By Melissa Hunter and Julia Olson
Assistant Editors
This past weekend, the congregation of K.K. Bene Israel Rockdale Temple celebrated their 200th anniversary with a Bicentennial Shabbat Service Friday, January 26, followed by a Gala event Saturday the 27. The Legacy Shabbat service, held in the Messer chapel, commemorated two centuries of Jewish communal life with worship and song.
“This is a Shabbat for the history books,” Rabbi Meredith Kahan told the congregation. “It is a celebration of all that has been and all that can be.” In attendance was Rabbi Sandford Kopnick from Valley Temple, representing the city’s rabbis and congregations, as well as the teachers of Hebrew Union College and city leaders.
After the singing of Hineh Ma Tov, Nancy Klein lit the Shabbat candles and the congregation stood to greet Shabbat “as you would your beloved.”
The service continued with an acknowledgement of all the past rabbis who led the congregation, and those in attendance came to the bimah to be recognized. “We are grateful tonight for the presence of these rabbis,” Rabbi Kahan said, “four inspiring rabbis whom we honor and who represent for us the generations of rabbinic leadership of Kehal Kodesh Bene Israel.”
Following a responsive reading from the special pamphlet printed for the evening, Aaron Herzig invited the past and present presidents to the bimah in acknowledgment of their efforts to establish, guide, and lead the congregation. ”You can tell from the fact that we have exactly ten senior rabbis in our 200 year history that this group, and those that they represent, have done both of those things extremely well,” Herzig noted. There was a generational passing of Torah. Also in attendance were the families of past presidents.
The evening was punctuated by the “Big Brass” instruments that rang throughout the chapel.
Carrying the essence of those who led into the next 200 years.
Rabbi Mark Goldman, who served as senior rabbi from 1986-2004, was welcomed to the bimah to offer a prayer for peace. The congregation also recited a prayer for healing (Mi Shebeirach) and a prayer for Israel and the hostages, marking this moment in history.
URJ president Rabbi Rick Jacobs gave a moving speech that recalled the history of the congregation. “Tonight we have every reason to sing out. The story of this great congregation contains the story of the growth and evolution of the entire reform movement,” Rabbi Jacobs announced. Rockdale temple was led by two brilliant and larger than life rabbis, Dr. Max Lilienthal and David Philipson. These two reform leaders rabbis had a vision to take the congregation from “traditional mindsets and practices” to “an American Judaism that was more in synch with modernity.” This approach went on to include, in more recent years, interfaith marriage and acceptance and inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. Rabbi Jacobs also mentioned that it is in solidarity with our interfaith neighbors that we move forward, and that conversion to Judaism has been on an upward trend since October 7.
Finally, Rabbi Jacobs compared K.K. Bene Israel Rockdale Temple to “the mighty sequoia tree.
“The giant sequoia comes from a tiny cone the size of an egg with seeds smaller than oat flakes. But this little thing grows to be 200-300 feet tall with a diameter of 25 feet. Some are much older than 200 years. Some reach 1000 years. But here’s the most amazing thing about the giant sequoia. They have amazingly shallow roots, yet these shallow roots support these giants trees for thousands of years. How do they do it? The answer lies in the fact that the sequoias grow close to each other and the roots are intertwined. It’s this network effect that provides incredible strength and stability to the sequoia. Rockdale Temple, you are a sequoia within our reform movement.”
Two hundred years is a long time filled with small moments
The evening concluded with an oneg, and a gala was held the following evening, where a large crowd gathered to enjoy cocktails and dinner together in celebration of Rockdale’s 200 years. Jackie Congedo, gave opening remarks. “For two hundred years, K.K. Bene Israel has been recognized as a house of study, prayer and community for all people. And in the next two hundred years, Rockdale Temple will embrace the spirit of adaption and change that has enabled us to thrive for centuries, all while we honor our past and stay true to our long held values.”
Attendees were dressed festively to celebrate the event, with glittering evening gowns and tuxedos a common sight around the dinner tables.
For Emily Dana, fifth year rabbinical student at HUC, two hundred years of Rockdale temple highlights the “loving community” there. “It’s so lovely, as a graduate student, to feel like I belong somewhere.” When asked what two hundred years of Rockdale meant to her, Madeline Budman, a rabbinic intern at Rockdale and also a student at HUC said “raising new Jewish leaders.” Aaron Torop Budman, another fifth year rabbinical student at HUC very aptly summed up the last two hundred years at Rockdale: “Stability and growth.”
