Congregation Beth Israel (Berkeley, California)
Encyclopedia
Congregation Beth Israel is a Modern Orthodox
synagogue
in Berkeley, California
. Established in 1924 as the Berkeley Hebrew Center, it traces its origins to the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley, founded in 1909. It was Berkeley's first synagogue, and remains its oldest. Lay
-led for four decades, it hired its first rabbi
, Saul Berman
, in 1963.
Berman served until 1969, and was succeeded by Yosef Leibowitz, who served for 15 years. During the 1980s and early 1990s Beth Israel was at the vanguard of the baal teshuva
movement in Modern Orthodox Judaism.
In 1999 the congregation began an $8 million fund-raising campaign to build a new synagogue, a replica of the Przedbórz Synagogue
, destroyed in Poland
by the Nazis
, during the Holocaust
in 1942. Difficult economic times restricted fundraising efforts, and instead the congregation completed a more modest structure in 2005. , the rabbi was Yonatan Cohen.
. Though the cornerstone
was laid in 1924, the congregation traces its roots back to 1909, when Rabbi Martin Meyer, also rabbi of San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El, founded the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley. From 1913 to 1916 Meyer's disciple Louis I. Newman served as rabbi. During this period, small groups of Jews would rent space above stores in downtown Berkeley for Shabbat
and holiday
services
. In 1924, under the name "Berkeley Hebrew Center", members of the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley built their first permanent home at the corner of Bancroft and Jefferson Streets.
Though during its first decades the synagogue was lay-led, in its early years it received significant guidance and support from Meyer and Newman, both Reform
rabbi
s. Nevertheless, the congregation was quite traditional; the kitchen was kosher
, members covered their heads
, the traditional prayer book
was used. While the Friday night services "resembled Reform practice... the High Holiday services were clearly closer to Orthodox practice."
. Many of the graduate students
had grown up in Orthodox homes, and many of the faculty were becoming more observant
. These new members organized Shabbat
services, and "pressed for the hiring of a rabbi". In 1963 Beth Israel decided to hire its first rabbi, an Orthodox one, and chose Saul Berman
, who had been ordained
by the Modern Orthodox Yeshiva University
. Berman increased levels of observance in the organization, and turned the sometimes sporadic Sunday school
into a more educationally rigorous three-times-a-week Hebrew school
. This in turn attracted new families to the congregation. Berman would serve until 1969, and go on to become "a leading voice of modern Orthodoxy."
Berman was succeeded by Yosef Leibowitz; Beth Israel was his first pulpit. Leibowitz would serve for fifteen years, before moving to Israel
in 1984, and was succeeded first by Joseph Ozarowski, then by Manny Forman. During this period Beth Israel became one of the "flagship" synagogues of baal teshuva movement in Modern Orthodoxy, the adoption of Orthodox observance by "highly educated, prosperous, professional young people, mainly from non-Orthodox backgrounds, and often with meager Jewish educations".
Eliezer Finkelman served as rabbi from 1992 to 2000, before moving to the East Coast of the United States
. He was succeeded by Yair Silverman, a Montreal
native who had lived in Israel for five years, and served in the Israel Defense Forces
for a year, before being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1999.
in Poland
, considered to be among the most beautiful of the Polish-Lithuanian wooden synagogues, and burned down by the Nazis
in 1942. Costs had initially been budgeted at $8 million, but fundraising was slowed by collapse of the dot-com bubble
and the economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks
. The project was scaled back to $3.5 million in 2002, and then abandoned in March 2003, after only $2 million was raised.
Earlier that year, in January, the congregation acquired its first new Torah scroll
in its 75 year history, at a cost of $40,000. The synagogue already had three Torah scrolls, but they had been acquired used in the 1950s. Though repaired over time, "due to wear and tear" they were becoming unusable.
