Rabbi's Blog

There are several different components to creating a Jewish community and its infrastructure. The first item listed in Shulchan Arukh is a Mikvah because it is a biblical command. A severe punishment would be given for the lack of its observance.  A Mikvah is specifically directed at individuals while a Shul/synagogue is intended for the entire community, hence the Jewish community views the Shul as the center of its Jewish life.  

For most people a Shul should be considered as a second home. For me, throughout the course of my career, the Shul has, on many occasions, felt like my first home. There are many different names employed for an orthodox shul. Ours bears the name Beth Jacob, from the Hebrew Beit Yaakov, the house of Jacob. Our Shul has an illustrious history dating back to 1939. In May of 1939, a group of men and women who felt they needed an Orthodox approach to their Judaism,  purchased a small house at 3206 Myrtle in North Park. They named their place of worship Beth Jacob Congregation. The small, private home was hardly suitable, but the congregation grew steadily, and the location was remodeled several times, growing to include a Talmud Torah and a religious school.  , Following the end of World War II, Beth Jacob Congregation was infused with new enthusiasm. In 1947, Rabbi Baruch Stern joined Beth Jacob and remained its rabbi until retiring in 1977. On March 20, 1950, land was purchased at 4473 30th Street near Meade Avenue. Three years later, ground was broken at the new location.  On December 6, 1953, the new Beth Jacob Synagogue and Center was dedicated. It had an auditorium with a six-hundred-person capacity, school rooms and a fully equipped kosher kitchen.

As the story goes, over time so does a Jewish neighborhood. That is exactly what happened in the late 60’s and early 70’s in the North Park area of San Diego. Once again, it was time for Beth Jacob to be on the move. In 1972, Beth Jacob broke ground for construction of a new synagogue located on College Avenue in proximity to San Diego State University. After several years and the dedication of many members of the congregation to see the synagogue finished, dedication services were held on August 28, 1977.

Now, almost fifty years later, Beth Jacob is on the move again. As the neighborhood bustles with student life, it is time for a short move across the freeway.  Within a span of  eighty-six years, our shul, Beth Jacob,  will move to its fourth location and onto its fourth Rabbi. Some congregations and communities would just close it up, but the tenacity and resiliency of our Shul will keep the traditions and Shem Tov (good name) that Beth Jacob carries in the greater San Diego community. This causes one to reflect,   what is a Shul and where does the concept of a Shul come from, and ultimately what purpose does it serve?’ Perhaps the most significant source comes from this week’s Torah portion.

In this week’s Parshas Teruma the Torah states in Shmos 25:8 "ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם" : “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.” Reb Chaim of Volozhin, in his sefer Nefesh Hachaim, quotes a midrash which states that it does not say ‘in it’ , but rather ‘within them’ – inside the heart of every single Jew. The Beis HaMikdash, and its precursor the Mishkan, serve as a connection to Hashem. Even though Hashem’s glory fills the entire world, it is paramount to know that God rests His presence in open fashion in these physical, worldly places. It is for this reason that the ability to have open miracles was present to display, to see, the revelation of His essence. The same way the Jewish people went up up three times a year to ’see’ Hashem, so, too, on a regular basis throughout the year, Jews went up to see the showbread - still warm a week after it was baked! The sefer HaChinuch in Mitzva 95 writes that the building for Hashem and our prayers and sacrifices was done to prepare our hearts for the uplifting service and not ‘just’ to be a place for a God to sit among men. Our actions are meant to prepare ourselves to be with Hashem. Therefore, Hashem gave us the opportunity to meet Him in a place that is clean and pure, pure in the sense to purify our hearts and our minds. Through our cleansing and purifying of our thoughts and deeds, we can lift our intellect, giving us the capacity to be with the supreme thinkers.

Reb Shlomo Lunchitz in his commentary Kli Yakar explains that just by looking at the floor of the Temple courtyard - even in today’s time without a Temple - has great merit and value;  the very place of the Mikdash here on earth is directly connected to the Beis HaMikdash in Heaven. Whoever looks at the holy place is immediately showered upon with a spirit of purity and holiness. Yechezkel HaNavi assured Bnei Yisroel that although they would be scattered among the lands during their exile, Hashem would remain in their midst. Today in the Diaspora, we are not be able to serve Hashem in His Beis HaMikdash, however, we all  have access to a “minor sanctuary”. The Gemara Megilla 29a suggests that the Shul is the “minor sanctuary” to which the navi refers. Chaza”l, Sages of the Gemara understand the passage as a reassurance. Even when the major or primary sanctuary – the Beit HaMikdash – has been destroyed, Hashem will continue to be found in the minor sanctuary – the synagogue.

Just as with the building of the Beis HaMikdash, there are many halachos/laws pertaining to the building and construction of a Shul.  There are several ideas and points of design that are to be adhered to specifically to mimic and remind us of the symbolisms of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. First and foremost, the Shul of a community should be a structure that is the most impressive and by far the most distinguished of all the other buildings in the community. Baruch Hashem, over several decades Beth Jacob has provided a place to connect our neshamos/souls to our Father in Heaven with buildings of beautiful architecture and profound Jewish meaning. As we move forward, having purchased a building, we will design a beautiful space to strengthen our bond with Hashem. It will once again be the place for families to gather in prayer - our Tzibbur/community. Whether it is considered as our primary or secondary home, it will be a place for families and friends to join together and be a beacon of light in our time and place in our Mikdash M’at, replicating the Beis HaMikdash in Yerushalayim that stood over two thousand years ago.