What an Honor it Was to Dine with Our Double Chai Members!

By President Emily Jennewein

 Opening the 150th anniversary Speakers Series on November 11, Beth Israel honored its Double Chai members -- those who have been members for 36 or more years -- with a beautiful dinner and evening featuring Professor Deborah Lipstadt, Holocaust scholar, who addressed the congregation during services.

It is so gratifying to realize that there are a large number of Beth Israel members who joined long ago and have found an embracing community at Beth Israel as well as found meaning and purpose in our many programs and services. These many longtime members have remained loyal to the mission and goals of our congregation over many years. So this month I'd like to use this opportunity to tell a few stories about some - but not all - of the Beth Israel members who have embraced our community for the longest amounts of time, more than 50 years.

We believe Harry Tennebaum is the member with the longest tenure at Beth Israel. Harry was born into the congregation in 1928, though his family joined in 1919, more than 90 years ago. During WWII, Harry -- at the tender age of 13 and just one year past Confirmation -- was pressed into service to teach Sunday school.  He recalls that one Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, war broke out 10 am Pacific time. Since San Diego was considered a war zone, everyone was ordered off street and went home to turn on their radios.

Lifelong member Fred Weitzen joined Beth Israel in 1950. After serving on the board for ten years, Fred was elected president in 1974.  But 1974 started with a funding shortfall.  Though the temple raised standard dues to $400, Weitzen recalls, it became impossible to pay the rabbi, a situation he found completely unacceptable. So he proposed to a group of businessmen that they contribute at least $1,000 a year.  They accepted, except for a few who offered to pay $2,000 a year. In so doing, Weitzen established the Century Club, which to this day honors members who voluntarily pay above-standard dues. The Century Club allows Beth Israel to offer membership to everyone regardless of the ability to pay full membership dues. 

Matthew Strauss grew up in the temple -- his mother was Rabbi Moise Bergman’s secretary -- and Matt was confirmed in the same class as Shearn Platt. Matt met his wife Iris Strauss at a Temple Youth League party after she arrived from Chicago at age 16. Iris and Matt raised their three children at Beth Israel, where each was confirmed and married, and Iris later chaired the Temple Follies, known to all as the greatest of all mixers. 

Rabbi Morton Cohn attended Shearn and Linda Platt’s engagement party, and the Platt children were bar mitzvahed and confirmed at Beth Israel. Linda later co-founded the Stand With Israel Committee with Phyllis Cohn. 

Anabel and Ted Mintz joined in 1958 although Anabel’s mother had been a member as a child. Her mother, who owned a millinery shop at 5^th & C Streets, downtown, joined all three San Diego temples for good will – for just $25 a year at each. Anabel and Ted met at dinner dance in Temple Youth League when they were 16 and 18, and were married three years later by Rabbi Cohn. Ted built the education building at Third & Laurel and chaired the construction and development committee for our current magnificent synagogue. 

Mel Goldzband joined in 1961 and worked with Rabbi Melvin Weinman to move High Holy Day services to the Civic Theatre in 1965 when we outgrew our own sanctuary. Mel designed the set for the services, and then for 35 years managed the lighting and updated the set until he retired from this volunteer endeavor in 2000. 

Chairs of the Double Chai Member evening Arthur and Sandy Levinson were both confirmed at Beth Israel, eight years apart. The Levinsons were married at Beth Israel and raised their two children, who have in turn raised their children, in our Congregation. Next month their granddaughter, Shanna, will be a Beth Israel bride. And a year and a half from now their grandson, David, will be ordained as a Rabbi. 

I wish I had move room to share more stories about our longstanding members. Among the many present at the dinner to celebrate more than 50 years of membership were Joan and Marvin Jacobs, Elene and Herb Solomon, Ann and Ben Weinbaum, Esther and Dick Rosenberg, and Bob Berton.

1,000 Protesters Peacefully Shared Civic Center Plaza With Beth Israel

By Emily Jennewein, President

Beth Israel’s peaceful worship on Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur at the Civic Theatre was a heartwarming example of Jewish values of respect and understanding in action. Just an hour and a half before we opened the doors to our worshipers on the holiest day of the year, the Civic Center Plaza was packed -- shoulder-to-shoulder -- with more than 1,000 protesters of all ages.

But those protesters -- from Occupy San Diego, an offshoot of the national Occupy Wall Street movement -- had already made plans to move away out of respect for Beth Israel’s worship there.

So the Beth Israel community gathered to worship at the Civic Theater on Friday evening and Saturday morning, October 7 and 8, while over a thousand protesters camped out just blocks away.

In keeping his promise to tell the congregation from the pulpit on Kol Nidre of the protest organizers’ thoughtfulness, Rabbi Michael Berk said, “There was nothing but utter respect and honor accorded to us, Judaism, and Yom Kippur.”

You may wonder, what did Beth Israel do when we learned of the protest? I’m so proud of the way in which our congregation communicated directly and with great respect with protest organizers.

Rabbi Berk and Executive Director Lesley Mills called and met with the leaders of Occupy San Diego to ask for their help in ensuring our peaceful worship on Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur. Cory Briggs, a congregant with close ties to the organizers, reached out to his contacts and carried a compelling letter from Rabbi Berk that asked that we be allowed to pursue our worship at the Civic Theater as we have since 1965.

As soon as the protest organizers realized that Beth Israel’s historic worship at the Civic Theatre might be jeopardized, they wanted to help Beth Israel. Protest organizers not only complied, but they insisted on moving their many hundreds of protesters. They even apologized to us for the inconvenience!

In the end, Occupy San Diego marched to the Civic Center Plaza on Friday afternoon, then at 5:00 p.m. left the plaza for Children’s Park, where they camped until after our Yom Kippur services were concluded.

“I am grateful that at great inconvenience for their planning they have moved their demonstration away from our praying place while we are here,” Rabbi Berk told the congregation. “Agree or not with them, the people we met who are their leaders are sweet, young, idealistic, gentle people, and I thank them for allowing us to proceed with our observance of Yom Kippur in the quiet, reflective way that our day of atonement brings to us.

“We can all be thankful that in America, on Judaism’s holiest day, civility and tolerance – values that originated with Judaism – ensured that Beth Israel could worship in peace in downtown San Diego,” our rabbi concluded.