nonetheless, the State of California has mandated that unreinforced masonry structures
Unreinforced masonry building
An Unreinforced masonry building is a type of building where load bearing walls, non-load bearing walls or other structures, such as chimneys are made of brick, cinderblock, tiles, adobe or other masonry material, that is not braced by reinforcing beams...
like Temple Sherith Israel must meet stringent seismic resilience standards. In 2005, the congregation commenced a seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
of the sanctuary, funded through an ambitious capital campaign.
The Gold Rush and Jewish pioneers
The history of Congregation Sherith Israel is also San Francisco’s history: Gold Rush, fire, earthquake, scandal, war and yet another earthquake. In 1848, the sleepy village of Yerba Buena lay poised between Mexican rule and American annexation. Then gold was found 140 miles awaySutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill was a sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter in partnership with James W. Marshall. It was located in Coloma, California, at the bank of the South Fork American River...
. Meanwhile, Jews in Central Europe lived under repressive regimes that constrained employment, forced military conscription and restricted marriage. Understandably, many enterprising young Jews did not see much of a future for themselves in their homelands. Drawn by the lure of wealth, freedom and opportunity, California became their new Promised Land
Promised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
.
The founding of Congregation Sherith Israel
In September 1849, months after the discovery of gold but still a year before California achieved statehood, a small band of Jewish pioneers gathered in a wood-frame tent. Although lacking a rabbi and Torah scrollsSefer Torah
A Sefer Torah of Torah” or “Torah scroll”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services...
, they were determined to celebrate Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
and Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
.
These young Jews came from Prussia, Bavaria, England, France and the eastern United States. They worshiped together again during Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and the High Holy Days
High Holy Days
The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
in 1850, formed two benevolent societies to aid the needy and bought land for a cemetery
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
.
In April 1851, San Francisco’s frontier Jews met again, this time to form a permanent congregation and elect officers. In typical fashion they split almost immediately, forming not one but two synagogues. Congregation Sherith Israel followed the minhag Polen
Minhag
Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
, the traditions of Jews from Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
in Prussia. Congregation Emanu-El chose to worship according to the German practices of Jews from Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. The synagogues have been friendly neighbors ever since.
The birth of a Reform Jewish institution
As San Francisco boomed, keeping Sherith Israel housed proved a considerable challenge. The congregation’s first temporary meeting place, like much of the city, was destroyed by the "Great Fire" of 1851. After losing its next home to yet another of the conflagrations that routinely swept through San Francisco during those early years, Sherith Israel's members built the temple's first house of worship on Stockton Street between Broadway and Vallejo in 1854 for a cost of $10,000.So many Jews had left Europe for San Francisco that, by the end of the 1850s, a full six to ten percent of the city’s population was Jewish — a higher percentage (briefly) than in New York. After the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, another generation arrived to seek its fortune in California. In 1870, Sherith Israel moved to an impressive, Gothic-style structure on Post and Taylor Streets, where it remained for 34 years.
Initially Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
in the Polish style, Sherith Israel took major steps toward becoming a Reform congregation while on Post Street. In a visible departure from tradition, this new sanctuary was designed for mixed seating. Gradually, with much discussion and struggle, wearing a kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
became optional, Friday evening
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
services were initiated, a choir introduced and a new prayerbook chosen. Two dynamic rabbis hastened the move toward Reform: Rabbi Henry Vidaver
Henry Vidaver
Henry Vidaver was a prominent rabbi, publisher, Hebraist, and orator in America....
(1873–1882) and Rabbi Jacob Nieto (1893–1930). In 1903, as ground was broken for the current site on California Street, Congregation Sherith Israel made these changes official and joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now known as the Union for Reform Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
.
Congregational leadership
Under the leadership of many nationally prominent rabbis, Sherith Israel is a long-standing advocate for social justice in the Jewish community and for the many diverse multicultural communities who call San Francisco home.Senior Rabbi Lawrence W. Raphael
Larry Raphael joined Congregation Sherith Israel as its ninth senior rabbi in 2003, following 30 years as a faculty member and dean at Hebrew Union CollegeHebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Prior to his tenure at Sherith Israel, Rabbi Raphael was the first director of the department of Adult Jewish Growth at the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (1996–2003). There he created Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
study programs for both individuals and congregations. He also initiated popular study retreats and programs on adult spirituality.
