Temple or Rishon

7755 Hazel Ave
Orangevale, CA 95662
916.988.4100

In 1984, a group of five families got together and started a Reform Jewish congregation which they named the Sunrise Jewish Congregation with Allen Kane as the first president. The first service was held on June 24th, 1984 at the home of Ralph and Ceil Davie in Fair Oaks. 42 people attended that first service. In the early years, Friday night services were held twice a month at members´ houses.

For the next few years, services rotated among homes, and eventually moved to different locations, including a few churches, a Holiday Inn, the Maidau Center in Roseville, and eventually found a home next to the "donut shop". Initially, services were conducted by Temple members, and in 1985, we had our first "Rabbi" (student Rabbi David Cohen). There followed a series of student Rabbis, including R. Wechsler, R. Bob Davis, R. Andy Teperson, and R. Kenny Weiss. In 1991, we hired Rabbi Schwab as our first part time Rabbi. In 2001 Rabbi Michael Remson took over as interim Rabbi, followed by R. Yossi Liebowitz and Rabbi Oblath. In 2004, Rabbi Sheryl Nosan-Blank became our Rabbi and served for the next five years. In July 2009, Rabbi Alan Rabishaw became the Rabbi for Temple Or Rishon.

During these years, there were two momentous events. In 2000, we celebrated the opening of our current Temple site at 7755 Hazel Avenue in Orangevale. Then in 2004, we again celebrated the opening of our Hebrew school on site, which has grown to become the largest Reform Jewish Hebrew School in Sacramento.

Today, our 250+ families enjoy the warmth of Or Rishon´s community. We conduct services every Friday night at 6:45PM and a full service with Torah reading on Saturday mornings at 10:00AM, preceded by Torah study at 9:00AM. Sunday´s Hebrew school finds lots of kids everywhere – which is as it should be. Even our seniors get into the act with monthly get-togethers. Our Mens club and Sisterhood have monthly meetings with special programs. The Temple I filled every day with activities, education, and services. We continue to welcome everyone that wants to share in our religious community.