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Temple Sinai (Oakland, California)
Encyclopedia
Temple Sinai is a Reform
synagogue
located at 2808 Summit Street (28th and Webster Streets) in Oakland, California
, United States. Founded in 1875, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the East San Francisco Bay
region.
Its early members included Gertrude Stein
and Judah Leon Magnes
, who studied at Temple Sinai's Sabbath school, and Ray Frank
, who taught them. Originally traditional, the temple reformed its beliefs and practices under the leadership of Rabbi
Marcus Friedlander (1893–1915). By 1914, it had become a Classical Reform
congregation. That year the current sanctuary was built: a Beaux-Arts structure designed by G. Albert Lansburgh
, which is the oldest synagogue building in Oakland.
The congregation weathered four major financial crises by 1934. It has since been led by just three rabbis, William Stern (1934–1965), Samuel Broude (1966–1989), and Steven Chester (1989–present).
In 2006 Temple Sinai embarked on a $15 million capital campaign to construct an entirely new synagogue campus adjacent to its current sanctuary. Groundbreaking
took place in October 2007, and by late 2009 the congregation had raised almost $12 million towards the construction. , the Temple Sinai had nearly 1,000 member families. The rabbis were Steven Chester, Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, and Andrea Berlin, and the cantor
was Ilene Keys.
region of the San Francisco Bay Area
. It grew out of Oakland's Hebrew Benevolent Society, which had been organized in 1862 by eighteen merchants and shopkeepers from several foreign countries—predominantly Polish Jews
from Posen
. Although Hebrew Benevolent Societies typically ceased operations upon the founding of a synagogue, Oakland's was unusual in continuing to function independently for a number of years (the two groups did not merge until 1881).
By 1876, the congregation had purchased land on the south side of 14th and Webster streets; however, due to a severe recession
in California at the time, the congregation did not construct a building until 1878. The wooden structure, with Moorish Revival elements and onion domes, was completed at a cost of around $8,000 (today $).
Services
were initially traditional, following the Polish rite
. Men and women sat separately, but the mehitza separating them was soon done away with. In 1881 the new president, David Hirschberg, led a campaign to modernize, and convinced a small majority to introduce a number of reforms, including the addition of a mixed choir of Christians and Jews and organ music, and the removal of the requirement for a minyan
. Traditionalists—who mostly came from the Hebrew Benevolent Society—objected and withdrew, forming their own Orthodox
minyan, which eventually became Oakland's Congregation Beth Jacob.
, Meyer Solomon Levy. Born in England in January 1852 and raised there, he was the son of Rabbi Solomon Levy of Borough Synagogue in London. Myer Solomon Levy had been ordained in England as an Orthodox rabbi before he was twenty, and moved to Australia as a young man. An early supporter of Zionism
, he had served as a rabbi in Melbourne before moving to California in 1872 or 1873, where he served as the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El (then Bickur Cholim) in San Jose
. Levy was paid $100 a month (today $), and donated
a percentage to the poor.
Levy came into conflict with Oakland's public schools, which refused to excuse Jewish students on High Holy Days
. He petitioned that they be excused, but the superintendent and district went even further, and directed teachers not to schedule examinations for those days. Although sensitive to the needs of the members, Levy was more observant than his congregants, which also led to conflict. He accepted the reforms of shortening the Shabbat
services, and facing the congregation (rather than the ark
) during prayer, but he successfully resisted attempts to adopt Isaac Mayer Wise
's 1885 "Minhag America" Prayer-Book".
Although traditional in some ways, Levy was progressive in others. "Deeply affected by the enlightened spirit of his day", according to historian Fred Rosenbaum, he "delivered lectures with titles such as 'Progress of Science' and, while at the First Hebrew Congregation, he invited Oakland's Unitarian
minister to give a series of talks at the synagogue. Levy in turn was well received at the Unitarian Church, where he spoke on the theory of evolution
."
In 1885, the synagogue burned down, although the Torah scrolls
were saved by a congregant who entered the burning building to retrieve them. Levy made prodigious efforts to raise funds for a new building, traveling as far away as Vancouver
. The synagogue's female members also raised significant funds through a "Grand Fair". Their combined efforts were successful, and by 1886 a new building had been erected at 13th and Clay streets. The structure had "Moorish elements inspired by Isaac Mayer Wise's Plum Street Temple
in Cincinnati".
The tensions between liberal-minded members and the traditional Levy were never resolved, and in 1891, the rabbi moved to San Francisco's Congregation Beth Israel. That year the women of the congregation formed the Ladies Auxiliary (Temple Sisterhood), whose initial mandate was to assist the work of the synagogue's Sunday school, and increase its enrollment.
During Levy's tenure, the synagogue had several congregants who were famous, or would become so. Ray Frank
, the first Jewish woman to preach formally from a pulpit in the United States, settled in Oakland around 1885, and taught Hebrew Bible
studies and Jewish history
at First Hebrew Congregation's Sabbath school, where she was superintendent. Her students there in the 1880s included Gertrude Stein
, later to become a famous writer, and Judah Leon Magnes
, who would become a prominent Reform rabbi. Magnes's views of the Jewish people were strongly influenced by First Hebrew's Rabbi Levy, and it was at the building on 13th and Clay that Magnes first began preaching—his bar mitzvah speech of 1890 was quoted at length in The Oakland Tribune
.
