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8a Yahrzeit Memorial Stand
8b Stained Glass Round Windows
8c Rabbinic Portraits
8a – Yahrzeit Memorial Stand
Inspired by Milton Deitch, z”l, a founding member and Past President
Designed and built by wood artist Timothy Sutherland
Acquired for the synagogue’s opening in 1973
At the time Temple Sinai’s building was completed in 1973, wall plaques were antithetical to the congregation’s egalitarian principles. Still, the desire for a tangible way in which members could memorialize loved ones ultimately inspired the creation of this Yahrzeit Memorial Stand, meaningfully designed to reflect tree of life. One of Sinai’s earliest pieces of art, the Yahrzeit Memorial Stand has been in continual use since the synagogue’s opening. Members who wish can purchase a brass marker with the name of their loved one to affix to the stand, and each week the plaques bearing the names of those whose yahrzeits are being observed are moved to the front of the “tree” and placed beneath the Hebrew words: “Zecher tzadik livracha – the memory of the righteous is a blessing.”
Reflection from Maurice Rosenbaum:
Memory plays such an essential role in Judaism that it is even considered a mitzvah to remember ancestors and loved ones who preceded us. I recall from childhood that on one of the walls of the synagogue my family attended were countless names of people’s relatives and loved ones. I remember looking for family and friends’ family names that I knew and thinking the previous generations in which they lived. This Yahrzeit Memorial Stand, bearing the names of former members and ancestors of Sinai congregants, is also a repository of sacred memory for all who come on Shabbat evening to honor the yahrzeit of a loved one. And while the names may not be as familiar, they nonetheless evoke thoughts about generations past, and also help me to make a personal connection with a fellow member who is there to remember.
8b – Stained Glass Round Windows
Installed 2004
Gift of Rita and Herschel Bloom and Linda and Gregory Bloom
These antique, round stained glass windows formerly graced the sanctuary of Congregation Beth Israel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at one time the largest Jewish congregation in Mississippi. Clarksdale’s first Jewish settlers arrived in 1894, and the congregation as well as the synagogue they established enjoyed a long and meaningful history. Sadly, as the Jewish community dwindled, a fate similar to countless small cities throughout the South, so, too, did the temple’s viability. Beth Israel held its final Shabbat service in May 2003, after which all items of Judaic significance were removed from the building (which now serves as a church). These beautiful and historic windows were brought to us by congregants whose family members were affiliated with Beth Israel, and Temple Sinai is proud to display them as an enduring tribute to the countless individuals who planted Jewish roots in the deep South.
8c – Rabbinic Portraits
Founding Rabbi, Richard J. Lehrman, z”l (1968-1979)
Rabbi Emeritus, Philip N. Kranz (1980-2006)
Artist, Ross R. Rossin
Gift of Roger and Corky Gelder
Rabbi Phil Kranz’s portrait was unveiled at his retirement celebration in 2006 when he became Rabbi Emeritus, after serving Temple Sinai for 26 years. Rabbi Kranz remains active in the life of the congregation, teaching, writing, and helping to oversee the collection building in the Library and Learning Center which bears his name. The portrait of Sinai’s founding rabbi, Rabbi Richard Lehrman, z”l, was painted at the same time as Rabbi Kranz’s portrait, although the only photo available for the artist to work from was of Rabbi Lehrman from the neck up. A fun tidbit of Sinai trivia is the fact that from the neck down, Rabbi Lehrman’s portrait is actually painted from a photograph taken of Rabbi Ron Segal, sitting on the arm of a couch.
