[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 70 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E916-E917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TEMPLE SHOMER EMUNIM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to recognize the 125th 
anniversary of the Temple Shomer Emunim in Sylvania Ohio. The 
congregation commemorated this most auspicious occasion in special 
services and celebration on June 2 and 3, 2000.
  In 1870, there were about 30 Jewish families in Toledo, Ohio, most of 
whom were Orthodox. A small number of these families sought a more 
liberal practice of their faith and organized a Reform congregation. 
Those early services were held in homes and conducted by visiting 
rabbis. The band of families practicing in the Reform movement formally 
established a Temple in 1875 and the congregation was dedicated as 
Shomer Emunim-Guardian of the Faithful. This name was suggested by 
Rabbi Isaac Wise, founder of America's Reform Judaism and is taken from 
Isaiah 26:2, ``Open ye gates that there shall be a righteous nation-
guardian of the faithful . . .''
  In those first years, the congregation worshiped in a small church 
rented from a Christian congregation. In 1879, it was decided the grand 
sum of $12,500.00 would be raised in order to build their own 
sanctuary. With Toledo's Jewish population at the time settled in a

[[Page E917]]

downtown neighborhood, a small building was built on Tenth Street in 
downtown Toledo where the congregation remained for 23 years. The 
original Temple was formally dedicated by Rabbi Wise. As Toledo's 
Jewish community grew, the congregation moved to a larger building on 
Scottwood Avenue which was previously owned by a Methodist 
congregation. By 1916, the congregation had outgrown that building, and 
a new major synagogue was built on Collingwood Avenue. Nearly 100 years 
after its first quiet beginnings and as its members moved to the 
suburbs, the congregation built a new synagogue in suburban Sylvania in 
1973, where the Temple remains and has flourished, an integral part of 
the community. It is affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew 
Congregations, the national organization of Reform Judaism.
  For a century and a quarter, the Temple Shomer Emunim has been a 
fixture of life in Toledo's Jewish community, and our community as a 
whole. It has been a place to develop spiritual well-being and personal 
growth, and strengthen the bonds of family and faith. Its rabbis and 
members have stood as leaders among us, and have provided both guidance 
and wise counsel. As we reflect on more than a century of growth from 
its humble inception to its current prominence, we look forward to the 
future of Temple Shomer Emunim. Mozel Tov!

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