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A not so brief history of Congregation Sinai |
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Page 3 of 9
Early Years
Those first few years in existence were full of challenges. As s rabbi had not been hired, there were many ideas of how things should be done because of the diversity of the group. "Being a President during those times was challenging and exciting and my job was mainly to help keep peace within the group," said Judge Daniel Cowans during a recent f a permanent building. Emanuel Pearl was a driving force in getting things moving. The Congregation could not secure a loan on its own as it had very little funds. A number of individual members signed personal obligations to the bank in order to secure the loan with Crocker Bank. Allen Landers headed the building committee, and Harold Zeitman did most of the oversight work. The synagogue was built for $27,000 and a notice of completion was filed on June 21, 1956, two years after the establishment of the group.
Of the spiritual leaders in the early years, one stands out and is remembered dearly, Rabbi Moshe Twersky. The son of a Grand Rabbi of Boston and the descendant of a line of rabbis going back hundreds of years, Rabbi Twersky came from Fort Worth, Texas. A young man of deep learning and a special way with the young, Rabbi Twersky was the stimulus for many things:
Junior Congregation was started and flourished, a confirmation ceremony was instituted for children beyond Bar & Bat Mitzvah, and afternoon Hebrew school was directed under his leadership. Activities expanded, morning and evening minyanim were instituted on a regular basis. Jewish burial in the traditional manner was made possible not only through Chevra Kadesha, chaired by Harold Rothchild, but also with arrangements with the Willow Glen Mortuary. Those who kept kosher homes desired to have meat available locally instead of having to ship meat from San Francisco and Los Angeles. Rabbi Twersky persuaded Irving Farr to leave Los Angeles and open the Willow Glen Market. Irving Farr also served as our cantor until his untimely death in 1966. Current member Jack Sloan took over the market and ran it for many years.
Due to his increasingly failing health, Rabbi Twersky had to resign in 1973. Rabbi Twersky will be remembered for his spirituality and devotion to the congregation's growth & development during his 18 years of service. On November 3, 1968 the congregation honored him with a testimonial dinner. To publicly acknowledge his years of dedicated service, Rabbi Twersky was presented a Certificate of Lifetime Tenure and a gift of a trip to Israel.
There were a few interim rabbis following his departure. During the years between 1986 and 1997, Rabbi Alan Berkowitz was instrumental in forming the first adult B'nei Mitzvah class. Under his leadership, the congregation once again began to grow its membership.
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