The following year construction began on a new building that looked similar to the previous one. During its construction, which was on the existing lot, services were held in various temporary locations. Completed in 2005, the design included a replica of the Przedbórz synagogue's "intricately carved" wooden charity box
, and wooden floors and ceilings. While the facade was cement
, the roof, almost 30 feet high, was constructed of western red cedar
. The sanctuary
had seating for 176 people, and the back wall separating the sanctuary from the social hall could be raised by a pulley
system, creating one large combined room. At the time, the congregation had 165 member families.
, had moved with his family to Montreal when he was 10. Though his parents were not observant, Cohen became more-so, aligning first with the Conservative movement
, and then studying at the "Modern Open Orthodox" Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
in New York
, headed by Rabbi Avi Weiss
.
Rabbi Max Davis, a 2008 graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, joined the congregation that year as Rabbinic Educator. He earned his Masters in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University
in 2009, and in August 2010 he moved to Congregation B'nai Torah of Springfield, Massachusetts.
, the rabbi was Yonatan Cohen.
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
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...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Established in 1924 as the Berkeley Hebrew Center, it traces its origins to the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley, founded in 1909. It was Berkeley's first synagogue, and remains its oldest. Lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
-led for four decades, it hired its first 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...
, Saul Berman
Saul Berman
Saul J. Berman is a prominent American scholar and leading Modern Orthodox rabbi.As a rabbi, scholar, and educator he has made extensive contributions to the intensification of Jewish education for Jewish women on many levels, to the role of social ethics in synagogue life, and to the...
, in 1963.
Berman served until 1969, and was succeeded by Yosef Leibowitz, who served for 15 years. During the 1980s and early 1990s Beth Israel was at the vanguard of the baal teshuva
Baal teshuva
Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
movement in Modern Orthodox Judaism.
In 1999 the congregation began an $8 million fund-raising campaign to build a new synagogue, a replica of the Przedbórz Synagogue
Przedbórz Synagogue
-History:A Jewish community is documented to have been established in Przedbórz by 1570. At the beginning of the Second World War, the town was 60% Jewish....
, destroyed in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, during 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 1942. Difficult economic times restricted fundraising efforts, and instead the congregation completed a more modest structure in 2005. , the rabbi was Yonatan Cohen.
Early years
Congregation Beth Israel was established as the Berkeley Hebrew Center at 1630 Bancroft Way, the first, and still-oldest synagogue in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Though the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid in 1924, the congregation traces its roots back to 1909, when Rabbi Martin Meyer, also rabbi of San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El, founded the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley. From 1913 to 1916 Meyer's disciple Louis I. Newman served as rabbi. During this period, small groups of Jews would rent space above stores in downtown Berkeley for 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...
and holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
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....
. In 1924, under the name "Berkeley Hebrew Center", members of the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley built their first permanent home at the corner of Bancroft and Jefferson Streets.
Though during its first decades the synagogue was lay-led, in its early years it received significant guidance and support from Meyer and Newman, both 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...
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...
s. Nevertheless, the congregation was quite traditional; the kitchen was 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...
, members covered their heads
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...
, the traditional prayer book
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
was used. While the Friday night services "resembled Reform practice... the High Holiday services were clearly closer to Orthodox practice."
Post World-War II growth
In the 1950s and 1960s Beth Israel benefited from an influx of students and faculty from University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Many of the graduate students
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
had grown up in Orthodox homes, and many of the faculty were becoming more observant
Baal teshuva movement
The Baal Teshuva movement is description of the return of secular Jews to religious Judaism. The term "baal teshuva" is a term from the Talmud literally meaning "master of repentance". The term is used to refer to a worldwide phenomenon among the Jewish people...
. These new members organized 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 "pressed for the hiring of a rabbi". In 1963 Beth Israel decided to hire its first rabbi, an Orthodox one, and chose Saul Berman
Saul Berman
Saul J. Berman is a prominent American scholar and leading Modern Orthodox rabbi.As a rabbi, scholar, and educator he has made extensive contributions to the intensification of Jewish education for Jewish women on many levels, to the role of social ethics in synagogue life, and to the...
