The History of Congregation Ner Shalom

Adapted from the remarks of past president Barbara Lesch McCaffry at the celebration of our building’s centennial in 2010.

In May of 1982, under the leadership of our founding rabbi, David Kopstein, a small group of people came together to form the Sonoma County Synagogue Center (SCSC) – a congregation affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement. The Reconstructionist movement’s commitment to the equality of the sexes and to tradition having a vote but not a veto attracted many of those who joined in its early days. Our first Shabbat service was on May 7, 1982.  

From its beginning, song has played a significant part in our ritual and our founding music director, Jonathan Flier, taught many new melodies for ancient prayers. It is a tradition that continues to this day for our community.

For many years we were without a permanent home, and we held our services in different locations. Most services were held in the blue room at the Rohnert Park Community Center.  When we added a religious school, called Dor Hadash (“a New Generation”), it also met in a variety of locations, especially classrooms at Sonoma State on Sundays.

There are three formative events in our history that stand out in my memory: the day we received our torah scroll, the evening we met as a community to consider purchase of this building, and the day that the building was dedicated.

I recall a phone tree early in our history indicating that the service that Friday night would be a special one. Toward the end of the service a torah scroll was danced into the blue room under a chuppah. This was an 18th-Century scroll from Sobeslav, Czechoslovakia, that had survived the Holocaust. (More about the scroll’s history by clicking here.) It was a night of joyful celebration and we continue to honor and remember the people in that small village. 

As our congregation and religious school grew, so did the desire for a permanent home. Art Condiotti, a real estate developer, wanted Rohnert Park to annex some property off of Snyder Lane. To effect this deal, he donated land to religious entities, such as the Catholic Church and the Baptists in Rohnert Park. Sonoma County Synagogue Center was given 5 acres.  As member and past president Alan Ziff recalls, “There was an old building and water tower on the donated site, but it was in bad shape and was something of a ‘Winchester Mystery House.’” The land was undeveloped and transforming it would have been beyond our means.

At that time there were 50 to 60 families in the congregation. Alan Ziff was asked by Rabbi Patti Philo, our second rabbi and David Kopstein’s wife, to head the board and attempt to find us a home. He couldn’t find “anything suitable” in Rohnert Park. Then another real estate broker who specialized in commercial property told him about the “old Cotati Cabaret.” It was in “horrible condition” but could be transformed to a decent synagogue and community center for the congregation. The lot belonged to the Community Support Network (that provides services to the homeless and mentally ill) that operated out of the little house facing Old Redwood Highway and didn’t have money or use for the former Cabaret site.

A three-way deal was proposed: The synagogue would give the Snyder Lane property in exchange for the Cotati Hub property. The lot lines would be changed so that The Community Support Network—with the aid of the City of Cotati—could purchase the house and part of the surrounding property through a Community Development Block Grant. 

But the community needed to come together before any purchase was finalized and we were given one-time access to the building. All the members were called and asked to come with lawn chairs and flashlights as the building did not have electricity.  It had not been used in a few years and there were dried leaves on the floor that crunched underfoot. It was the first time was as a congregation had a service marked the end of the Shabbat, called havdalah. Our then musical leader, Lisa Iskin, led us in song.

Everyone was asked to donate at least $100 “to prove that this is not just talk.” Ninety-five percent of the congregation agreed; and $90,000 was raised or pledged at the meeting. The building needed a new roof, electrical system, and sprinkler system. The Hebrew Free Loan Association gave a $25,000 loan, and two members contributed “matching funds.” Additional lenders and architects were found. As Ziff says, “This whole thing was like a miracle; if any one part had fallen through it couldn’t have happened at all.”

Former Board President Reese Thornton got to work filling bullet holes from the Cotati Cabaret era with little pieces of mahogany, and then created a ner tamid, an eternal light to hang in front of the aron kodesh, the ark. Deborah Thornton created the paintings of trees on the aron kodesh’s doors. Additional decoration was created by former Board President George Triest and his wife Margo Norman. The palm trees out front were donated by Jeff Summers’ family in memory of their son, Justin. On October 16, 1994 the building was at last dedicated. There was a procession from Rabbis Kopstein and Philo’s house in Cotati culminating in dancing the Torah scroll into the new building and placing it in the ark.

Shortly after the dedication of the building, Sonoma County Synagogue Center changed its name to Congregation Ner Shalom – the light of peace.

(Here end Barbara Lesch McCaffry’s 2010 remembrances.)

In 1998, Rabbis Kopstein and Philo left to take posts in Hawaii and New Zealand. Ner Shalom continued to grow under the leadership of Rabbi Elisheva Sachs Salamo, and Dor Hadash thrived under the direction of Gesher Calmenson.

After Rabbi Elisheva’s departure in 2007, Ner Shalom seemed to be at a crossroads. Many members whose children had aged out of Dor Hadash left the synagogue, and the membership dropped precipitously. A rabbinical search was launched, but there was no consensus on the Board or in the membership about what the congregation was looking for in a rabbi.

In September 2008, new member Irwin Keller volunteered to head up the High Holy Day services while the rabbinic search continued. Technically a layperson, Reb Irwin brought to this engagement a lifetime of Jewish learning, language and music, as well as performance chops as a singing drag queen in The Kinsey Sicks, America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet. The chemistry of these High Holy Days were phenomenal, and the Board asked Reb Irwin if he would come on staff and serve as a part-time spiritual leader. He accepted, and the rabbinical search was cancelled.

During Reb Irwin’s tenure, Ner Shalom began to grow again. In particular, individuals who had long felt alienated from their Judaism felt a new kind of welcome through Reb Irwin’s generous and imaginative approach to Jewish practice. From 38 households in 2008, Ner Shalom grew back to 125 households by 2018. Dor Hadash gave way to a collaborative school held with Congregation B’nai Israel, called “J School,” which ran from 2011-2019. Since then, Ner Shalom has offered an innovative, experiential family education program called Nitzanim.

Also during Reb Irwin’s tenure, music came back into the fore. Ner Shalom developed its own repertoire of liturgical music, including compositions by Lorenzo Valensi, Atzilah Solot, Susie Stonefield Miller, and Reb Irwin. The Good Shabbos Band came into being, offering a changing body of music every Shabbat; the Ner Shalom Singers began to offer a choral voice to the High Holy Days; and Atzilah Solot offered monthly chant circles, focusing on the repertoire of Rabbi Shefa Gold.

Ner Shalom also became Northern California’s primary practitioner of the innovative, theatrical style of Torah reading called “Storahtelling.”

After over a dozen years serving as Ner Shalom’s Spiritual Leader, Reb Irwin received his rabbinic ordination through the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal in January 2021, and is at last our officially ordained rabbi (although his preference is to still be called “Reb”).

Congregation Ner Shalom looks forward to continuing to be a deep and innovative resource to Jews, family members, and all seekers drawn to our style of community and spirituality.