Deeply involved in training the next generation of rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators throughout much of his career, Rabbi Raphael served as national director of continuing education for the Rabbinic Alumni Association of the Hebrew Union College and the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....
(1993–1996).
During his 30 years in New York, Rabbi Raphael also led annual High Holy Days services for hundreds of young adults and college students. The participatory services, sponsored by the Metropolitan Conference of the National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods and the Hebrew Union College, created a unique community for young people building adult lives in a busy city.
Above all, Rabbi Raphael sees synagogues as transformative places for both individuals and communities. "Synagogues are where we grow Jews," he says. "Synagogues are where we fortify the Jewish spirit, address issues of Jewish literacy, cement the bonds of Jewish peoplehood, enhance the vibrancy of Jewish life, deepen our faith in God
God in Judaism
The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one indivisible incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that...
and engage in the work
Tikkun olam
Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in the early rabbinic period...
of making this a better world."
A native of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Rabbi Raphael graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
(1967), where he founded and became the first president of the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati (1974) and earned his Ph.D. in leadership and higher education from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(1990).
A mystery buff, Rabbi Raphael has edited two volumes of Jewish mystery fiction
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, Criminal Kabbalah and Mystery Midrash, now in its third printing. He also loves Jewish stories and poetry, both of which he uses frequently during services and talks.
Cantor Rita Glassman
Rita Glassman received her investiture as a cantorHazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
from the Hebrew Union College in New York City in 1985. More recently, she completed the first program for cantors at the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. She furthered her knowledge and interest in Jewish meditation, text study, and understanding the healing and transformative power of communal prayer. Before joining Congregation Sherith Israel in 2003, Cantor Glassman served congregations in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, as well as Bay Area congregations Beth Sholom in San Francisco and Rodef Sholom in Marin County.
In addition to her love for chazzanut — the cantorial art — Cantor Glassman composes and records songs in both Hebrew and English in folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
styles. Her deep interest in all styles of Jewish music and her experience as a cantor and artist have led to invitations to sing and teach in Progressive (Reform) synagogues in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Cantor Glassman also serves on the Yad B'Yad Task Force of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism describes itself as the "international umbrella organization for the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements." This overall Jewish religious movement is based in about 40 countries with more than 1,000 affiliated synagogues...
with an emphasis on outreach to Jewish communities in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. She has brought cantors from Argentina to Sherith Israel to share their inspirational voices and music.
Cantor Glassman likes to say that she began to learn Torah before she learned Hebrew from her deeply observant, traditional Jewish family. Her parents, Holocaust survivors from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, stressed the importance of Jewish education and values, modeling mitzvot
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
and love of Torah. She was particularly inspired by weekly synagogue visits with her father where she heard famous cantors from his native Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, including the great Moshe Koussevitzky
Moshe Koussevitzky
Moshe Koussevitzky was a cantor and vocalist. A relative of noted conductor Sergei Koussevitzky, he made many recordings in Poland and the United States....
.
Wherever Rita Glassman went — Jewish day school
Jewish day school
A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time...
, Yeshiva high school and Massad Summer Camp
Camp Massad (Poconos)
Camp Massad was a Jewish summer camp, which originated as a day camp in 1941 with 30 campers, and eventually grew to three sleep-away camps in the Pennsylvania Poconos serving over 1100 campers. Massad's creator, Shlomo Shulsinger, emphasized Hebrew language as a key value in a...
in Pennsylvania — music was part of her life. She composed, sang, and played piano and guitar. During her junior year of college she studied abroad at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance , founded in 1958 as the Rubin Academy of Music, is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-History:...
and Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
where she majored in musicology and Jewish studies.
