About CBI

Mission Statement
History of The Congregation
Recent Developments at CBI
Our People

Mission Statement

Congregation Beth Israel is a welcoming center for the enrichment of Jewish life in the North Valley. Our mission is to inspire, provide, and advance spiritual, cultural and educational opportunities for our diverse membership.

We are a growing community dedicated to the Jewish values of study (Torah), worship and practice (Avodah), social action (Tikkun Olam), acts of kindness (Gemilut Hasadim), and connection with the Jewish People (Am Yisrael).

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History of the Congregation

In 1917, Morris Oser was elected its first congregational president, Bernard Koltonowski, vice president, J. Oscar Goldstein, secretary treasurer, with Samuel Korn, Isadore Greitzer & Dave Breslauer comprising the board of trustees. In 1918, a permanent synagogue was established in the Ostroski Building at Second and Main Streets. The only synagogue north of Sacramento, it was described by the Chico Daily Enterprise as beautifully designed and appointed according to Jewish traditions, with a seating capacity of about 100, ample for the present needs of Chico Jewry.

Isadore Greitzer helped convert the space into a synagogue and he designed the cabinet to serve as the Ark containing the Torah. He had the cabinet made by the Diamond Match Company and installed it himself. The Torah scroll was presented to the congregation by Ricka Breslauer (grandmother of current member Mendel Tochterman) of the nineteenth century Chico pioneer family. Handwritten with a goose quill and handmade ink, it was an honor and a treasure to be received by CBI. A local church donated benches for the synagogue.

Dedication of the synagogue on June 3, 1918 attracted wide interest. The dedication services began with a Hebrew prayer chanted by Attorney J. Oscar Goldstein, in his rich baritone as stated in the Chico Daily Enterprise. Mr. Goldstein made introductory remarks and a benediction was recited by Rabbi Herman Lissauer from Temple Beth Israel in San Francisco, who also delivered the sermon. Mr. Goldstein served as lay leader from 1919 to 1924.

Due to a decline in the Jewish population, the synagogue was disbanded in the 1930's. It was briefly revived during WW II when an Army Corps Base was established at the Chico Municipal Airport. Following the end of the war the congregation was again disbanded. At that time the Torah was turned over to Congregation Sherith Israel of San Francisco for safekeeping.

In February 1957 Rabbi Leo Trepp, faculty member of Napa and Santa Rosa Colleges, was invited to attend a Religious Emphasis Week at Chico State University. While in Chico, Rabbi Trepp addressed a gathering at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Puritz. This meeting appeared to stimulate interest in reactivating the congregation. Two events were organized in the spring of 1957, a Sunday School for Jewish children and the first community Seder at the Hotel Oaks on April 16th. Also, later that year a Rosh Hoshanah service and dinner were held in September at the Hotel Oaks. Approximately 60 persons attended.

Out of these beginnings in 1957, the congregation was formally reorganized in 1958 and took the name Beth Israel that had been used in 1918. The initial membership was about 15 families. During these renaissance years the congregation met in various locations, sometimes at the Unitarian Fellowship Church on Filbert Avenue, sometimes the Seydel Building, and sometimes the Senator Theater on Main Street. High Holy Day observances took place at the Hotel Oaks or Knights of Pythias all on W. First Street or the Chico Art Club on Third and Pine Streets.

In 1960, Attorney Mendel Tochterman drafted Articles of Incorporation for the congregation, which was incorporated as a non-profit religious organization. Congregation Beth Israel received its charter on January 21, 1961. In that same year CBI's first Bar Mitzvah ceremony of Tracy Norman Puritz, son of Mr. & Mrs. Sam Puritz, took place.

Martin London served in the 1970's as both spiritual head and cantor. Following him, services were led by Shelly Little, a student at Chico State, for one or two years. Following Shelly, Sidney Shnayer or David Frankel conducted services. Besides lay members, the congregation also drew upon visiting rabbis, generally from San Francisco. Initially CBI was affiliated with the Reform branch of Judaism. However, in the late 1960's, the congregation broke with the UAHC and has remained unaffiliated with any of the major branches of Judaism.

Dr. Leonard J. Kent (Nitsa Schiffman's uncle, now moved to Florida) spearheaded the movement to own our very own religious home. A search by Sam Belmonte (married to Marilynn Snower) resulted in finding the building at Hemlock and E. Fourteenth Streets. A milestone was reached by the congregation in 1969 when, after half a century of sporadic existence, it was able to purchase this building. This was primarily due to the fact that Jack Rawlins (married to Elizabeth Oser), Dr. Kent's neighbor, loaned CBI the funds to purchase the building from the Salvation Army for a permanent Synagogue - assisted by ten more individuals donating funds to help accomplish the acquisition. One of CBI's lay leader's husband, Tim Little, brought Headstart to CBI and they remained tenants for about 2 years. Then, for a period in the 1970's, the building was also used by the Drama Department of Butte College to hold classes and performances. In 1975, the Church of Reorganized Latter Day Saints used the facilities on Sunday mornings. These revenues, and the monies brought in by rummage sales, helped Congregation Beth Israel to burn its mortgage in 1975 at a party happily hosted by Sadie Morten, mother of Shelly Little.

Members of the congregation did the renovating, working evenings and weekends to turn the building into a synagogue. The Ark is the oldest part of the synagogue having been used by the congregation in earlier years. Upon re establishing the congregation, the Torah was brought from San Francisco and presented back to the congregation by Attorney Mendel Tochterman (grandson of Ricka Breslauer). In the year 2003, Mr. and Mrs. Tochterman are still members.