Morris Sessler succeeded Levy as rabbi in 1892. He had served at Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1887 to 1892. His tenure lasted only six months, as "his ideas did not harmonize with those of the congregation". He became rabbi of Congregation Gates of Prayer in New Orleans that same year, where he served until 1904.
. The synagogue had 95 members by 1907, with annual revenues of $6,000 (today $).
Friedlander and former congregation president Abraham Jonas persuaded the congregation to introduce a number of significant reforms in the service: they first adopted the Jastrow prayer book, and later the Reform
movement's Union Prayer Book
(though in a revised, less radical version published specifically for First Hebrew, and authorized by the Central Conference of American Rabbis
). By 1908, the congregation had eliminated the second day of Rosh Hashanah
, and few men wore head coverings
in the service, and by 1914 the congregation had moved completely to the radicalism of "Classical Reform
".
In 1910, First Hebrew bought a lot on Telegraph Avenue
at Sycamore Street, near 26th Street, for $28,000 (today $), and sold its property at 12th and Castro for the same amount. The congregation, however, decided not to build there. In 1912 it found a better location, and purchased its current site at 28th and Webster for $12,050 (today $). Groundbreaking
took place on October 26, 1913, and the building was completed there in 1914 at a cost of $100,000 (today $). Fourteen thousand dollars (today $) of the costs were raised by the Ladies Auxiliary, which also purchased a new Austin pipe organ
for the sanctuary at a cost of $5,000 (today $). The new building was called "Temple Sinai", and thereafter the congregation itself became known as "Temple Sinai", although it retained the official name of "First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland".
Designed by noted American architect G. Albert Lansburgh
, the Beaux-Arts structure had six tall stained glass
windows, an "elliptical dome", and an entrance characterized by "graceful Corinthian columns
supporting a Greco-Roman
portico
". Carved into the entablature
above the entrance was the Biblical
verse "MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE" . More modest in size than most Beaux-Arts buildings, it nevertheless had features typical of that style, including its "cross-axial composition". However, it was adorned with "simpler materials such as pressed brick and carved wood", rather than the usual "florid Classical design elements
". Along with the sanctuary, the building included a social hall and classrooms. It is the only example of Lansburgh's work in Oakland, and one of about 150 Oakland buildings given an "A" or "Highest Importance" rating by the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, which signifies "outstanding architectural example or extreme historical importance". The building has a status code of "3S" in the California Historical Resource Information System database, indicating that it "appears eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
" (NRHP).
The outbreak of World War I, and the costs of the new mortgage, placed a significant financial strain on the members, and in 1915 they decided to release Friedlander from his contract. Temple Sinai hired Harvey B. Franklin as rabbi in 1917, but his tenure there was only two years. During his term, the congregational school held classes twice a week, and had 285 students and 8 teachers. Franklin next served at Bickur Cholim in San Jose—the congregation from which Temple Sinai's first rabbi, Myer Solomon Levy, had come.
, and opposed prohibition
, antisemitism, and Tammany Hall
. Along with other local rabbis Jacob Nieto and Jacob Weinstein, he demanded the release of labor leaders and accused bombers Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings
. He also supported California's compulsory sterilization
of the mentally ill
and mentally retarded
, and eugenicist
E. S. Gosney
's advocacy on this issue.
Coffee was involved in the California State Prison System
, and during his tenure at Temple Sinai he was head of the Jewish Committee of Personal Service, a California-wide organization that "ministered to Jews in state prisons". In January 1924, California's governor appointed Coffee to the State Board of Charities and Corrections, which was responsible for supervising California's state prisons.
In 1931, Coffee opposed California legislation intended to regulate the kosher
food industry and prohibit fraudulent claims that foods were kosher. In a letter to state senator E.H. Christian he stated:
Despite Coffee's opposition, the legislation was enacted.
Coffee's advocacy, and Temple Israel's financial instability, eventually contributed to his dismissal from Temple Sinai in 1933; at the same time that the membership was experiencing financial distress due to the Great Depression
, Coffee was advocating higher salaries for government employees. After leaving Temple Sinai, he became chaplain at San Quentin State Prison
.
(HUC), where Stern received his ordination. He served as rabbi at a number of Southern
and Midwestern
synagogues in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Much less formal than his predecessor Coffee, Stern was seen as a poker
-playing, cigar
-smoking "regular guy", and he focused on combating the spread of antisemitism. His wife Rae was also very active in the congregation. She taught at the synagogue's Hebrew school, and led the sisterhood.
Although originally anti-Zionist
, Stern's views changed in the 1940s, and by 1942 he was strongly supported Jewish nationalism
. When an Oakland branch of the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism
formed in 1944, Stern opposed its creation, even though many members, including its president, were leading members of Temple Sinai. By 1948, however, the congregation had also become supportive of Zionism.
During Stern's tenure Temple Sinai expanded its facilities, adding a religious school building, offices, and a chapel in 1947–1948, and moving the main entrance to Summit Street. The main building's interior was also significantly remodeled, aside from the sanctuary. The congregation also built the Temple House (called Covenant Hall), in 1950. The following year the synagogue put on an exhibition called "Arts in Action", "that included sculptors, weavers, filmmakers, ceramists, and others." The event's director asked poet, artist and art critic Weldon Kees
to jury
a show of paintings; Kees ended up having to find the paintings as well. When the Temple's board saw the selected works, they did not want display all of them, but acquiesced after "a strong protest".
