Congregation Emeth dedicated our first permanent synagogue on September 12, 2008 with a gala celebration.  We danced with our 2 torahs and brought them into our newly renovated spiritual home in a grand procession and placed the holy scrolls into our Ark. It has been a once in a lifetime thrill to see our building take shape and now we are in our own home which has 6200 square feet of usable space for our congregants and the Jewish community of the South Silicon Valley .  We have 3 small classrooms for religious school, a craftsroom, a teen lounge area, lobby, rabbi’s study, a full commercial kitchen, a nice social hall, library, and a wonderful sanctuary that will seat about 200 people comfortably.  We have designed the space to accommodate our after service “oneg” at the rear of the sanctuary with a small food service area and we are currently working on a plan that will allow for a non-commercial kitchen within the social hall (behind our service bar).  We are hoping to raise funds to place a play structure in the rear of the building for our youth activities and we have already discovered that we can accommodate a seasonal sukkah  that  will seat about 60 people.

At the present time, we are exploring the prospects for our organization to receive a façade renovation grant from the City of Morgan Hill to assist us in the continued efforts to landscape and beautify the exterior of our historic building.  We are also discussing other ancillary uses of the space with a variety of community groups and we may soon be offering some education and dance classes to local residents.  We are also anticipating occasional use of our social hall for events sponsored by non profit organizations as a way to help with financing the ongoing expenses associated with operating the facility.

We look forward to the day when we can upgrade our bimah and add new features such as a Yahrzeit Memorial Board to the sanctuary.  If you would like to remember a loved one with a memorial plaque, please contact the synagogue for details.  We expect to have the Yahrzeit Board ordered around the beginning of November, 2008.

Thank you to all of our investors and donors.  Congregation Emeth is a New Congregation with a 31 year history and we are embarking on many exciting new ventures.  We are growing and are always willing to accommodate new members and fresh ideas.  Our dream of a south valley Jewish home is real and all are welcome to participate, I hope you will join us soon for a visit or a service.

Michael Oshan

President