Dr. Laurence York and his wife Carol, both artists, designed and built handcrafted doors which have since been replaced. The traveling Ark was redesigned and rebuilt by Norman Corwin who, in the year 2003 is also still a member. The Torah table was built by Rene Price's father, Charlie Nichols of Gridley. During the 1970's, Dr. Irv Schiffman and his wife, Nitsa, had the windows on each side of the Ark removed and the back wall paneled with wood. The Ark was re paneled and Nitsa painted the gold leaf.

Sarah Achene and David Halimi were responsible for raising the Bima to its present height. Jess and Rene Price constructed the steps. During the ensuing years, Irv and Nitsa Schiffman were instrumental in getting a new ceiling installed as well as carpeting on the walls and the flooring redone. Long-time member Bracha (Beverly) Pence created and made the mosaic over the doors leading into the back yard.

No history of CBI would be complete without including the formation of, as well as the contributions of, Haverot/Sisterhood. Haverot started in the spring of 1989 with a Birth of a Sisterhood tea. The name Haverot was chosen. As translated from Hebrew it means "women friends". Haverot began with about ten enthusiastic women and by the spring of 2003 had reached a membership of about 65 women. Haverot/Sisterhood rarely spends money on itself with the exception of the Big Tenth Anniversary Blowout in the spring of 1999. Haverot was formed not only for the Women in Judaism connection but for the well-being of CBI as well as a very focused outreach program. In the past, outreach has benefited Catalyst, victims of the Oakland Hills fires, and the synagogues in Sacramento following the fire bombing, among others. Haverot has aided the CBI Youth when they took a tour of Israel and has donated monies to the Religious School program and teachers. Regularly the ladies of Haverot present a Kiddish cup to all Bar or Bat Mitzvah youth.

Initially Haverot's fund-raising bought items for the kitchen and other items within the synagogue. Now the fund-raising targets a specific project, i.e. the present target is the kitchen. Haverot also made and donated the Tree of Life quilt to be used as an ongoing fund-raiser for CBI by selling leaves to honor or remember someone.

During the early 1990's the three room classroom building was constructed with funds from donations. Until then, classes were held in small rooms in the synagogue, including the library. Following this construction, David Halimi and Jess and Rene Price built the planter boxes outside the classrooms.

As you are most likely aware, Congregation Beth Israel is still a building in transition. There are many plans in the works to redesign and modernize parts of it. There is also a group working to create a Biblical Garden in the back yard.

I hope you enjoyed these snippets of CBI history and if I have incorrect information or omitted anything you are aware of, please do let me know!

Respectfully submitted by,

Jean A. Corwin

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Recent Developments at CBI

Congregation Beth Israel's building has seen a variety of beautiful improvements in the last couple of years, including extensive gardening and landscaping done by members, new air-conditioning, remodeling of the Rabbi's office, a complete remodeling of the Kitchen by the Sisterhood, and development of the Marion J. Corwin Library. We have purchased new Shabbat and Holiday prayer books, a kosher Megillah for Purim, and Haggadot for Passover. In March, 2004, CBI dedicated a second Torah scroll donated by the Halimi extended family.

Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan became spiritual leader of the synagogue in the summer of 2003 and has joined our dedicated lay leaders and members in building an active and welcoming Jewish community at Congregation Beth Israel.

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Our People

Our Rabbi

Julie Hilton Danan

Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan joined our congregation in August 2003. She and her family moved from San Antonio, Texas; for the past 13 years Rabbi Danan was the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am, a Reconstructionist Congregation, in San Antonio. For over two decades, Rabbi Danan was a major contributor to community service, Jewish education, and interfaith and multicultural associations in South Texas and with national organizations. We look forward to joining with her in these endeavors in Chico.

Rabbi Danan was ordained in July 2000 through the ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal; she has worked extensively with Jews of all denominations. In addition to her experience as a congregational leader and her broad familiarity with major branches of Judaism, Rabbi Danan is fluent in written and conversational Hebrew. She is an accomplished scholar of Judaica as well. She did undergraduate study in Jewish Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and received her degree from Tel Aviv University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Hebrew Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of The Jewish Parents' Almanac.

November 2004--Rabbi Danan Selected for STAR PEER Program
Rabbinic leadership in the 21st century requires individuals that can articulate a compelling vision of spiritual purpose while leading a complex nonprofit organization. Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal (STAR) has stepped up to the challenge of preparing rabbis for their multifaceted role with its unique professional development program: Professional Education for Excellence in Rabbis (PEER). This is the only program of its kind to combine practical knowledge with ongoing mentoring, and to build a bridge between the spiritual and secular components of rabbinic training. The program is open through a competitive application process to congregational rabbis of any denomination who are two to five years past their ordination.

Rabbi Danan was one of 17 rabbis around the country to be selected for participation in this year’s PEER program. The program helps participants acquire essential management skills, identify their personal criteria for a successful rabbinate, and develop a roadmap toward creating a vibrant community.

Rabbi's Publications

Executive Board

President	David Halimi
Vice President	Harriet Spiegel
Vice President	Michael Mulcahy
Vice President	Sheri Trimboli
Secretary	Sue Cottrell
Treasurer	Stan Gottlieb
Past President	Bob Cottrell

Committee Chairs

Building and Grounds	Marshall Thompson
Communications	Renee Everett
Fundraising	Irv Schiffman
Library	Wendy Diamond
Membership	Bev Paull
Ritual	Helene Ginsberg
Religious School	Lisa Rappaport
Social Action	Al Abrams
Social & Cultural	Bonnie Mitchell
Sunshine & Mitzvot	Irma Dakof
Sisterhood	Anne Gottlieb

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