In 1965, the congregation bought land in Oakland Hills
, anticipating a future move. In December of that year Stern died unexpectedly. Following his death, Temple Sinai held for many years an annual Stern Lecture series in his memory.
, in the late 1940s he had worked in Pasadena
at a Reconstructionist
synagogue, as a part-time cantor
and Hebrew teacher, and then in the early 1950s as cantor of Reform University Synagogue of Los Angeles. After completing his rabbinic training, he became associate rabbi at Congregation Anshe Chesed in Cleveland, where he served under Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld
for six years before coming to Temple Sinai.
Like Temple Sinai's previous rabbis, Broude passionately supported liberal causes, opposing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
, and taking part in Civil Rights marches. Although he was a Reform rabbi, he had gone to an Orthodox yeshiva
as a boy, and religiously he was in many ways more traditional than his predecessors. He re-introduced ritual into the synagogue, but more contentiously opposed intermarriage. His immediate predecessor, Stern, had officiated at intermarriages "under certain conditions". Broude initially did so as well, under "extenuating circumstances" (e.g. if the bride were pregnant). His position later hardened, and he refused to perform such marriages under any circumstances. He even refused to allow other rabbis who would be willing to do so officiate at intermarriages at Temple Sinai. The issue eventually came to a congregational vote in 1972, which supported Broude, although the debate was never completely settled.
Broude was, however, not opposed to all religious innovations. Under his leadership, Temple Sinai began holding monthly fine arts performances as part of the Friday night service, in place of the usual sermon. In December 1970, the Temple's fine arts committee commissioned an original dance work from Anna Halprin
and her multi-racial dance troupe. For the next two months Broude met weekly with Halprin, educating her regarding the Friday night prayers. The completed work, titled Kadosh, included a candlelight vigil, and dancers tearing their clothes and shouting questions at Broude that reframed the classic question about God and The Holocaust
in terms of the Vietnam War: "How can there be a God if He allows all the suffering of the Vietnam War to continue?" The performance engendered passionate responses from the congregation; according to Broude "I don't know if anyone was neutral. Half thought it was fantastic, half thought it was terrible!"
Broude also argued that the congregation should remain in downtown Oakland, and in 1975, convinced them to stay. He retired in 1989, the year the buildings survived the Loma Prieta earthquake
. After his retirement from Temple Sinai he remained active, filling in at synagogues mostly in the Bay Area, and teaching. He also wrote an autobiography, and a one-man show based on it called "Listening for the Voice", which he performed at a number of East Bay synagogues, including, in 2009, at Temple Sinai.
Steven Chester, a graduate of UCLA
, and ordained by HUC in 1971, became rabbi in 1989. He had previously served as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel
in Jackson, Michigan, from 1971 to 1976, and Temple Israel
in Stockton, California, from 1976 to 1989, where he was also an adjunct professor in the Religious Studies department of the University of the Pacific. Chester added a pre-school and adult education programs to the services offered by the synagogue, and supported the congregation's return to more traditional practices, including the re-introduction of Hebrew into the service. He also continued his predecessors' passion for social justice, taking up causes "from advocating for local affordable housing and health care for the disenfranchised to supporting women's reproductive rights and protesting the genocide in Darfur." In 2006, Chester was voted Reader's Choice for "Minister/Rabbi/Imam with the Biggest Heart" in the East Bay Express
.
The synagogue survived the Oakland Firestorm of 1991 mostly unscathed, although a number of congregants lost their homes. Membership was over 640 families by 1993. In 1994, the congregation again significantly remodeled the interior of the main building, aside from the sanctuary. In December of that year, the building was designated a Historic Property by the City of Oakland.
Temple Sinai has had three associate or assistant rabbis since 1998. Andrea Berlin joined the synagogue as its first assistant rabbi in 1998, after being ordained at HUC in Cincinnati. From 2006 to 2008, she also served on the board of the Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay. Suzanne Singer joined Temple Sinai in 2003, after graduating from HUC in Los Angeles. Before becoming a rabbi, Singer had for two decades been a producer of television programs and documentaries, winning two Emmy Award
s. In 2005 she became interim rabbi of Temple Beth El of Riverside, California, and later its permanent rabbi. Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, a San Francisco native, graduated from HUC in New York in 2002. After serving as assistant rabbi at Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo New York for three years, she joined Temple Sinai in 2005. She is a board member of the Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay.
To accommodate the large number of people attending on the High Holy Days, since 2001 Temple Sinai has held its main High Holy Day services at Oakland's NRHP-listed Art Deco
Paramount Theater. While it still holds smaller High Holy Day services in the sanctuary at 2808 Summit Street, the main services at the Paramount fill the entire 1,800 seats on the mezzanine of the theater, and most of the 1,200 seats in the balcony.
