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Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

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Coordinates: 39°02′27″N 77°01′45″W / 39.040972°N 77.029167°W / 39.040972; -77.029167
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Young Israel Shomrai Emunah
Young Israel Shomrai Emunah synagogue
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
RiteNusach Ashkenaz, Nusach Sefard, and Sephardi
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusSynagogue
StatusActive
Location
Location1132 Arcola Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20902
CountryUnited States
Young Israel Shomrai Emunah is located in Maryland
Young Israel Shomrai Emunah
Location within Maryland
Geographic coordinates39°02′27″N 77°01′45″W / 39.040972°N 77.029167°W / 39.040972; -77.029167
Architecture
TypeSynagogue
Date established1951 (as a congregation)
Completed1960
Interior area19,158 square feet (1,779.8 m2)
Website
www.yise.org
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Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (abbreviated as YISE) is an Orthodox synagogue located at 1132 Arcola Avenue, in Kemp Mill,[2][3] Montgomery County, Maryland, in the United States. Established as a congregation in 1951, it was the first Orthodox synagogue established in Montgomery County.[4] It is one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in Maryland and is recognized as a key synagogue in the Silver Spring, Maryland area.[5]

Functions and services

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The synagogue provides a full range of religious and social services, such a nursery school,[6] banquet hall for weddings,[7] prayer services for Sephardi Jews,[8] assistance with job hunting,[9] notable guest speakers from the Jewish world, such as a Silver Spring native Lazer Brody who joined the Breslov Hasidim.[10][dead link] Young Israel has seven different services each Shabbat morning, from a minyan in the Sephardi tradition to one for early risers. All services are under the same roof.

Affiliations and associations

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The synagogue is affiliated with the National Council of Young Israel.[11][12] The synagogue has sponsored Jewish educational activities with other local Orthodox institutions such as The Greater Washington Community Kollel.[13] It offers a variety of programs such as for senior citizens in conjunction with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington.[14] It is also affiliated with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.[15]

For environmentalists it has co-hosted programs with the Canfei Nesharim organization that provides: "a Torah based approach to understand and act on the relationship between traditional Jewish sources and modern environmental issues[16]...which explores environmentalism through the lens of Halacha (Jewish law) and traditional Jewish sources. The new initiative is known as Maayan Olam: the Silver Spring Torah and Environmental Group... endorsed by the Silver Spring Orthodox congregations Young Israel-Shomrai Emunah, Kemp Mill Synagogue."[17]

History

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Origins

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Congregation Shomrai Emunah was established in 1951 when several Jews formed a worship group in Chillum, Maryland.[18] Rabbi Abraham A. Kellner was the first spiritual adviser.[18][19]

Services were originally held in members' homes.[18] Later on, the congregation held services in a Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge,[20] and then used rented space at Chillum Castle at Chillum and Riggs roads that was owned by a Masonic lodge.[18]

In 1955, Congregation Shomrai Emunah began raising $75,000 of funds to build its own synagogue.[19][21] Land on the Maryland side of Eastern Avenue near Oglethorpe Road was purchased,[21] and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 12, 1957.[19] Approximately one-hundred families were members of Congregation Shomrai Emunah at the time.[19]

The synagogue was dedicated on December 22, 1957.[22] Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer led the ceremony, having become Shomrai Emunah's spiritual leader earlier that year.[23]

Montgomery County

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In the early 1960s, there was a trend of residents moving further into suburbs of Washington, D.C.[24] With many of its members no longer living within walking distance to Shomrai Emunah's synagogue, attendance on Shabbat decreased significantly.[24]

Rabbi Anemer bought a house near Kemp Mill, Maryland, and he began holding Shabbat services there every other week.[24] When attendance at Rabbi Anemer's home quickly became too large for the space, Shomrai Emunah built a new synagogue on nearby University Boulevard.[25][24] Orthodox Jewish congregation in Montgomery County.[25][26][27] Shomrai Emunah later started another service at a member's home in the Montgomery Knolls area of Silver Spring.[24]