, who had been ordained
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
by the Modern Orthodox Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. Berman increased levels of observance in the organization, and turned the sometimes sporadic Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
into a more educationally rigorous three-times-a-week Hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
. This in turn attracted new families to the congregation. Berman would serve until 1969, and go on to become "a leading voice of modern Orthodoxy."
Berman was succeeded by Yosef Leibowitz; Beth Israel was his first pulpit. Leibowitz would serve for fifteen years, before moving to Israel
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
in 1984, and was succeeded first by Joseph Ozarowski, then by Manny Forman. During this period Beth Israel became one of the "flagship" synagogues of baal teshuva movement in Modern Orthodoxy, the adoption of Orthodox observance by "highly educated, prosperous, professional young people, mainly from non-Orthodox backgrounds, and often with meager Jewish educations".
Eliezer Finkelman served as rabbi from 1992 to 2000, before moving to the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. He was succeeded by Yair Silverman, a Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
native who had lived in Israel for five years, and served in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
for a year, before being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1999.
New building
In 1999 the congregation began a campaign to construct new building; the old building had only one room, a very low ceiling, no air conditioning, and was "seismically unsafe". The plan was to build a replica of the Przedbórz SynagoguePrzedbórz Synagogue
-History:A Jewish community is documented to have been established in Przedbórz by 1570. At the beginning of the Second World War, the town was 60% Jewish....
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, considered to be among the most beautiful of the Polish-Lithuanian wooden synagogues, and burned down by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in 1942. Costs had initially been budgeted at $8 million, but fundraising was slowed by collapse of the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
and the economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks
Economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks
Major economic effects arose from the September 11 attacks, with initial shock causing global stock markets to drop sharply. The attacks themselves caused approximately $40 billion in insurance losses, making it one of the largest insured events ever....
. The project was scaled back to $3.5 million in 2002, and then abandoned in March 2003, after only $2 million was raised.
Earlier that year, in January, the congregation acquired its first new Torah scroll
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...
in its 75 year history, at a cost of $40,000. The synagogue already had three Torah scrolls, but they had been acquired used in the 1950s. Though repaired over time, "due to wear and tear" they were becoming unusable.
The following year construction began on a new building that looked similar to the previous one. During its construction, which was on the existing lot, services were held in various temporary locations. Completed in 2005, the design included a replica of the Przedbórz synagogue's "intricately carved" wooden charity box
Pushka
Pushka may refer to:* Pushka is Russian for cannon and is used to characterize the Russian Tsar Cannon*Kolel Chibas Yerushalayim, charity box* A taluka in the Barabanki district of Northern India, in the Awadh region of the State of Uttar Pradesh...
, and wooden floors and ceilings. While the facade was cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, the roof, almost 30 feet high, was constructed of western red cedar
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
. The sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
had seating for 176 people, and the back wall separating the sanctuary from the social hall could be raised by a pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
system, creating one large combined room. At the time, the congregation had 165 member families.
Recent events
Silverman returned to Israel in 2006, and was replaced by Yonatan Cohen. Cohen, a native of Israel who grew up outside Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, had moved with his family to Montreal when he was 10. Though his parents were not observant, Cohen became more-so, aligning first with the Conservative movement
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
, and then studying at the "Modern Open Orthodox" Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School is a "Modern Open Orthodox" yeshiva founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss.Currently located in Riverdale, New York, it seeks to "recruit, professionally train, and place rabbis" who will promote its founder's philosophy...
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...
, headed by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Avi Weiss
Avraham Weiss is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi who heads the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York. He is an author, teacher, lecturer, and activist...
.
Rabbi Max Davis, a 2008 graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, joined the congregation that year as Rabbinic Educator. He earned his Masters in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
in 2009, and in August 2010 he moved to Congregation B'nai Torah of Springfield, Massachusetts.
, the rabbi was Yonatan Cohen.