In 2006, the congregation embarked on a campaign to create a new campus for Temple Sinai, to be located adjacent to the existing sanctuary and social hall. The $15 million project included "new offices, a larger chapel, a kitchen upgrade, outdoor sacred space, a new preschool with six classrooms and a 4,500-square-foot playground ... 10 additional classrooms for Midrasha teens and adult education, an art room, library, teen lounge and expanded parking." The L-shaped two-story school/office building would be 16300 square feet (1,514.3 m²), and accommodate approximately 100 children in the pre-school. The 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) chapel, which would hold up to 250 people, would be an addition to the rear of the existing social hall.
Groundbreaking took place in October 2007, with an expected completion in Autumn, 2010. In order to accommodate the new buildings, the school and chapel built in the late 1940s were razed, along with two office buildings on adjoining lots purchased for the expansion. Nine portable building
s were installed on the campus of Merritt College
in Oakland Hills
to serve in the interim. As of December 23, 2009, Temple Sinai had raised almost $12 million from 651 households (70% of the congregation).
Chester had planned to retire in June 2009, and the congregation embarked on a search for a new senior rabbi in 2008. Twenty-three candidates were narrowed down to one finalist, but in early December that individual informed the search committee that he was withdrawing his name from consideration. While the search was progressing, Chester had realized that, due to the 2008 financial crisis, he would have to keep working. After the main candidate withdrew, the synagogue's president approached Chester, asking if he would stay on for another term, which Chester agreed to do.
, Temple Sinai, the East Bay's oldest synagogue, had nearly 1,000 member families. The rabbis were Steven Chester, Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, and Andrea Berlin, and the cantor was Ilene Keys.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
located at 2808 Summit Street (28th and Webster Streets) in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, United States. Founded in 1875, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the East San Francisco Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
region.
Its early members included Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
and Judah Leon Magnes
Judah Leon Magnes
Judah Leon Magnes was a prominent Reform rabbi in both the United States and Palestine. He is best remembered as a leader pacifist movement of the World War I period and as one of the most widely recognized voices of 20th Century American Reform Judaism.-Biography:He was born in San Francisco,...
, who studied at Temple Sinai's Sabbath school, and Ray Frank
Ray Frank
Rachel Frank was a Jewish religious leader in the United States.-Biography:Frank was the daughter of Polish immigrants, Bernard and Leah Frank...
, who taught them. Originally traditional, the temple reformed its beliefs and practices under the leadership of Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Marcus Friedlander (1893–1915). By 1914, it had become a Classical Reform
Pittsburgh Platform
The Pittsburgh Platform is a pivotal 19th century document in the history of the American Reform Movement in Judaism that called for Jews to adopt a modern approach to the practice of their faith...
congregation. That year the current sanctuary was built: a Beaux-Arts structure designed by G. Albert Lansburgh
G. Albert Lansburgh
Gustave Albert Lansburgh was an American architect, largely known for his work on luxury cinemas and theatres. He was the principal architect of theaters on the West Coast from 1900 - 1930.-Life and career:...
, which is the oldest synagogue building in Oakland.
The congregation weathered four major financial crises by 1934. It has since been led by just three rabbis, William Stern (1934–1965), Samuel Broude (1966–1989), and Steven Chester (1989–present).
In 2006 Temple Sinai embarked on a $15 million capital campaign to construct an entirely new synagogue campus adjacent to its current sanctuary. Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
took place in October 2007, and by late 2009 the congregation had raised almost $12 million towards the construction. , the Temple Sinai had nearly 1,000 member families. The rabbis were Steven Chester, Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, and Andrea Berlin, and the cantor
Hazzan
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...
was Ilene Keys.
Early years
Founded in 1875 as the First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland, Temple Sinai is the oldest synagogue in the East BayEast Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
region of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. It grew out of Oakland's Hebrew Benevolent Society, which had been organized in 1862 by eighteen merchants and shopkeepers from several foreign countries—predominantly Polish Jews
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
from Posen
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. Although Hebrew Benevolent Societies typically ceased operations upon the founding of a synagogue, Oakland's was unusual in continuing to function independently for a number of years (the two groups did not merge until 1881).
By 1876, the congregation had purchased land on the south side of 14th and Webster streets; however, due to a severe recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
in California at the time, the congregation did not construct a building until 1878. The wooden structure, with Moorish Revival elements and onion domes, was completed at a cost of around $8,000 (today $).
Services
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
were initially traditional, following the Polish rite
Nusach Ashkenaz
Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish religious service conducted by Ashkenazi Jews, originating from Central and Western Europe.It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard , and still more from the Sephardic rite proper, in the placement and presence of...
. Men and women sat separately, but the mehitza separating them was soon done away with. In 1881 the new president, David Hirschberg, led a campaign to modernize, and convinced a small majority to introduce a number of reforms, including the addition of a mixed choir of Christians and Jews and organ music, and the removal of the requirement for a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
. Traditionalists—who mostly came from the Hebrew Benevolent Society—objected and withdrew, forming their own 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...
minyan, which eventually became Oakland's Congregation Beth Jacob.
Levy, Sessler eras: 1881–1892
In 1881, the congregation hired Oakland's first rabbiRabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, Meyer Solomon Levy. Born in England in January 1852 and raised there, he was the son of Rabbi Solomon Levy of Borough Synagogue in London. Myer Solomon Levy had been ordained in England as an Orthodox rabbi before he was twenty, and moved to Australia as a young man. An early supporter of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, he had served as a rabbi in Melbourne before moving to California in 1872 or 1873, where he served as the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El (then Bickur Cholim) in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. Levy was paid $100 a month (today $), and donated
Tzedakah
Tzedakah or Ṣ'daqah in Classical Hebrew is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on the Hebrew word meaning righteousness, fairness or justice...
a percentage to the poor.
