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As Congregation Rodef Sholom’s physical space is transformed, we know many of you have been wondering where our beloved sacred items from the building have found a new home. In order to create space for our future home, these items are continuing their journey onto new lives. So many of you have contributed your time and attention to ensure that the items we love are well-cared for as they find new homes. These acts of tzedakah have provided us a tremendous opportunity to help positively impact our community, while reducing waste. 

 Many of the ritual objects from the old building are now being put in new service in a variety of ways. The Sanctuary door, glass panels, and other items are now in the hands of the furniture designer, Aaron Silverstein, to be repurposed for our future Sacred Space. Furniture was also donated to the Iglesia Nueva Jerusalem Church in Novato, and Chabad of Novato received a patio heater, a ping pong table and our podium for their new synagogue. On our campus, Brandeis Marin and the JCC Early Childhood Education Program received boxes of art supplies, games and holiday stuff for little Junior Jews. 

Other well-loved items found new uses in homes scattered across our community and beyond. Hundreds of books from our clergies’ libraries went home to congregants’ literary collections. College students from Rodef Sholom families and beyond received kitchenware to help stock their dorm rooms and apartments. High chairs and cookware were donated to families resettling here in Marin. Our immediate neighbors, Venetia Valley School and Parnow House, have received clothing, jewelry, and accessories from the Women of Rodef Sholom. A new family-owned restaurant in the Canal was grateful to be able to use some of our tables, chairs, high chairs and kitchen ware as they start their new business. Additionally, miscellaneous items have been donated to a range of other organizations that serve our community, including Bloom Consignment, the Corte Madera Women’s Improvement Club Scholarship Fund, and The Welcoming Home. Our hearts are filled to think of the items that have served our Rodef Sholom community so beautifully over the years, in service of new communities. 

In addition to these tangible items from the building, a hundred cuttings from our pomegranate tree were handed out at the groundbreaking ceremony on June 12th, so that a small element of our old building’s history and significance could be transplanted to the backyards of congregants throughout Marin. We are told that some of these cuttings are already sprouting new leaves, just in time for the High Holy Days. Soon, we will welcome a new year filled with new beginnings that will always carry elements and memories of our past.