Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco)
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San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El claims the title of one of the two first synagogues in San Francisco.
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[edit] Early history
The first Jewish services were held in San Francisco in 1849 and major holidays were celebrated in various locations. Money was first acquired to build a permanent site in 1851 but disagreements split the Jewish community and on April 8, 1851 two congregations were formed: Temple Emanu-El and Sherith Israel. Emanu-El, originally Orthodox in orientation, was drawn towards the emerging Reform Movement, guided in part by a series of rabbis with impressive reform credentials. Over the years Emanu-El became a temple containing many of San Francisco's Jewish elite, listing many of the top mercantile, banking, and political families on its membership rolls.
Emanu-El's first building in San Francisco was built on Broadway between Powell and Mason in 1854 at the same time they acquired their first full-time, ordained Rabbi, Julius Eckman who served in his post one year. The congregation did not regain a full-time rabbi until 1860 when Rabbi Elkan Cohn was hired. Cohn was Emanu-El's longest serving rabbi, staying until his death in 1889.
Rabbi Cohn reorganized the congregation, revitalized the religious school (first organized in 1858), and inaugurated the Confirmation Program which graduated its first class on Shavuot 1862. In 1864 a group broke away from Emanu-El to form the more Orthodox Ohabai Shalome in protest of changes to the prayerbook.
By 1864 the congregation had expanded significantly and the Sutter Street temple was built and became a local landmark. Destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the temple was rebuilt on the same site and rededicated in 1907 (unfortunately, most of its papers and records from the time from its founding up until the earthquake were lost in the fire as well). In 1926 the congregation, again expanding, moved to its current home, another architectural landmark, on Lake Street.
Cohn was succeeded by Jacob Voorsanger, of Holland, who had become Assistant Rabbi in 1886, and served from Cohn's death in 1889 until his own death in 1908. Voorsanger was a "scholar, teacher, preacher and publicist." He founded the weekly Jewish paper, also called the Emanu-El in November 1895, which eventually became the San Francisco Jewish Bulletin.
Martin Meyer who served 13 years (1910-1923), oversaw the continued expansion of the Religious School including the creation of a Correspondence School for isolated Jewish children (1912) and a branch school in San Mateo (1915). The School's literary magazine, The Scroll, was started in 1913 and originally published up to six issues a year. Meyer also oversaw the formation of numerous clubs: the Women's Guild (1917), Emanu-El Men's Club (c. 1920), and the Pathfinders (1921). Two of his most lasting contributions were the organization of Boy Scout Troop #17 under leader Arthur "Pie" Myer and the hiring of Cantor Reuben Rinder in 1913.
Cantor Rinder, who retired in 1959 but stayed active in the congregation until his death in 1966, was a stabilizing force during a period of revolving rabbis. His dedication to Jewish liturgical music resulted in grand musical events at the temple starting in 1922, and the commissioning of pieces from major composers including Ernest Block (1938), Darius Milhaud (1949), and Marc Lavry (1955). Both Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern contributed to the program commemorating Cantor Rinder's 45th year of service to the Temple (1958).
Martin Meyer, who had been instrumental in the push for the new Lake Street temple, died suddenly shortly before the ground breaking. He was replaced by Louis Newman who served from 1924-1930 before returning to New York. Newman oversaw the building of the Lake Street Temple, instituted the Temple Chronicle (a weekly bulletin of activities and information), formed the Temple Players whose professional quality plays included the 1928 production "The Dybbuk." The religious school staged their own dramas and contributed to elaborate festival celebrations.
[edit] List of rabbis
Later rabbis include: Irving F. Reichert (1930-1947), Alvin Fine (1948-1964), Meyer Heller (Asst. 1950-1963), Irving Hausman (1964-1967), Joseph Adler (1968-85), Robert Kirschner (Asst. 1982-1985, Head 1985-1992), and Stephen Pearce (1993-)
[edit] Further information
The Western Jewish History Center, of the Judah L. Magnes Museum, in Berkeley, California contains many historical papers, documents, records, and photographs relating to the history of Congregation Emanu-El and many of its rabbis and congregants.