Under Cantor Glassman’s direction, music at Sherith Israel embraces the entire Jewish musical canon. Musical styles range from modern participatory melodies, including folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, to classic 19th-century Reform compositions by artists like Louis Lewandowski
Louis Lewandowski
Louis Lewandowski was a German composer of synagogal music.Lewandowski was born at Wreschen, province of Posen, Prussia . At the age of twelve he went to Berlin to study piano and voice, and became solo soprano in the synagogue. Afterward he studied for three years under A. B...
and Solomon Sulzer that integrate the sounds of the temple's historic Murray Harris organ with both professional and congregational choirs on the High Holy Days. "Music is a vehicle for transcending the mundane and getting closer to God," notes Cantor Glassman. "There are many ways to open our hearts and the gates of heaven through Jewish music."
In addition to her work leading the congregation in prayer, Cantor Glassman is a composer and recording artist. Her albums include Coming Into Light, Walk With Me and Love Songs. She can also be heard on The Song of Songs with narrators Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey in L.A. Law...
and Michael Tucker
Michael Tucker (actor)
Michael Tucker is an American actor and author, most widely known for his role in L.A. Law, a portrayal for which he received Emmy nominations three years in a row....
. Her chant composition, an original interpretation of the Shema prayer
Shema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
can be found on an interfaith album, Sacred World Chants. Her most recent release, Journey To Shabbat, a collection of contemporary Jewish prayer melodies that are part of Sherith Israel’s monthly service of the same name, was recorded in the temple's historic sanctuary.
Associate Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller
Julie Saxe-Taller is a Jewish educator who believes deeply in the human responsibility to help repair the world. She joined the clergy at Congregation Sherith Israel in July 2004, shortly after she was ordained at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College.Rabbi Saxe-Taller is involved in Congregation Sherith Israel’s education programs, working with everyone from preschoolers to adults. Each Friday she brings Shabbat to the preschoolers enrolled in the Sherith Israel-Marin Day School Bright Horizons program, and she facilitates the weekly "Mamas' Group" for parents of young children. In addition, "Rabbi Julie", as she is affectionately known, teaches a monthly parenting class. She also teaches middle and high school programs, as well as classes for adults. With Senior Rabbi Larry Raphael, she co-teaches Congregation Sherith Israel’s "Introduction to Judaism" class and works with conversion
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
students.
Passionate about social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and building community, Rabbi Saxe-Taller has been instrumental in connecting the synagogue with the San Francisco Organizing Project, enabling Sherith Israel members to build relationships within the community and to collaborate with other congregations on social action projects.
Born in San Francisco, Rabbi Saxe-Taller grew up in Marin County, where her family belongs to Congregation Rodef Sholom. Although she often preferred baseball practice to Hebrew school, she fell in love with Hebrew, which became her gateway to understanding Judaism. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1990, earning a bachelor of arts degree in peace and conflict studies, with a minor in Hebrew. She spent one year of college at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and returned to Israel following her degree to study Jewish text at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
Pardes is an institute of Jewish learning, focused on primary sources, that is open to post-college men and women. It was founded in 1972 and is located in the neighborhood of Talpiot, Jerusalem....
.
Singing, celebrating Shabbat and working with others toward social justice highlight what Rabbi Saxe-Taller loves about Judaism. An avid bicyclist, she also enjoyed riding over the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
to school while she lived in New York, and participated in the 1999 California AIDSRide
AIDSRide
The AIDSRides were a series of fundraising events organised by Pallotta TeamWorks which raised more than $105 million for critical AIDS services and medical research.About half of the money raised directly benefitted AIDS patients...
.
Henry A. Henry (1857–1863)
Henry A. Henry was Congregation Sherith Israel's first rabbi. Early in his tenure, he took up the cause of a Jewish boyEdgardo Mortara
Edgardo Levi Mortara was a Roman Catholic priest who was born and raised Jewish. Fr. Mortara became the center of an international controversy when he was removed from his Jewish parents by authorities of the Papal States and raised as a Catholic...
in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
who had been secretly baptized by his nurse. This incident sparked international outrage among Jews when the police, under orders from the Pope
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
himself, abducted the child and refused to return him to his parents. San Francisco responded in full: more than 3,000 people attended a protest meeting. Rabbi Henry later chaired a group that was formed to draft resolutions which called on the U.S. government to cooperate with European countries in their "endeavors to suppress religious intolerance and persecution".
