Rose Fischbein

My nomination to the San Diego Jewish Hall of Fame, of course, is my late mother Rose Fischbein. Rose, a native New Yorker came to San Diego in 1933 accompanied by her husband Dave and her two young sons. Keeping kosher while driving across the country was no mean feat in 1933. Upon arriving she immediately joined the choir at Beth Israel Temple. When the Orthodox Congregation, Tifereth Israel, hired a more progressive Rabbi, Ephraim Siegel, in 1936, the Fischbein family became members. Dave became active on the board of directors and subsequently became president of the congregation, while Rose joined the Daughters of Israel, the congregation's women's auxiliary. While serving as president, Rose supervised schlepped and helped cook Shabbat dinners and Passover Seders for the many Jewish servicemen stationed in San Diego during World War Two. The Daughters of Israel received awards from the Jewish Welfare Board for this commendable project. Rose received hundreds of letters from the grateful parents. In 1939, Rose and Dave formed a group of forward looking congregants to implement the construction of a larger and more appropriate home for Tifereth. They called themselves the Junior Auxiliary of Tifereth Israel . The impact of the Second World War and the prospects for future growth of San Diego, as well as the current membership overflowing the sanctuary during the High Holy Days, made this goal all the more imperative. When a the younger women of Tifereth formed an auxiliary to help the Congregation, Rose became active and became President of the Sisterhood in1960. When some Congregants of Tifereth became unhappy with the leadership of the congregation, Rose joined their ranks and became one of the original founders of the now defunct Beth Tefilah Congregation. Early every Shabbat morning Rose boarded a bus and journeyed to Beth Tefilah to set up the Oneg Shabbat for the congregation. Many Bar and Bat mitzvah students remember Rose giving them a brief inspiring talk and a gift. —Lewis Fischbein, El Cajon, Calif., August 4, 2005