As Temple Micah quietly observed its 40th year, a history of the congregation was published: a 200-page volume by Brenda Levenson, entitled Derech Micah (Micah's Journey): A History of Temple Micah (1963-2003).

Brenda first recorded Temple Micah's feats and foibles in these pages some 20 years ago. Now, she has produced the first account of the congregation's most recent decades -- and revised her earlier work. Brenda's witty narrative captures the significant milestones of the Temple's growth from the small band of Jews who found each other and created their own synagogue in Southwest Washington some 40 years ago.

The serious stuff is all there - the poignant memorial service for the assassinated JFK in 1963, the searches for and installations of our rabbis, the experimental joint agreement with St. Augustine's that lasted 25 years, the decision to find a "Jewish space" that led, years later, to a "march of the Torah scrolls" to our new home on Wisconsin Avenue, Rabbi Zemel's openness to the innovations that flowed from our participation in Synagogue 2000, and much more.

Brenda recorded the wacky bits, too. As examples, an early Temple auction night when members, seeking to avoid the costs of a caterer, assembled behind St. A's and bravely added fuel to barbeque stubbornly frozen steaks -- until the Fire Dept. rushed to cool the conflagration after hot coals were dumped in a leafy storm drain; an ecumenical service where the host minister startled his Jewish guests by announcing his quest for their souls, and the iconoclastic skits written and performed by the Mighty Micah Players at our early Kallah weekends.

Members are invited to email the Temple Micah Office to obtain a copy while supplies last.