Congregation Beth Israel Celebrates 150 Years

Congregation Beth Israel kicks off a yearlong celebration for its 150th anniversary today.

Dating back to 1861, the oldest and largest congregation in Southern California has been housed in three temples and has since grown to include nearly 1,200 households and 3,500 individuals who live throughout San Diego County. Through worship services, religious school, preschool, adult education programs and more, the synagogue hosts about 2,000 people each week. 

For perspective, until World War II, there were only three Jewish synagogues in San Diego, but now there are more than 30, with approximately 100,000 Jewish people living in San Diego County today.

Beth Israel, which is now housed in five award-winning buildings at 9001 Towne Centre Dr., maintains an active affiliation with the national Union for Reform Judaism (formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations).

Anniversary events and happenings currently scheduled through May 2012 include the creation of a new Torah for the congregation, the launch of an endowment campaign, tours of the three synagogues, a speaker series and a Challah baking session.

Congregation Beth Israel’s opening festivities are free and open to the public from 2 to 5 p.m. today.

Congregation Beth Israel President Emily Jennewein explained the synagogue’s history, notable experiences and anniversary plans:

Patch: What makes Beth Israel unique from other area synagogues? 

Emily Jennewein: Our synagogue community gave birth to one of the most energetic and creative Jewish communities in North America. Many of our members are leaders in the San Diego Jewish and general community. In fact, we’re honoring the approximately 65 Beth Israel members who are and have been key community leaders at a special evening on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. We will have as our speaker that evening Rabbi David Wolpe, whom Newsweek magazine named the number one pulpit rabbi in America and the second-most influential rabbi in America. 

Patch: What events/happenings are planned for the 150th year?

Jennewein: A monthly speaker series, open to the public, beginning Nov. 11. Speakers include Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt, influential conservative Rabbi David Wolpe, Middle East expert Kenneth Stein, Union of Reform Judaism President Eric Yoffie, URJ Religious Action Center Director David Saperstein, former URJ Senior Vice President Leonard Thal, and Hebrew Union College President David Ellenson.

Creation of a new Torah scroll by Soferet – female Torah scribe – Julie Seltzer, only the second woman in the world to write an entire Torah by herself. She will spend a year creating a new scroll, writing with a feather quill on parchment.

A closing celebration on May 19 featuring film, television and theater legend Mandy Patinkin.

Patch: What is planned for the opening celebration on Sunday, Sept. 18?

Jennewein: Highlights of the opening celebration include … (a) performance by noted Jewish singer and songwriter Craig Taubman, whose music brings to life the joy and spirit of our Jewish heritage and appeals to all ages. Taubman has composed and directed music for many children’s television shows and performed at venues across the nation, including the White House.

Patch: What have been the most notable changes at the synagogue over the last 150 years? 

Jennewein: Although we are one of the very few synagogues to have occupied three buildings, all of which are still in use today, and although we have grown increasingly larger over 150 years, the real significance is not the change, but the continuity we've experienced.

Few congregations in the U.S. have been around so long, have experienced steady growth and are still thriving today.

Patch: Can you provide a brief history of the congregation?

Jennewein: Congregation Beth Israel is San Diego’s oldest and largest Jewish congregation, with roots dating to 1861 when San Diego was a frontier settlement. Jewish pioneers first came to San Diego in 1850, and although very few in number, (they) gathered each year to observe the High Holy Days. San Diego Jewry, led by Old Town merchant Marcus Schiller, first met in 1861 to form the congregation they called Adath Yeshurun (Assembly of Israel). Congregation Beth Israel traces its origins back to the formation of Adath Yeshurun in 1861.

Schiller and others formally organized as Beth Israel (House of Israel) in January 1887. The group incorporated under the name Congregation Beth Israel in February 1887 for purposes of buying land to build a synagogue. In 1889, the first Temple Beth Israel was erected at Second Avenue and Beech Street. It was used by the congregation until 1926, when the congregation moved to its second, larger building at Third and Laurel.

In 1993, Congregation Beth Israel purchased a three-acre site about 12 miles from the downtown location, in University City, just east of La Jolla. We broke ground in January 2000 and dedicated the congregation’s magnificent synagogue campus in October 2001. 

Beth Israel’s current award-winning complex consists of five buildings, totaling more than 65,000 square feet, set on a three-acre site. Special attention to landscape, open space, courtyards, a Biblical garden and a grand entry staircase create a beautiful environment that evokes images of Jerusalem. The buildings are constructed of Jerusalem stone and the Glickman Galinson Sanctuary faces Jerusalem. The stained glass windows in the Foster Family Chapel are replicas from our second synagogue sanctuary ... 

Patch: What struggles/changes has the congregation seen over the past 150 years?

Jennewein: In 1934, Beth Israel's Rabbi H. Cerf Straus warned San Diegans that the Silver Shirts, an anti-Semitic, pro-Facist organization modeled after Nazi storm troopers, were fomenting revolutionary activities against the government. After the Rabbi raised this alarm, the San Diego County Sheriff and other authorities kept a close watch on the Silver Shirts and soon public interest in this fascist organization dissolved. 

Patch: Tell us a story about the synagogue.

Jennewein: During the 2007 wildfires, (Congregation) Beth Israel came to the rescue of 100 Jewish seniors who had to evacuate from Seacrest Village at Encinitas and the Seacrest Village at Rancho Bernardo, both Jewish retirement homes. The Jewish seniors who evacuated amid raging wildfires were welcomed at Congregation Beth Israel. Our congregation turned the elderly evacuees’ two-night stay in the synagogue’s social hall into what many described as a lively pajama party.

… Within minutes of the evacuees’ arrival, the congregation’s teenagers appeared in droves to comfort their elderly guests, while the synagogue band and youth choir regaled them with Yiddish folk songs, Hebrew melodies and show tunes. It was hard to tell who was having a better time – our congregants or the grateful Seacrest evacuees! 

Patch: How did this get to be the largest congregation in San Diego?

Jennewein: Beth Israel is a large, active Reform congregation, open to all who are interested in participating in Jewish life, raising Jewish children, and/or considering becoming Jewish, regardless of ethnic or racial background, sexual orientation, or family structure. We pride ourselves on being welcoming and nurturing to interfaith families.

Patch: Approximately how many attendees do you host on the High Holy holidays? 

Jennewein: For High Holy Day services, which we hold at the Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego, we have approximately 4,000 worshipers.

Patch: What is the goal of Beth Israel's endowment campaign? Why start one now? 

Jennewein: The endowment campaign will secure the financial future of the congregation. A sizable endowment will allow us to continue to serve San Diego’s Reform Jewish community for the next 150 years and beyond. 

On this 150th anniversary of the founding of Beth Israel, we have a unique opportunity to stand on the shoulders of giants – those who had the vision and the courage to found and build our synagogue in 1861. Just as these visionaries imagined a thriving Jewish community in San Diego, we must consider what our efforts today can do to secure our children and grandchildren’s sense of Jewish identity and the continuity of Judaism itself. 

We are starting now to building the next 150 years together because future generations of San Diego Jews are depending on us.