The 1960s
After Rabbi Pappenheim left the congregation in 1951, several rabbis succeeded him in short order. His departure therefore heralded in a period of tremendous change and turnover. That changed once the congregation hired Rabbi Israel Freedman in August of 1961. He brought stability to the shul, improved their educational programs and remained with B’nai Israel for 17 years until his retirement. As part of his initiatives, a Hebrew high school program was started at this time. His wife Sheba was also a great asset to the shul. She introduced numerous cultural and musical events to the synagogue and coordinated local groups each year for the Independence Day celebration. A chazzan/teacher and another teacher assisted Rabbi Freedman. Joseph Ben David was also hired around that time and remained for 28 years, first as chazzan, Baal Koreh and teacher, and after he received his semicha, as a rabbi.
The Sisterhood Auxiliary ran an essay writing contest. Each year the students enrolled in the Hebrew school were asked to write an essay addressing a specific theme which was judged on the basis of content, presentation, originality, and finally, suitability. A couple of the themes included “my favourite Jewish holiday” and “the event in Jewish history which I found most interesting.” Prizes were given out to winners from the junior and senior class of $5 and $10 respectively.
During this period, three families donated two sefer torahs and a megillah to the synagogue. The sefer torahs were donated by the Ruben and Lambert families. The megillah, in turn, was a donation from the Offstein family.
