Temple Sinai is a Reform congregation located at 2808 Summit Street in Oakland, California. Founded in 1875, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the East Bay. Its early members included Gertrude Stein and Judah Leon Magnes, who studied at Temple Sinai's Sabbath school, and Ray Frank, who taught them. Originally traditional, under the leadership of Rabbi Marcus Friedlander (1893–1915) Temple Sinai reformed its beliefs and practices. By 1914, it had become a Classical Reform congregation. That year the current sanctuary was built, a Beaux-Arts structure designed by G. Albert Lansburgh which is the oldest synagogue in Oakland. The congregation weathered four major financial crises by 1934. It has since been led by just three rabbis, William Stern (1934–1965), Samuel Broude (1966–1989), and Steven Chester (1989–present). In 2006 Temple Sinai embarked on a $15 million capital campaign to construct an entirely new synagogue campus adjacent to its current sanctuary. Groundbreaking took place in October 2007, and by late 2009 the congregation had raised almost $12 million towards the construction. As of 2010, the Temple Sinai had nearly 1,000 member families. The rabbis were Steven Chester, Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, and Andrea Berlin, and the cantor was Ilene Keys.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Sinai_%28Oakland%2C_California%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1093:

Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire, one of the largest cathedrals in England, was dedicated by Bishop Walkelin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Cathedral

1341:

Italian scholar and poet Petrarch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch

1886:

British Prime Minister William Gladstone introduced the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Government_Bill_1886

1904:

Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City was renamed Times Square after The New York Times building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square

1968:

BOAC Flight 712 suffered an engine fire shortly after take off from London Heathrow Airport, leading to deaths of five people on board, including flight attendant Barbara Jane Harrison, who was later awarded a posthumous George Cross for her heroism during the accident. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_712

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

vindictive (adj): Having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vindictive

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true. --Yip Harburg http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yip_Harburg