Congregation Beth Israel (San Diego)
{{Short description|Reform Jewish synagogue in San Diego, California, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{for|similarly named synagogues|Beth Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Beth Israel}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Congregation Beth Israel
| native_name = {{langx|he|בית ישראל}}
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| image_upright = 1.4
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| caption = The synagogue building, in
| religious_affiliation = Reform Judaism
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| organisational_status = Synagogue
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| leadership = {{ubl|Rabbi Jason Nevarez|Rabbi Arlene Bernstein {{small|(Cantor)}}|Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel {{small|(Associate)}}|Rabbi Michael Berk {{small|(Emeritus)}}}}
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| functional_status = Active
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| location = {{nowrap|9001 Towne Centre Drive,}} University City, San Diego, California 92122
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| country = United States
| map_type = California
| map_size = 250
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| map_caption = Location in California
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| coordinates = {{coords|32.870901|-117.206322|region:US-CA_type:landmark|format=dms|display=it}}
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| architecture_type = Synagogue architecture
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| established = 1887 {{small|(as a congregation)}}
| groundbreaking = 2000
| year_completed = {{ubl|1889 {{small|(Second Avenue)}}|1926 {{small|(Third Avenue)}}|2001 {{small|(University City)}}}}
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| website = {{url|cbisd.org}}
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Congregation Beth Israel ({{langx|he|בית ישראל}}) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue in University City, San Diego. Incorporated in 1887, Beth Israel traces its roots back to 1861; and is the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in San Diego.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbisd.org/about/index.shtml |title=About CBI introduction |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051103040606/http://www.cbisd.org/about/index.shtml |archive-date=November 3, 2005 |work=Congregation Beth Israel |date= |access-date=August 1, 2014}}{{self-published-inline|date=January 2024}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cbisd.org/about/history.shtml |title=History of CBI |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060216142254/http://www.cbisd.org/about/history.shtml |archive-date=February 16, 2006 |work=Congregation Beth Israel |date= |access-date=January 20, 2010}}{{self-published-inline|date=January 2024}}{{cite news |author=Eroles, Maricarmen |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-16-me-5773-story.html |title=San Diego's Oldest Jewish Temple Will Get Face Lift |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 16, 1989 |page=Metro 1 }}
History
Jews first came to San Diego in 1850, and organized High Holiday services each year. In 1861, led by Marcus Schiller, they organized a congregation called "Adath Yeshurun". In early 1887 they formally incorporated under the name "Beth Israel".
File:TempleBethIsraelByPhilKonstantin.JPG
Beth Israel's first building still stands in Heritage Park, which is adjacent to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The wooden building was erected in 1889 at Second Avenue and Beech Street, in the wake of a boom in economic activity and population that resulted from the November 1885 completion of the California Southern Railroad connecting San Diego to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in Barstow, California. Services were first held there on September 25, 1889. One of the oldest synagogue buildings in the American West,Schwartz, Henry. [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/81fall/temple.htm "Temple Beth Israel"], The Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1981, Volume 27, Number 4. it was used by the Congregation until 1926, when the Congregation moved to its second, larger building at Third and Laurel. At the time the congregation numbered around 60 families.
The Third and Laurel site occupied a full city block, and included a number of structures. In addition to the synagogue building, there was an adjacent social hall, a school building, and a number of small apartments. When the congregation moved in early 2001, it retained the school and social hall.
Beth Israel purchased a {{convert|3|acre|ha|adj=on}} lot in University City in 1993. Construction on new facilities there began in January 2000 and were dedicated in October 2001. The site comprises five buildings totaling more than {{convert|65000|sqft}}.
Jonathan Stein, who was Senior Rabbi at the synagogue, became Senior Rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila on New York City's Upper East Side.{{cite web |url=http://www.shaaraytefilanyc.org/our_history_and_vision/ |title=Our History and Vision |publisher=Shaaraytefilanyc.org |accessdate=January 7, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124041105/http://www.shaaraytefilanyc.org/our_history_and_vision/ |archivedate=January 24, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}
Current status
Beth Israel has over 2,000 members and nearly 1,100 households, making it San Diego's largest and oldest Jewish congregation. The clergy includes Senior Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Rabbi/Cantor Arlene Bernstein, and Associate Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel. In June 2019, Senior Rabbi Michael Berk became Beth Israel's Rabbi Emeritus.
Notable members
- Alan Bersin (born 1946), President Obama's "Border Czar," US Attorney for the Southern District of California, California Secretary of Education, Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary for International Affairs, and INTERPOL vice president.[https://www.dhs.gov/archive/person/alan-bersin "Alan Bersin, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy,"] Department of Homeland Security.
- Louis Rose (1807–1888), pioneer developer of San Diego.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat|Temple Beth Israel (San Diego, California)}}
- {{oweb|https://cbisd.org}}
- {{oweb|https://web.archive.org/web/20111205020740/http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/reusable_components/images/parks/doc/HeritageParkMap2011.pdf|Official web-site for Heritage Park}}, which includes a photo and information for Temple Beth Israel (1889)
{{Synagogues in the United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (San Diego, California)}}
Category:1887 establishments in California
Category:21st-century synagogues in the United States
Category:Jewish organizations established in 1887
Category:Jews and Judaism in San Diego
Category:Landmarks in San Diego
Category:Reform synagogues in California
Category:Religious buildings and structures in San Diego
Category:Synagogues completed in 1889
Category:Synagogues completed in 1926