Temple Israel Turns 85

Community Grows Older Gracefully


BY MARY LEE SHALVOY

In 1920, Alameda was a burgeoning beach town, with a small, tight-knit Jewish community that worked together to incorporate. Soon thereafter, this hardy group built the first Temple Israel in Alameda, located on the corner of Oak and Alameda streets in the heart of town, where the Alameda High School complex now sits.
    "All the old-timers, who were mostly unemployed at the time, laid the bricks to build the first temple," says Arthur Kapler, who at age 93 still remembers his father's involvement in building the temple. The community celebrated the young Kapler's bar mitzvah as the first in the new building in 1924. "We had the party at the Eagle Hall across the street," Kapler remembers.
    Local historians often share the story of how the children helped in any way that they could and the women prepared meals for all of the workers.
    "Think of it-they could have hired people to build it, but they didn't. They worked together as a community to build it with their own hands," notes Allen Bennett, Temple Israel's current rabbi.
    Although that original temple is now gone, the only Jewish synagogue in Alameda is still running strong. Located on Harbor Bay since 1980, Temple Israel has provided a Jewish religious, cultural, social and educational presence on the Island. And what was once a more conservative synagogue has emerged as a diverse but still closely-knit Reform congregation, affiliated with the Union for Reformed Judaism since 1985. Temple members today represent a broad slice of Bay Area demographics including inter-faith families, seniors, young people and gays.
    Bennett says the mix "brings an element of diversity, but makes it possible for the congregation to look at itself about what it offers to the general community."
    The temple's 85th anniversary has sparked a yearlong celebration, including dedications and events honoring local members and members of the general Jewish community. Earlier this year, to launch the festivities, the temple hosted an interfaith "Historical Remembrance of the Holocaust," with five survivors recounting their stories of escape. Next, the temple dedicated a new Torah, donated by the Dines family. "It is a kosher Torah, completely written by hand," says Herb Behrstock, Temple Israel board member.
    In September, the temple hosted a family picnic and a Concert in the Courtyard, featuring the temple's own jazz band, to commemorate the temple's anniversary as well as the 25th birthday of the Harbor Bay synagogue building. More events are scheduled for the spring of 2006, including concerts, a dinner dance and presentations to honor the synagogue's past presidents and the many members who have been a part of the community for 50 years or more. The community will also premiere Preserving Our History, a documentary film of Temple Israel's 85-year history.
    Though still a relatively small community, with 220 adult members or 125 families, Temple Israel offers much more than its size would indicate. "We act like a big synagogue. We behave like we are larger than we are," notes Bennett.
    The temple has a full-time cantor and Temple Israel's leaders strive to support the members as a "second home" and appeal to the Alameda community at large. The temple participates in many interfaith events and celebrations. This month, for example, members and friends of Temple Israel and Immanuel Lutheran Church of Alameda will be traveling together to Israel for 10 days with a three-day side trip to Petra, Jordan.
    "We don't exist in a vacuum in the community," Bennett says. In the coming years, the temple looks to address the social and spiritual issues of its many factions, dealing with issues of a graying congregation, encouraging its youth and administering to its interfaith and sexual minority families.
    Many of the members agree and find Temple Israel a warm, welcoming place. "It offers a sense of family, a sense of belonging. I feel at home at Temple Israel," says Dan Kapler, longtime member and Arthur Kapler's grandson.
    For more information on Temple Israel's 85th anniversary events, visit the Web site: www.templeisraelalameda.org.