Levy came into conflict with Oakland's public schools, which refused to excuse Jewish students on 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 ;...
. He petitioned that they be excused, but the superintendent and district went even further, and directed teachers not to schedule examinations for those days. Although sensitive to the needs of the members, Levy was more observant than his congregants, which also led to conflict. He accepted the reforms of shortening the Shabbat
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, and facing the congregation (rather than the ark
Ark (synagogue)
The Torah ark or ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekhál amongst most Sefardim. It is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogue's Torah scrolls...
) during prayer, but he successfully resisted attempts to adopt Isaac Mayer Wise
Isaac Mayer Wise
Isaac Mayer Wise , was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author.-Early life:...
's 1885 "Minhag America" Prayer-Book".
Although traditional in some ways, Levy was progressive in others. "Deeply affected by the enlightened spirit of his day", according to historian Fred Rosenbaum, he "delivered lectures with titles such as 'Progress of Science' and, while at the First Hebrew Congregation, he invited Oakland's Unitarian
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
minister to give a series of talks at the synagogue. Levy in turn was well received at the Unitarian Church, where he spoke on the theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
."
In 1885, the synagogue burned down, although the Torah scrolls
Sefer 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...
were saved by a congregant who entered the burning building to retrieve them. Levy made prodigious efforts to raise funds for a new building, traveling as far away as Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The synagogue's female members also raised significant funds through a "Grand Fair". Their combined efforts were successful, and by 1886 a new building had been erected at 13th and Clay streets. The structure had "Moorish elements inspired by Isaac Mayer Wise's Plum Street Temple
Isaac M. Wise Temple
The Isaac M. Wise Temple is the historic synagogue erected for Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. Rabbi Wise was the founder of American Reform Judaism. The temple building was designed by prominent Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson.The temple is located at 720 Plum Street in Cincinnati, Ohio and was...
in Cincinnati".
The tensions between liberal-minded members and the traditional Levy were never resolved, and in 1891, the rabbi moved to San Francisco's Congregation Beth Israel. That year the women of the congregation formed the Ladies Auxiliary (Temple Sisterhood), whose initial mandate was to assist the work of the synagogue's Sunday school, and increase its enrollment.
During Levy's tenure, the synagogue had several congregants who were famous, or would become so. Ray Frank
Ray Frank
Rachel Frank was a Jewish religious leader in the United States.-Biography:Frank was the daughter of Polish immigrants, Bernard and Leah Frank...
, the first Jewish woman to preach formally from a pulpit in the United States, settled in Oakland around 1885, and taught Hebrew Bible
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
studies and Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
at First Hebrew Congregation's Sabbath school, where she was superintendent. Her students there in the 1880s included Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
, later to become a famous writer, and Judah Leon Magnes
Judah Leon Magnes
Judah Leon Magnes was a prominent Reform rabbi in both the United States and Palestine. He is best remembered as a leader pacifist movement of the World War I period and as one of the most widely recognized voices of 20th Century American Reform Judaism.-Biography:He was born in San Francisco,...
, who would become a prominent Reform rabbi. Magnes's views of the Jewish people were strongly influenced by First Hebrew's Rabbi Levy, and it was at the building on 13th and Clay that Magnes first began preaching—his bar mitzvah speech of 1890 was quoted at length in The Oakland Tribune
The Oakland Tribune
The Oakland Tribune is a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group , a subsidiary of MediaNews Group...
.
Morris Sessler succeeded Levy as rabbi in 1892. He had served at Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1887 to 1892. His tenure lasted only six months, as "his ideas did not harmonize with those of the congregation". He became rabbi of Congregation Gates of Prayer in New Orleans that same year, where he served until 1904.
Friedlander, Franklin eras: 1893–1919
The congregation hired Marcus Friedlander of Congregation Baith Israel in Brooklyn, New York in 1893. Soon after he was hired, California experienced another economic downturn, which hurt the finances of members of the congregation. The congregation sold its property at 13th and Clay (which had become the heart of the business district) in 1895, and moved to a less expensive location at the northwest corner of 12th and Castro streets, and renovated the building there in 1896. Over 500 people, both Jews and non-Jews, were sheltered in the building for days after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake1906 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 synagogue had 95 members by 1907, with annual revenues of $6,000 (today $).
Friedlander and former congregation president Abraham Jonas persuaded the congregation to introduce a number of significant reforms in the service: they first adopted the Jastrow prayer book, and later the Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
movement's Union Prayer Book
Union Prayer Book
The Union Prayer Book was a siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States.-History:...
(though in a revised, less radical version published specifically for First Hebrew, and authorized by 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....
). By 1908, the congregation had eliminated the second day of 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 few men wore head coverings
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...
in the service, and by 1914 the congregation had moved completely to the radicalism of "Classical Reform
Pittsburgh Platform
The Pittsburgh Platform is a pivotal 19th century document in the history of the American Reform Movement in Judaism that called for Jews to adopt a modern approach to the practice of their faith...
