Temple to celebrate renovation

By D.A. WILKINSON
VIDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- A Jewish congregation is filling its new sacred space with greater faith.
Ohev Tzedek-Shaarei Torah Congregation, 5242, Glenwood Ave., will have an interfaith service to celebrate the inclusiveness demonstrated by its renovation project.
For good measure, the temple will have the service during Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday that celebrates religious freedom.
The dedication is from 9:15 to 11:45 a.m. next Saturday.
The renovation began as an effort to improve members' access to the temple and continued with a greater desire to reach out to others, said Rabbi Simeon Kolko.
The actual work was finished earlier this year at a cost of about $60,000, according to Jerry Rudick, a member of the temple who oversaw much of the work.
The temple dates to 1957. The sanctuary was last renovated during the 1980s.
What prompted renovation
The renovation began after a service during which an elderly man's family had to carry him up the steps to the bimah, the elevated reading area.
Discussions began on whether a lift could be installed to get to the bimah or a second bimah could be installed at the congregation's level. The second bimah was ruled out.
"It highlighted a handicapped person," Rudick said. "It isolated them."
Instead of an ungainly lift, congregation member Arthur Einzig drew up plans for a ramp that blends into the sanctuary's appearance.
During the renovation, two rows of seats were taken out to accommodate people in wheelchairs. The ark, which holds the temple's scrolls, was refurbished. Holders for the scrolls outside the ark were moved closer to the ramp. New lighting and new carpeting were installed. Prayer books with modern language were purchased, replacing ones from the 1930s.
Project goal
A goal of the project was to end the isolation of some people. But the bid to be inclusive has helped revitalize the congregation, with an eye toward the future.
Or, as Rabbi Kolko put it, "Our vision changed."
The spiritual growth is base in the idea of Tikkun Olam, or "perfecting of the world."
Rabbi Kolko said, "God had within him the power to create a perfect world. He didn't."
Jews are called to work in partnership with God to make the world the best place possible. That requires people to look beyond their circumstances to help those in their synagogue or community.
The result, said the rabbi, "is a willingness to look beyond our needs."
That spiritual freedom is also reflected in Hanukkah, which is also called the Festival of Dedication or the Festival of Lights. The festival began at sundown Friday and ends Dec. 7.
Hanukkah commemorates the first recorded uprising in history for religious freedom.
What it's about
A small group of Jews defeated repressive Syrian troops and regained control of the temple in Jerusalem. The Jews needed eight days to purify more holy oil for the temple's lamp. A miracle was attributed to a one-day supply of oil burning for the eight days.
Rabbi Kolko said the miracle of the first night of Hanukkah focuses on those who knew they had a one-day supply but believed it could burn longer.
"The miracle was that they had the faith to undertake it," said the rabbi.
And that goes to the activities at the temple.
"Why do we undertake these things?" asked the rabbi. "There's a sense of what was right, a sense of it's the right thing to do."
wilkinson@vindy.com