Ram's horn celebrates Mt. Zion's 150 years
The shofar blown Friday is believed to be the same one used by the St. Paul temple's cantor during the synagogue's first service in 1856.
By Herón Márquez Estrada, Star Tribune
Last update: May 11, 2007 – 9:17 PM
Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul ended a yearlong celebration of its 150th anniversary on Friday with the blowing of a traditional instrument made from a ram's horn.
The shofar, as it is called, carried added significance: It's believed to be the same one used by Kalmon Lion, the synagogue's first cantor, during Mount Zion's first service in 1856.
The shofar was loaned to Mount Zion by the Minnesota Historical Society, which was given the instrument in 1919 by Lion's daughter, Mrs. Levi Herz.
Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker of Mount Zion said Lion brought the shofar with him to the Minnesota frontier when he was hired by Mount Zion in the 1850s.
Mount Zion members were amazed that the original shofar was available in time to be used for the celebration, which also marks the completion of the writing of a new Torah, or sacred scroll, he said.
"Everybody took a deep breath and said, 'Wow,' " Spilker said. "Some say there are no such things as coincidences, just invisible lines connecting everything."
Lion was not only the cantor, but also the kosher butcher and the circumciser for early Jewish settlers in Minnesota Territory. Lion's circumcision kit is on display at the temple, Spilker said.
The Historical Society unearthed the shofar from its vast collections while assembling objects for an exhibit later this year marking Minnesota's 150th anniversary as a state in 2008. Mount Zion will be included in the exhibit, which will feature 150 of the state's most significant people, places and things, said Bob Horton, director of library publications and collections at the Minnesota History Center.
When a History Center official called Mount Zion last month for background information, the official offered to loan the shofar for the temple's own 150th celebration.
"We're happy to take advantage of the serendipity of this loan," said Mary Ann Barrows Wark, cochairwoman of Mount Zion's 150th anniversary committee. "It reminds us that there were people here before us."
Ram's horn celebrates Mt. Zion's 150 years
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