".
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
at Sycamore Street, near 26th Street, for $28,000 (today $), and sold its property at 12th and Castro for the same amount. The congregation, however, decided not to build there. In 1912 it found a better location, and purchased its current site at 28th and Webster for $12,050 (today $). Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
took place on October 26, 1913, and the building was completed there in 1914 at a cost of $100,000 (today $). Fourteen thousand dollars (today $) of the costs were raised by the Ladies Auxiliary, which also purchased a new Austin pipe organ
Austin Organs, Inc.
Austin Organs, Inc. is a manufacturer of pipe organs based in Hartford, Connecticut. The company is one of the oldest continuously-operating organ manufacturers in the United States...
for the sanctuary at a cost of $5,000 (today $). The new building was called "Temple Sinai", and thereafter the congregation itself became known as "Temple Sinai", although it retained the official name of "First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland".
Designed by noted American architect G. Albert Lansburgh
G. Albert Lansburgh
Gustave Albert Lansburgh was an American architect, largely known for his work on luxury cinemas and theatres. He was the principal architect of theaters on the West Coast from 1900 - 1930.-Life and career:...
, the Beaux-Arts structure had six tall stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows, an "elliptical dome", and an entrance characterized by "graceful Corinthian columns
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
supporting a Greco-Roman
Greco-Roman world
The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman culture, or the term Greco-Roman , when used as an adjective, as understood by modern scholars and writers, refers to those geographical regions and countries that culturally were directly, protractedly and intimately influenced by the language, culture,...
portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
". Carved into the entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
above the entrance was the Biblical
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
verse "MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE" . More modest in size than most Beaux-Arts buildings, it nevertheless had features typical of that style, including its "cross-axial composition". However, it was adorned with "simpler materials such as pressed brick and carved wood", rather than the usual "florid Classical design elements
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
". Along with the sanctuary, the building included a social hall and classrooms. It is the only example of Lansburgh's work in Oakland, and one of about 150 Oakland buildings given an "A" or "Highest Importance" rating by the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, which signifies "outstanding architectural example or extreme historical importance". The building has a status code of "3S" in the California Historical Resource Information System database, indicating that it "appears eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
" (NRHP).
The outbreak of World War I, and the costs of the new mortgage, placed a significant financial strain on the members, and in 1915 they decided to release Friedlander from his contract. Temple Sinai hired Harvey B. Franklin as rabbi in 1917, but his tenure there was only two years. During his term, the congregational school held classes twice a week, and had 285 students and 8 teachers. Franklin next served at Bickur Cholim in San Jose—the congregation from which Temple Sinai's first rabbi, Myer Solomon Levy, had come.
Coffee era: 1921–1933
After going without a rabbi for another two years, in 1921 Temple Sinai hired Rudolph I. Coffee, an Oakland native and cousin of Judah Leon Magnes. Coffee was outspoken, and passionately advocated liberal causes: he supported disarmament, birth control, and separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, and opposed prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, antisemitism, and Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
. Along with other local rabbis Jacob Nieto and Jacob Weinstein, he demanded the release of labor leaders and accused bombers Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings
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 also supported California's compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization also known as forced sterilization programs are government policies which attempt to force people to undergo surgical sterilization...
of the mentally ill
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
and mentally retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
, and eugenicist
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
E. S. Gosney
E. S. Gosney
Ezra Seymour Gosney was an American philanthropist and eugenicist. In 1928 he founded the Human Betterment Foundation in Pasadena, California, with the stated aim "to foster and aid constructive and educational forces for the protection and betterment of the human family in body, mind,...
's advocacy on this issue.
Coffee was involved in the California State Prison System
Prisons in California
The California State Prison System is administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Institutions. which had 170,588 inmates as of 2007 - 475 inmates per 100,000 state residents), has been the focus of attention for growing influence upon the state's...
, and during his tenure at Temple Sinai he was head of the Jewish Committee of Personal Service, a California-wide organization that "ministered to Jews in state prisons". In January 1924, California's governor appointed Coffee to the State Board of Charities and Corrections, which was responsible for supervising California's state prisons.
In 1931, Coffee opposed California legislation intended to regulate the kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
food industry and prohibit fraudulent claims that foods were kosher. In a letter to state senator E.H. Christian he stated:
... I am unalterably opposed to this bill because Judaism need not call upon the State to settle its own internal affairs. We are starting a dangerous precedent in California which can only lead to evil consequences.
Four years ago you assisted in preventing an increase of "wine rabbis." The law relative to sacramental wine was properly surrounded, and California Jews do not suffer the disgrace which eastern brethren feel.
This will bring a "meat rabbi" into existence. New York state has this kosher law and yet it did not prevent the terrible scandal which was uncovered last month in New York City. Use your best influence to prevent it.
If Judaism has not enough inner resources to meet present day conditions, the sooner it passes away the better.
Despite Coffee's opposition, the legislation was enacted.
