Congregation Emanu-El (San Francisco)

For similarly named synagogues, see Emanu-El.

Temple Emanu-El
The synagogue building, in 1999
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Rabbi Beth Singer Rabbi Jonathan Singer Rabbi Sydney Mintz (Associate) Rabbi Ryan Bauer (Associate) Rabbi Leo Fuchs (Educator) Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris Rabbi Noah Westreich Rabbi Dr. Stephen S. Pearce (Emeritus)
Status	Active
Location
Location	2 Lake Street, San Francisco, California 94118
Country	United States
Location in San Francisco Bay Area, California
Geographic coordinates	37°47′14″N 122°27′35″W
Architecture
Architect(s)	Arthur Brown Jr.
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Byzantine Revival
Date established	1851 (as a congregation)
Completed	1926
Specifications
Dome(s)	One
Dome height (outer)	150 feet (46 m)
Website
emanuelsf.org

Congregation Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 2 Lake Street, in San Francisco, California, in the United States. Founded in 1850, the congregation is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in California, and one of the largest Jewish congregations in the United States. A member of the Union for Reform Judaism, Congregation Emanu-El is a significant gathering place for the Bay Area Jewish community.

History

Early Temple Emanu-El. Sutter Street, San Francisco, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

Stained glass window at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco

Mosaic at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco

Pews at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco

During the Gold Rush in 1849, a small group of Jews held the first High Holy Days services in a tent in San Francisco; it was the first Jewish service on the West Coast of the United States. This group of traders and merchants founded Congregation Emanu-El sometime in 1850, and its charter was issued in April, 1851. The 16 signatories were mostly German Jews from Bavaria.

In 1860, Reform rabbi Elkan Cohn joined the Emanu-El congregation; in 1877, he led the congregation as the first in the West to join the Reform movement. As the Reform movement spread in the United States during the early twentieth century, the synagogue became affiliated with this framework.

In 1884 Julie Rosewald became America's first female cantor when she began serving in Emanu-El, although she was not ordained; and served as cantor until 1893.

Among its major programs today, the congregation includes worship, youth and adult education programs, and also a major emphasis on social justice.

Rabbinical leaders

The following individuals have served as senior rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El:

Ordinal	Officeholder	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
1	Julius Eckman	1854	1855	0–1 years
2	Elkan Cohn	1860	1889	28–29 years
3	Jacob Voorsanger	1889	1908	18–19 years
4	Martin A. Meyer	1910	1923	12–13 years
5	Louis Israel Newman	1924	1930	5–6 years
6	Irving Reichert	1930	1948	17–18 years
7	Alvin Fine	1948	1964	15–16 years
8	Meyer Heller	1950	1963	12–13 years
9	Irving Hausman	1964	1967	2–3 years
10	Joseph Asher	1967	1986	18–19 years
11	Robert Kirschner	1981	1992	10–11 years	Senior rabbi from 1986
12	Dr. Stephen Pearce	1992	2013	20–21 years	Senior Rabbi Emeritus since 2013
13	Beth Singer	2013	incumbent	10–11 years	Spouses
	Jonathan Singer

In addition, the following rabbis currently serve in supporting roles in the congregation: Sydney Mintz (Associate, since 1997), Lawrence Kushner (Scholar in Residence, since 2002), Ryan Bauer (Associate, since 2007), Jason Rodich, (since 2015), and Sarah Joselow Parris (since 2019). The following rabbis have served in supporting roles, yet are no longer in current roles in the congregation: Mark Schiftan (from 1987 until 1994), Peretz Wolf-Prusan (from 1990 until 2010), Helen Cohn (from 1993 until 205), Jonathan Jaffe (from 2007 until 2014), and Carla Fenves (from 2011 until 2020).

Notable members

• Larry Baer
• Jim Bennett, father of Naftali Bennett, the 13rd Prime Minister of Israel
• Joseph Brandenstein
• Stephen Breyer
• Lazarus Dinkelspiel
• Dianne Feinstein
• Donald Fisher
• Doris F. Fisher
• Aaron Fleishhacker
• Richard Goldman
• Rhoda Haas Goldman
• Evelyn Danzig Haas
• Peter E. Haas
• Walter A. Haas Jr.
• Warren Hellman
• Florence Prag Kahn
• Simon Koshland
• Philip N. Lilienthal
• Bob Lurie
• Isaac Magnin
• Raphael Peixotto
• Julie Rosewald
• Nell Sinton
• Douglas W. Shorenstein
• Theodore Solomons
• David Stern
• Levi Strauss

Further reading

• Rosenbaum, Fred (2000). Visions of Reform : Congregation Emanu-El and the Jews of San Francisco 1849–1999. Judah L. Magnes Museum. ISBN 978-0-943376-69-1.
• Rosenbaum, Fred (1980). Architects of reform: congregational and community leadership Emanu-El of San Francisco, 1849–1980. Western Jewish History Center, Judah L. Magnes Memorial Museum.
• Voorsanger, Jacob (1900). The Chronicles of Emanu-El. Spaulding Press.

External links

• Official website