It was 1903, the turn of the century, when a group of men met at the home of J.L. Mairson to organize a synagogue. The name, Rodeph Sholom, (Pursuers of Peace), was proposed by S.S. Zelnicker.
The birth of Tampa’s new congregation was met with great enthusiasm. Starting with 26 families, it grew rapidly, and within a few years there were 100 families. With the growth and the well-known civic pride of our people, the old temple, as it was referred to in those days, had to give way to a more modern and substantial building which was erected in 1925 at a cost of $85,000. This beautiful sanctuary and the subsequent addition of the David Stein Educational Building located on Palm Avenue served the congregation well. These buildings stood as a symbol of Conservative Judaism until 1968 when the present building on the Bayshore was constructed.
Our new synagogue, modern in design, retains the classic features of traditional synagogue architecture. Its spiritual focus and liturgical reverence was guided by Rabbi Stanley Kazan and Cantor William Hauben.
During the intervening years as the congregation grew, many special events occurred. For the first time in our history, women were elected to the Executive Board. Bernice Wolf became the first female president and Sandy Turkel served as Corresponding Secretary.
Study has always been at the center of Jewish life. At Rodeph Sholom, it has existed in a variety of ways. In addition to regular religious school schedules and youth organizations, there have been Torah study sessions, adult education programs and also adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations.
With the merger of Beth Israel Synagogue in June of 1980, Rodeph Sholom grew in members and spiritual strength. The leadership of Beth Israel gave our congregation new vigor and support. Among them, Judge Ralph Steinberg, Cyril Silver, Gregory Waksman, Archie Skop and Mark Lewis were actively engaged for many years.
Beginning in 2008, the Building Committee moved forward with Enhanced Rodeph, a series of projects funded by generous contributions led by Diane & Leon Mezrah and Lucille Oster. The highlights of this project were the placement of windows on the upper part of the north and south walls of the Sanctuary to let in natural light, recovering/reconditioning of all the chairs in the Sanctuary, and building a handicapped access ramp to the bimah, and putting new carpet on the bimah.