Jacob Nieto (1893–1930)
Rabbi Jacob Nieto was the leading Bay Area rabbi of his day. Raised in a SephardicSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
family in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and a noted speaker, Rabbi Nieto stood at the center of almost every major crisis and cause during his four-decade term of service. He intervened in the bitter Abe Ruef
Abe Ruef
Abraham Rueff , known as Abe Ruef, was an American lawyer and politician...
scandal, led relief efforts after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and courageously defended labor organizer Thomas Mooney
Thomas Mooney
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Mooney was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916...
, wrongly convicted of an anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
bombing in 1916
Preparedness Day bombing
The Preparedness Day Bombing was a bombing in San Francisco, California on July 22, 1916, when the city held a parade in honor of Preparedness Day, in anticipation of the United States' imminent entry into World War I. During the parade a suitcase bomb was detonated, killing ten and wounding...
. He stood up for the disadvantaged, advocated for women’s rights, supported organized labor
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, opposed the death penalty and objected to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as an imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
venture. A religious reformer, Rabbi Nieto presided over the building of the California Street temple and guided Sherith Israel to prominence among San Francisco congregations.
Jacob J. Weinstein (1930–1932)
Rabbi Jacob Weinstein, an alumnus of Reed CollegeReed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
and a Labor Zionist
Labor Zionism
Labor Zionism can be described as the major stream of the left wing of the Zionist movement. It was, for many years, the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizational structure...
, was so passionate about social issues that the city’s poor and unemployed often flocked to Sherith Israel just to hear his engaging sermons. His views proved too extreme for the congregational community at the time, however, and he was eventually forced to resign after supporting a dockworkers' strike in 1932. He subsequently departed San Francisco for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he became one of America’s most respected Reform rabbis. His later career also included a stint as president of Central Conference of American Rabbis
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....
.
Morris Goldstein (1932–1972)
Remembered more for scholarship than social activism, Rabbi Morris Goldstein turned his attention inward to the congregation during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the post-war era. Sherith Israel's temple house building — now Newman Hall — was built during his tenure, and he was instrumental in growing membership and programs, which solidified Sherith Israel’s place as a vital part of San Francisco’s Jewish community. While at Sherith Israel, Rabbi Goldstein focused his research endeavors upon the relationship of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
to the Judaism of his day, earning a doctorate and publishing the book Jesus in the Jewish Tradition in 1950. Goldstein's work on Jesus and the Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
continues to be quoted in scholarship on the subject.
Martin Weiner (1972–2003)
Not only did Rabbi Martin Weiner reinvigorate the congregation, attracting many new families and the newly defined cohort of singles to California Street, but he was also known for his quest for social justice and his activism on behalf of civil rights, human rights and Soviet Jewry. He has been engaged with Israel through the years, speaking his mind as the situation in the Middle East has developed. Rabbi Weiner sat on the San Francisco Human Rights CommissionSan Francisco Human Rights Commission
The San Francisco Human Rights Commission is a department of the City and County of San Francisco that works to increase equality, eradicate discrimination, and to protect human rights for all people...
for many years, as well as on the boards of many Jewish organizations. During the 1980s, under Rabbi Weiner and Rabbi Alice Goldfinger (later Dubinsky), Sherith Israel developed model programs to feed the homeless and the homebound. A leader in the national Reform movement, he mentored many associate rabbis who went on to congregational careers throughout the U.S. He also served as the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and sat on the editorial committee for the Reform movement’s new prayerbook, Mishkan T'filah
Mishkan T'filah
Mishkan T'filah—A Reform Siddur is a prayer book prepared for Reform Jewish congregations in the United States by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and released to the general public in 2007...
.
External links
- Union for Reform JudaismUnion for Reform JudaismThe Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
directory of congregations: Congregation Sherith Israel - PlanitJewish.com - San Francisco Bay Area: Congregation Sherith Israel
- Discovering San Francisco - Churches and temples
- Judah L. Magnes MuseumJudah L. Magnes MuseumThe Judah L. Magnes Museum is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 by Seymour and Rebecca Fromer and named for Jewish activist Rabbi Judah L. Magnes, a native of Oakland...
at UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
: Sherith Israel records, 1851–2000 - Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates projects: Sherith Israel - Seismic assessment and strengthening