Rodef Sholom, Reform synagogue in San Rafael, California.
Rodef Sholom is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue on the Lonee C. Hoytt Jewish Campus at 170 North San Pedro in San Rafael, sharing the site with the Osher Marin JCC and the Brandeis Hillel Day School. Its synagogue, designed by Jane Slater Marquis and Claude Stoller, was dedicated on May 4, 1962, and has a hexagonal high ceiling with a stained glass window donated by the Koch family, stained glass at the front entrance given by Mrs. Harry Albert, and an organ from the Men's Club.
Rodef Sholom was founded in 1956 by eight men, including Harry Albert and Abe Blumenfeld, who led services at the Marin Jewish Community Center. It joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1957 under Rabbi Morton Hoffman. The congregation broke ground on June 4, 1961, and dedicated its synagogue on May 4, 1962, designed by Jane Slater Marquis and Claude Stoller.
The name Rodef Sholom transliterates the Hebrew for "pursuers of peace," taken from a Talmudic saying of Rabbi Hillel. The congregation's Ladies Auxiliary, later the temple sisterhood, formed in 1956, the year of founding. Since 2009 its NITA program, from a Hebrew word meaning "we will grow," has gathered unaffiliated Generation X and Y Jews for havdalah, hikes, storahtelling and a monthly kabbalat shabbat.
The synagogue stands at 170 North San Pedro on the Lonee C. Hoytt Jewish Campus, sharing the grounds with the Osher Marin JCC and Brandeis Hillel Day School. High Holy Day services have been held at the Marin County Civic Center since 1977, allowing the whole congregation to worship together. The religious school building was dedicated on November 12, 1965.
The name Rodef Sholom comes from a Talmudic saying of Rabbi Hillel: "Be among the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace." The congregation's first clergy, Rabbi Julius A. Liebert and Cantor Louis Roller, led services in the JCC sanctuary, and the Ladies Auxiliary formed in the founding year, 1956.
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