Kesser Israel celebrates an old friend

By Paul Haist

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Members and friends of Congregation Kesser Israel gathered at the Meade Street shul Dec. 17 to say goodbye to their beloved synagogue, which was the congregation's home from its founding 90 years ago in 1916.
The location of the Orthodox congregation in the heart of what was once old South Portland's vibrant Jewish community had become inconvenient in recent years as Jewish families relocated farther to the south and west of the city center, making shomer Shabbat observance a very long round-trip trek by foot.
The congregation plans to develop a property it has acquired in the Hillsdale area, while it meets temporarily at the Multnomah Arts Center, both within convenient walking distance of most of its members.
The Meade Street shul is for sale. It began its life as the Emanuel Baptist Church, an outgrowth of what was know as the Meade Street Mission established in 1888. The building erected by the Baptists was acquired by the then nascent Kesser Israel in 1916.
The Dec. 17 event at the old building featured remarks by Kesser Co-president Rick Hazelton, Kesser Rabbi Kenneth Brodkin, former Kesser Rabbi Robert Oppenheimer, and Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Executive Vice President Charles R. Schiffman.

Hazelton, who served as master of ceremonies, reminisced about much that made the old building special to so many, while also recalling some of its idiosyncrasies.
"So many memories of simchas and sorrows, of family and friends long gone," he mused, recalling "the purity of the light" that routinely flooded the sanctuary through the stained-glass window above the ark, "the winter mornings when you could see your breath (in the sanctuary)," and "of course," he added, "the permanent pervasive perfume of cholent and 30-year-old latkes."
In introducing Schiffman, he described the long-time Jewish federation executive as "an inspiring and courageous example to those of us who aspire to lead observant lives while being in the world."
Schiffman had composed a short poem for the occasion in which he recalled the rich Jewish communal life whose center for nearly a century was at the corner of Southwest Meade Street and Second Avenue.
The poem concluded with this quatrain:
New rabbis, new families, new children, new place, all of them
Kesser Israel will always be a glorious Kiddush HaShem.
The kehilla is moving and
leaving downtown;
No longer on Meade Street, but still and always Israel's Crown.
When Hazelton introduced Rabbi Oppenheimer, who served from 1994 until 2005 as Kesser's first full-time rabbi, he said "our community is forever in his debt" for his having "revived and rebuilt Torah Judaism in Portland."
Oppenheimer found a parallel between the recent Hanukkah season and the miracle of the oil that it celebrates and Jewish observance as it is understood and expressed at Kesser.
"If we are going to rededicate the temple, we must go back to that essential oil," he said in reference to the Maccabee's reliance only on the purest oil, although of too little quantity.
He said that Torah is coming to "a great new plateau in Portland, I think because of the efforts of this shul."
He described Kesser Israel as "the place in Portland where uncompromised observance could be the core that could burst into the flames we see today."
In calling upon Kesser's current rabbi, Hazelton credited Brodkin and his wife Aviel for having "made building Kesser Israel the core of their lives." He said, "Because of Rabbi Brodkin, Kesser Israel now looks forward to a season of promise."
Looking forward to the building of Kesser's new home, the rabbi looked to the congregation's past in the building they were in that day to celebrate.
"We look to this building," he said, "to understand the spirit of Judaism and what we can take with us."
Brodkin, too, found inspiration in the Hanukkah story as the story of "a small group of people committed to Torah."
He likened their success to the continued success of Kesser under Divine will.
"It is only the result of so much perseverance," he said. "If Kesser is standing here today?it is because the people were so deeply committed."
Brodkin also offered praise for the rabbi he succeeded.
"Rabbi Oppenheimer's legacy is understanding the unique needs of the people of Portland and (his) steadfast commitment to maintaining the standards of Torah." Turning to his colleague, he added, "I can't imagine coming here if you had not been here."
Hazelton summarized what all had tried to say that day.
"As beautiful as this is, it is not because of the building. Rather, it was and is because of what we did and attempted to do here, because of friendship and love. That will never change," he said, adding, "All of you always have a home at Kesser Israel."