Temple Sholom 20th Anniversary Booklet (Cincinnati, OH)

1974

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Temple Sholom

Dear Friends,

I have been at Temple Sholom for three and a half years, and in that time I have come to know and appreciate the warm feeling, good fellowship, and unique spirit which characterize our congregation. The credit for whatever claim to greatness Sholom can make goes to Rabbi Stanley R. Brav and those far-sighted leaders who sowed the seeds, nurtured the plantlets, and tended the garden over the formative years. We now are reaping the harvest of their labors; we now are enjoying the rewards of their dedication. Now we may ask a question that gives pause: do we still have a pioneering spirit to benefit the next generation as we were benefited?

At this 20th anniversary year we must admit (in all candor) that Sholom’s pioneering spirit has diminished. Like the State of Israel, we too face the challenge of instilling new vitality and vigor into older self-images. What then can succeed the pioneering spirit? - only our progress in loving each other and rededicating ourselves to the Jewish convenient with God.

As we “shep nachos” on our 20th birthday, and as we say a heart-felt shehecheyanu, let us resolve to tap down into renewed sources of energy, devotion, and love. In place of “pioneerism”, let us settle down to “progress”, for progress, as Victor Hugo defined it, is “the onward stride of God.” May God bless our efforts.

Rabbi Donald M. Splansky