OUSD Honors Jewish American Heritage Month: A Legacy Rooted in Oakland

Jewish Roots in the Oakland and the East Bay

One powerful part of this history connects directly to Oakland’s public schools. Rabbi Meyer Solomon Levy, also known as Myer Sol Levy, served Oakland’s First Hebrew Congregation from 1881 to 1891. He was known as a gifted educator, speaker, and community leader who helped strengthen Jewish life in the East Bay. During his time in Oakland, Rabbi Levy also advocated for Jewish students in the city’s public schools. At the time, Oakland public schools did not excuse Jewish students for the High Holy Days. Rabbi Levy petitioned the school district to excuse students, and the district went even further, directing teachers not to schedule exams on those days.

Jewish families and merchants were already part of Oakland’s early civic life when the city received its charter in 1854. In 1862, a small group of Jewish residents, many of them Polish Jews from Poznań, founded the Oakland Hebrew Benevolent Society, one of the earliest civic organizations in the young city’s history. A few years later, the community established a Jewish cemetery at the base of Mountain View Cemetery, known as Home of Eternity, which still exists today.

The first synagogue in the East Bay, First Hebrew Congregation, now Temple Sinai of Oakland, opened in 1875. Beth Jacob Congregation followed in 1884, growing from the immigration of Eastern European Jewish families to Oakland in the second half of the 19th century. As Oakland’s Jewish community grew, community organizations provided no-interest loans, arranged dignified burials for families in need, visited the sick, and delivered food baskets to people experiencing poverty. These efforts were rooted in a belief that community means caring for one another.

A Local Story Connected to Oakland Schools

One powerful part of this history connects directly to Oakland’s public schools. Rabbi Meyer Solomon Levy, also known as Myer Sol Levy, served Oakland’s First Hebrew Congregation from 1881 to 1891. He was known as a gifted educator, speaker, and community leader who helped strengthen Jewish life in the East Bay. During his time in Oakland, Rabbi Levy also advocated for Jewish students in the city’s public schools. At the time, Oakland public schools did not excuse Jewish students for the High Holy Days. Rabbi Levy petitioned the school district to excuse students, and the district went even further, directing teachers not to schedule exams on those days.

Jewish Heritage, Learning, and Community in the East Bay

Jewish American heritage remains a vibrant part of Oakland through community organizations, cultural institutions, congregations, family services, and spaces for learning.

Today, families and educators can learn more through such places as the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley, which preserves Jewish art, culture, history, and stories connected to the global Jewish diaspora and the American West. Organizations such as the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay and Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay are dedicated to building community, supporting families, caring for elders, welcoming newcomers, and helping people better understand Jewish identity and antisemitism.

We invite you to explore these resources to learn more about Jewish American history, heritage, and identity. 

The Values That Connect Us

A central value in Jewish tradition is Tikkun Olam, often understood as the responsibility to help repair the world. In Oakland, that value has been lived through mutual aid, education, advocacy, public service, and care for neighbors.

This month, please join us as we honor the history and contributions of Jewish Americans in Oakland and beyond, and continue building schools where every student, family, and staff member feels safe, valued, respected, and seen.

Temple Sinai in Oakland in 1914
Image source: J. The Jewish News of Northern California, “J. archives bring humanity of Bay Area Jewish history to life,” 2023

Rabbi Myer Sol Levy
Image source: J. The Jewish News of Northern California, “J. archives bring humanity of Bay Area Jewish history to life,” 2023