By the late 1960s, the synagogue's membership outgrew the synagogue in Kemp Mill, so its membership raised funds to build a second, larger building in Kemp Mill. Rabbi Anemer established a religious school for girls in 1964.[28] A religious school for boys opened the following year.[28] On April 29, 1973, Shomrai Emunah held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new synagogue at Arcola Avenue and Lamberton Drive in Kemp Mill.[29] The synagogue opened the following year.[28]

Rabbi Anemer died on April 15, 2010. He held the position of rabbi for 52 years.[27][30] He was succeeded by Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum,[28] who was officially installed on November 20, 2010.[31]

Notable congregants

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1132 Arcola Ave Silver Spring MD 20902". Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. n.d. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Tightly knit Kemp Mill]". Washington Examiner. May 2009.
  3. ^ "An Orthodox Destination Religion Draws Some to Kemp Mills". Washington Post. 14 October 2005.
  4. ^ Leibel, Aaron (21 April 2010). "Gedaliah Anemer, YISE rabbi, Yeshiva founder". Washington Jewish Week.
  5. ^ jewishsilverspring.org, Local Synagogues and Day Schools
  6. ^ "YISE Nursery". Young Israel Shomrai Emunah. n.d.[self-published source?]
  7. ^ "Jewish Wedding Halls in Maryland". Chosson and Kallah. n.d.
  8. ^ "Sephardic Conregations in the United States of America". American Sephardi Federation. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010.
  9. ^ "About JobAssist.org". Job Assist. n.d.
  10. ^ "No title". Washington Jewish Week. n.d.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Events: Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington: YISE Annual Banquet". National Council of Young Israel. n.d.
  12. ^ "Events: Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington: Ice Skating". National Council of Young Israel. n.d.
  13. ^ "Programs". Greater Washington City Kollel. n.d.
  14. ^ "Satellite Programs". Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington. n.d.
  15. ^ "Constituent Organizations". Jewish Community Relations Council. n.d.
  16. ^ "Organizational Purpose". Canfei Nesharim. n.d.
  17. ^ "Nature of the Torah: New ecology initiative hits the ground walking". Canfei Nesharim. n.d.
  18. ^ a b c d "Riggs Park Congregation Plans for Own Building". The Washington Post. 14 October 1955. p. 62.
  19. ^ a b c d "Congregation To Start New Synagogue". The Washington Post. 10 May 1957. p. A15.
  20. ^ "Joint Service By Rabbi of Temple Sinai". The Washington Post. 16 July 1954. p. 24.
  21. ^ a b "Riggs Park Congregation Plans for Own Building". The Washington Post. 14 October 1955. p. 62.
  22. ^ "Synagogue to Be Dedicated Sunday". The Washington Post. 20 December 1957. p. B4.
  23. ^ "Gedaliah Anemer, YISE rabbi, Yeshiva founder". Washington Jewish Week. 21 April 2010.
  24. ^ a b c d e Dole, Kenneth (14 March 1964). "Flight to Suburbs Fails To Daunt Urban Rabbi". The Washington Post. p. D6.
  25. ^ a b ""Jews' Year 5724 Starts On Wednesday Evening: Ram's Horn to Sound". The Washington Post. 14 September 1963. p. D21.
  26. ^ Rathner, Janet Lubman (15 October 2005). "An Orthodox Destination Religion Draws Some to Kemp Mills". The Washington Post.
  27. ^ a b Bernstein, Dovid (15 April 2010). "Rav Gedaliah Anemer zt"l". Matzav.com.
  28. ^ a b c d Schudel, Matt (29 April 2010). "Rabbi led large Orthodox Jewish enclave". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  29. ^ "Services Set To Mark New Facilities". The Washington Post. 27 April 1973. p. 88.
  30. ^ "Levaya Of HaRav Gedaliah HaKohen Anemer ZATZAL". The Yeshiva World News. 15 April 2010.
  31. ^ "YISE dinner to honor rabbi". Washington Jewish Week. 11 November 2010. p. 37.
  32. ^ "Obituaries". The Washington Post. n.d.
  33. ^ "Obituary, cont". The Washington Post. n.d.
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