Coffee's advocacy, and Temple Israel's financial instability, eventually contributed to his dismissal from Temple Sinai in 1933; at the same time that the membership was experiencing financial distress due to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Coffee was advocating higher salaries for government employees. After leaving Temple Sinai, he became chaplain at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
Stern era: 1934–1965
In 1934, Temple Sinai hired William M. Stern (originally Sternheser) as rabbi. A San Francisco native and son of an Orthodox rabbi, he had been persuaded by Rabbi Martin Meyer of the Reform Congregation Emanu-El to attend 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...
(HUC), where Stern received his ordination. He served as rabbi at a number of Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and Midwestern
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
synagogues in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Much less formal than his predecessor Coffee, Stern was seen as a poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
-playing, cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
-smoking "regular guy", and he focused on combating the spread of antisemitism. His wife Rae was also very active in the congregation. She taught at the synagogue's Hebrew school, and led the sisterhood.
Although originally anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
, Stern's views changed in the 1940s, and by 1942 he was strongly supported Jewish nationalism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
. When an Oakland branch of the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism
American Council for Judaism
The American Council for Judaism is an organization of American Jews committed to the proposition that Jews are not a nationality but merely a religious group, adhering to the original stated principles of Reform Judaism, as articulated in the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform.The ACJ was founded in June...
formed in 1944, Stern opposed its creation, even though many members, including its president, were leading members of Temple Sinai. By 1948, however, the congregation had also become supportive of Zionism.
During Stern's tenure Temple Sinai expanded its facilities, adding a religious school building, offices, and a chapel in 1947–1948, and moving the main entrance to Summit Street. The main building's interior was also significantly remodeled, aside from the sanctuary. The congregation also built the Temple House (called Covenant Hall), in 1950. The following year the synagogue put on an exhibition called "Arts in Action", "that included sculptors, weavers, filmmakers, ceramists, and others." The event's director asked poet, artist and art critic Weldon Kees
Weldon Kees
Harry Weldon Kees was an American poet, painter, literary critic, novelist, jazz pianist, and short story writer...
to jury
Juried (competition)
A juried competition is a competition in which participants' work is judged by a person or panel of persons convened specifically to judge the participants' efforts, either by the competition's stated rubric or by a subjective set of criteria dependent upon the nature of the competition or the...
a show of paintings; Kees ended up having to find the paintings as well. When the Temple's board saw the selected works, they did not want display all of them, but acquiesced after "a strong protest".
In 1965, the congregation bought land in Oakland Hills
Oakland Hills, Oakland, California
Oakland Hills is an informal term used to indicate the city neighborhoods lying within the eastern portion of Oakland, California.-The geologic feature:...
, anticipating a future move. In December of that year Stern died unexpectedly. Following his death, Temple Sinai held for many years an annual Stern Lecture series in his memory.
Broude era: 1966–1989
In 1966, the congregation hired Samuel Broude as rabbi. A graduate of the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, in the late 1940s he had worked in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
at a Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
synagogue, as a part-time cantor
Hazzan
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...
and Hebrew teacher, and then in the early 1950s as cantor of Reform University Synagogue of Los Angeles. After completing his rabbinic training, he became associate rabbi at Congregation Anshe Chesed in Cleveland, where he served under Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld
Arthur Lelyveld
Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld was a rabbi within the movement of Reform Judaism. As well as being a prominent rabbi he also embraced social activism in many forms....
for six years before coming to Temple Sinai.
Like Temple Sinai's previous rabbis, Broude passionately supported liberal causes, opposing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and taking part in Civil Rights marches. Although he was a Reform rabbi, he had gone to an Orthodox yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
as a boy, and religiously he was in many ways more traditional than his predecessors. He re-introduced ritual into the synagogue, but more contentiously opposed intermarriage. His immediate predecessor, Stern, had officiated at intermarriages "under certain conditions". Broude initially did so as well, under "extenuating circumstances" (e.g. if the bride were pregnant). His position later hardened, and he refused to perform such marriages under any circumstances. He even refused to allow other rabbis who would be willing to do so officiate at intermarriages at Temple Sinai. The issue eventually came to a congregational vote in 1972, which supported Broude, although the debate was never completely settled.
Broude was, however, not opposed to all religious innovations. Under his leadership, Temple Sinai began holding monthly fine arts performances as part of the Friday night service, in place of the usual sermon. In December 1970, the Temple's fine arts committee commissioned an original dance work from Anna Halprin
Anna Halprin
Anna Halprin helped pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to herself as the breaker of modern dance. Halprin, along with her contemporaries such as Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, Yvonne Rainer, John Cage, and Robert Morris, collaborated and built a community based...
and her multi-racial dance troupe. For the next two months Broude met weekly with Halprin, educating her regarding the Friday night prayers. The completed work, titled Kadosh, included a candlelight vigil, and dancers tearing their clothes and shouting questions at Broude that reframed the classic question about God and The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
in terms of the Vietnam War: "How can there be a God if He allows all the suffering of the Vietnam War to continue?" The performance engendered passionate responses from the congregation; according to Broude "I don't know if anyone was neutral. Half thought it was fantastic, half thought it was terrible!"
Broude also argued that the congregation should remain in downtown Oakland, and in 1975, convinced them to stay. He retired in 1989, the year the buildings survived the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
. After his retirement from Temple Sinai he remained active, filling in at synagogues mostly in the Bay Area, and teaching. He also wrote an autobiography, and a one-man show based on it called "Listening for the Voice", which he performed at a number of East Bay synagogues, including, in 2009, at Temple Sinai.
