Celebrating 'Double Chai'

By Lisa O'Neill, in 1994

When Ruth Notkin first became involved in the Temple Beth Emet, members met in a carpenters union hall and a Methodist Church and held High Holy days services at a women's club in Garden Grove. Notkin, who is from New York, said most of the people involved at the time were from the East Coast. "There was a warm feeling because most of us did not have much family in the area," she said. "We were each other's families." Members then bought a small house on Emily Street and began meeting there. It wasn't until 1963 that the congregation moved to its present five-acre location on Cerritos Avenue. Orange County's first conservative synagogue, Temple Beth Emet is now celebrating it's "Double Chai" or 36th anniversary. Chai is Hebrew for 18 and means life and good luck. As part of the celebration, 36 trees will be planted in Israel. The temple is asking that no individual member contribute more than $1. The temple has 22 founding families who are still active. Notkin is one of the 22. So is Shirley Berko, the temple's first woman president. Berko, president from 1980-82, said she's seen many changes in the more than 36 years she's been with Temple Beth Emet. "When we first started, women were just here. We didn't participate," said Berko, 59. "Now, we have full participation." Berko, who was the first woman to hold the Torah at a High Holy day service at the temple, considers the congregation her extended family. "It's a major part of my life," she said. "If you live in Los Angeles, I don't think you feel the community feeling that we have here in Anaheim."