San Diego Reader

• Place of Worship | San Carlos

Tifereth Israel Synagogue

• 6660 Cowles Mountain Boulevard , San Diego, CA 92119 | Directions
• 619-697-6001 | Website

Two armed security guards stood at the ticket-check tent outside the synagogue before the Yom Kippur evening service. Inside, things were more jovial: a man assigned to keep things reverently hushed had fashioned a title for himself: “Shusher.” He warned me that “we’re all fasting,” so there would be no food for me to judge. He also told me that “Most Jews who belong to a synagogue are less observant than the synagogue itself,” having joined, more often than not, to please family. Or at least, that’s how it used to be: “The Baby Boomers are the last generation where ... [more]