Chester era: 1989–present
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and ordained by HUC in 1971, became rabbi in 1989. He had previously served as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel
Temple Beth Israel (Jackson, Michigan)
Temple Beth Israel is a Reform synagogue located at 801 West Michigan Avenue in Jackson, Michigan. Formed in 1862 by Jews of German background, it grew out of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, which had been organized in 1858, and was the second Reform congregation in Michigan.Dr. Jonathan V. Plaut,...
in Jackson, Michigan, from 1971 to 1976, and Temple Israel
Temple Israel (Stockton, California)
Temple Israel is a synagogue in Stockton, California. It is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in California.-History:The congregation was founded during the goldrush as a Jewish society called Ryhim Ahovim by tradition in 1849 but documentably no later than 1850...
in Stockton, California, from 1976 to 1989, where he was also an adjunct professor in the Religious Studies department of the University of the Pacific. Chester added a pre-school and adult education programs to the services offered by the synagogue, and supported the congregation's return to more traditional practices, including the re-introduction of Hebrew into the service. He also continued his predecessors' passion for social justice, taking up causes "from advocating for local affordable housing and health care for the disenfranchised to supporting women's reproductive rights and protesting the genocide in Darfur." In 2006, Chester was voted Reader's Choice for "Minister/Rabbi/Imam with the Biggest Heart" in the East Bay Express
East Bay Express
The East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
.
The synagogue survived the Oakland Firestorm of 1991 mostly unscathed, although a number of congregants lost their homes. Membership was over 640 families by 1993. In 1994, the congregation again significantly remodeled the interior of the main building, aside from the sanctuary. In December of that year, the building was designated a Historic Property by the City of Oakland.
Temple Sinai has had three associate or assistant rabbis since 1998. Andrea Berlin joined the synagogue as its first assistant rabbi in 1998, after being ordained at HUC in Cincinnati. From 2006 to 2008, she also served on the board of the Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay. Suzanne Singer joined Temple Sinai in 2003, after graduating from HUC in Los Angeles. Before becoming a rabbi, Singer had for two decades been a producer of television programs and documentaries, winning two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s. In 2005 she became interim rabbi of Temple Beth El of Riverside, California, and later its permanent rabbi. Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, a San Francisco native, graduated from HUC in New York in 2002. After serving as assistant rabbi at Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo New York for three years, she joined Temple Sinai in 2005. She is a board member of the Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay.
To accommodate the large number of people attending on the High Holy Days, since 2001 Temple Sinai has held its main High Holy Day services at Oakland's NRHP-listed Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Paramount Theater. While it still holds smaller High Holy Day services in the sanctuary at 2808 Summit Street, the main services at the Paramount fill the entire 1,800 seats on the mezzanine of the theater, and most of the 1,200 seats in the balcony.
In 2006, the congregation embarked on a campaign to create a new campus for Temple Sinai, to be located adjacent to the existing sanctuary and social hall. The $15 million project included "new offices, a larger chapel, a kitchen upgrade, outdoor sacred space, a new preschool with six classrooms and a 4,500-square-foot playground ... 10 additional classrooms for Midrasha teens and adult education, an art room, library, teen lounge and expanded parking." The L-shaped two-story school/office building would be 16300 square feet (1,514.3 m²), and accommodate approximately 100 children in the pre-school. The 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) chapel, which would hold up to 250 people, would be an addition to the rear of the existing social hall.
Groundbreaking took place in October 2007, with an expected completion in Autumn, 2010. In order to accommodate the new buildings, the school and chapel built in the late 1940s were razed, along with two office buildings on adjoining lots purchased for the expansion. Nine portable building
Portable building
A portable building, or demountable building , is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located. A common modern design is sometimes called a modular building, but portable buildings can be different in that they are more often used temporarily and taken away later....
s were installed on the campus of Merritt College
Merritt College
Merritt College is a two-year community college located in the Oakland Hills in Alameda County, California. The school's enrollment is approximately 6,000 students. The college is named after physician Dr...
in Oakland Hills
Oakland Hills, Oakland, California
Oakland Hills is an informal term used to indicate the city neighborhoods lying within the eastern portion of Oakland, California.-The geologic feature:...
to serve in the interim. As of December 23, 2009, Temple Sinai had raised almost $12 million from 651 households (70% of the congregation).
Chester had planned to retire in June 2009, and the congregation embarked on a search for a new senior rabbi in 2008. Twenty-three candidates were narrowed down to one finalist, but in early December that individual informed the search committee that he was withdrawing his name from consideration. While the search was progressing, Chester had realized that, due to the 2008 financial crisis, he would have to keep working. After the main candidate withdrew, the synagogue's president approached Chester, asking if he would stay on for another term, which Chester agreed to do.
, Temple Sinai, the East Bay's oldest synagogue, had nearly 1,000 member families. The rabbis were Steven Chester, Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, and Andrea Berlin, and the cantor was Ilene Keys.
External links
- Temple Sinai website
- Eskenazi, Joe. "That's the ticket: Sinai, Oakland reach parking compromise", j.J.j., also known as Jweekly, is a Jewish website and weekly magazine in Northern California. It is owned and operated by "j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California"...
, August 4, 2005.