Nearly 200 members--many from neighboring communities such as Campbell, Almaden and Willow Glen--gathered on Sept. 25 to dedicate the newly renovated Willow Glen synagogue. The extensive remodel doubles the size of the synagogue to 26,000 square feet, and incorporates a large kosher kitchen, nursery school and other amenities.

The day began at Rabbi Eitan Julius' home on Santa Inez Drive, only three blocks way from Congregation Sinai's home at 1532 Willowbrae Ave.

"Today is the culmination of years and years of hopes and dreams and prayers," Julius told the members on his front lawn. "And it's just the beginning."

Member Joel Abramson began playing his guitar. The crowd began to clap and members carrying a wedding canopy or, chuppah, came onto the lawn, sheltering the synagogue's past board members, who carried two of its cherished Torahs to the synagogue.

The Torah procession from Julius' home to the synagogue is symbolic of the Jews' marriage to the holy scrolls, which is made up of the first five books of Moses, Julius says.

Mothers clasped their children's hands and elderly couples walked arm in arm along Santa Inez Drive, onto Blackford Lane and across Meridian Avenue. The crowd then came to the new, earth-toned campus on Willowbrae Avenue where blue and white balloons waved in the wind.

Congregation Sinai purchased its four-acre property in 1954. By 1969, members sought to erect a new synagogue to accommodate its growing membership and special programs for children and adults. That effort, as well as another in 1992, failed due to lack of funds. In 1998 the members' dreams began to come together. The membership committed to rebuilding the synagogue again.

By the late 1990s, board president Seymour Hoff says the acreage had construction trailers, an old bank building and a rundown house. Some buildings leaked and the parking lot was full of dirt, causing additional problems when it rained.

"It was home; we loved it," Hoff says. "But we needed to change."

The synagogue began by selling two acres of its land to the Riding Group for $4 million in 2003, which built 21 two-story single-family homes on its parcel. That provided funding for the synagogue to start the renovation process. The members used the money to demolish the old buildings and begin construction. The project took 14 months, at a cost of $6.6 million. While the synagogue was under construction, Congregation Sinai shared space with Temple Emanu-El on University Avenue in the Rose Garden.

New look

Architects David Ramer and David Tractenberg developed the building's design concept based on a Mishkan, the portable shrine that Jews carried in the desert. Just as the Mishkan was at the center of the Israelite camp and was surrounded by the tribes of Israel, Congregation Sinai's center is its two-level sanctuary, surrounded by its nursery school, religious school, social hall with a kosher kitchen, chapel, administrative offices and courtyard.

Member Barry Mirkin put his professional life on hold to oversee the daily construction of the new site. In honor of his commitment, the new chapel has been named the Mirkin Chapel.

"I'm excited to see its reality," Mirkin says. "It's more than just a building."

The sanctuary, for example, is the congregation's pièce de résistance, Hoff says. The sanctuary faces east, towards Jerusalem, and its Holy Ark is surrounded by Jerusalem stone. "Since we couldn't be in Jerusalem, we brought a little bit of Jerusalem here," Hoff says.

The doors on the Holy Ark, which conceal the Torahs, are colored-metal depictions of Mount Sinai in Israel. There is an inscription in Hebrew above the doors that reads, "There is a tree of life for those who cling to it." And above the inscription is a design of the Ten Commandments.

The sanctuary was full of members and well-wishers during the dedication. Speakers included San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism West Coast executive director Jay Weiner, and founding member Rita Pearl.

Pearl remembers when she, her husband Emanuel, and their baby daughter arrived in San Jose in 1949. Many of the Jews who came to settle in the area, she says, were from the East Coast or had fled Europe after World War II.

The congregation began as 10 families from Temple Emanu-El who wanted more tradition and Hebrew in their services. Today, the conservative synagogue has more than 150 families and joined the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in 1997.

"We didn't have any family so we were family for each other," Pearl says. "I'm sure Rabbi Julius and our young members will far surpass our numbers."

The new synagogue is also meaningful for Hoff. Although Hoff has been a member of the congregation since he moved to San Jose in 1968, his childhood was spent on the run in Europe during World War II where he watched synagogues, or shuls, burn.

"To be part of the process of building a new shul, I can't put it into words," he says.

Now Hoff has his sights set on the future, hoping the new building will sustain a thriving religious school and extensive programs for children and adults.

In the foyer outside of the sanctuary, Campbell resident Susie Weitzman watches children play, dodging between adults.

"This really is a kid shul," she says. "This is where our kids know they can let their hair down and be Jewish."

Weitzman is president of the congregation's Sisterhood, whose members study the Torah, read Jewish books, and host monthly Shabbat dinners. Her daughter, Zoe, is looking forward to her bat mitzvah next year.

Her husband, Stan, is also involved and serves on the board of directors. One of the congregation's selling points is that it holds two different services simultaneously, he says. One service is a traditional one where only men lead the prayers. The other is "egalitarian," involving everyone regardless of gender. Julius says it is a unique arrangement for a small synagogue.

"I actually prefer the traditional," Stan Weitzman says. "But when Susie and Zoe are here, I go to the egalitarian service."

Both husband and wife use the term hamish to describe Congregation Sinai, a Yiddish word that means a home-like, cozy atmosphere. Although the new building is still fresh from construction, the hamish feeling remains strong on the campus, they say.

Only weeks after its completion, the building has attracted a number of new member applications and people come in from the street, asking for tours, Julius says.

"People didn't realize how much promise a new building could bring," Julius says. "We're on track for a great next century."

For more information about Congregation Sinai, 1532 Willowbrae Ave., call 408.264.8542.