As readers of this column surely know, Orange County was late to the synagogue game, not establishing its first congregation, Temple Beth Sholom, until 1943 (85 years after the first Jew settled here!). And when it finally did, it took a while to settle on both a denomination and a rabbi. With the shul growing rapidly, the board decided to be part of the Reform movement. However, Allan Summers, the first rabbi they chose after making this decision was, oddly enough, Orthodox. He only lasted until August of 1944, which TBS attributed to a salary dispute, but more likely was also a theological one. At this point another Orthodox rabbi, Israel Harold Sharfman, was selected to fill in until November, when Rabbi Joseph Levine, who was Reform, would begin; every subsequent spiritual leader at TBS has also been Reform. The synagogue continued to have a number of rabbis at its beginning, most lasting only a few years, until it finally got more sure footing and was able to retain rabbis for increasingly longer amounts of time. By 1960 membership was large enough and enough funds had been raised that construction was begun on Orange County’s first facility specifically designed and built to be a Jewish place of worship. Today TBS is still at that same location, with numerous upgrades leading to the beautiful campus that continues to serve the Jewish community today.
Dalia Taft, Director of the Orange County Jewish Historical Society, highlights images from the archives every month. For more information, please visit https://Www.jccoc.org/Pages/Oc-Jewish-Historical-Society. You can also contact Dalia at Daliat@jccoc.org or at (949) 435-3400, Ext. 360. The Orange County Jewish Historical Society is a program of the Merage Jewish Community Center and is funded by the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County.
