From the early days of the twentieth century to the 1970s, Shaarai Shomayim continued to evolve as a classical Reform Jewish congregation. Services were conducted in English with a smattering of Hebrew and only a limited number of congregants took part. Rabbis put their own stamp on ritual practice and wielded far more authority than is the case today. Membership continued to grow and broaden as the congregation included not only the descendants of the 19th-century German Jews, but also the formerly Orthodox, more recent immigrants from Eastern Europe. While Jews gained acceptance in many areas of the Lancaster community and in many cases were leaders in business and in some professions, there remained neighborhoods and social clubs where Jews were unwelcome.
Rabbi Davis led us through the Depression and World War II
Daniel Davis, a strong and forceful rabbi, maintained stability through the Depression years and World War II, and fostered expansion during the prosperous years of the 1920s and 1940s. Bulletins were published on a regular basis and the Union Thanksgiving Service with the Unitarian Church became a tradition. Through his popular talk show, "Radio Forum" on WGAL-Radio, Davis became the social conscience of the Lancaster community.
In 1925, the first major renovations to the building were completed. An L-shaped addition on the northwest side created space for a kitchen downstairs, a study for the rabbi, and a library/board room upstairs. Today, the library/board room is the religious school library. The former rabbi's study now houses the congregation's archives. In 1929, the congregation purchased 508 North Duke Street, and the building was thoroughly renovated to accommodate nine classrooms. A new pipe organ was purchased, and the ark and choir loft were reconstructed. The ark, which today adorns the pulpit, was constructed at this time and replaced the original ark, which members complained looked too much like a bank teller's window. Rededicated during this anniversary year, the original ark now stands in the children's library.
The Depression was obviously hard on the congregation, but to help meet its financial obligations, Rabbi Davis took two voluntary pay cuts. The choir agreed to sing for free, and once again, the teachers in the religious school were volunteers. The religious school, which had been free and open to all the Jews of Lancaster County, began to charge non-members. Those members who were able voluntarily increased their dues payments. With these measures, the congregation's operations continued.
The Temple of Tomorrow
In 1941, additional renovations were undertaken, beginning with replacing the original wooden pews with theater-style seats which increased the seating capacity of the sanctuary from 212 to 312. In l944, a major campaign for "The Temple of Tomorrow" raised funds to modernize the social hall, to purchase a large safe for the congregation's archives and to enlarge the kitchen. A second-floor library was built to create a passageway between the Temple building and 508 North Duke Street. All these projects were completed by 1947. 
In 1949, the social hall was named in honor of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of American Reform Judaism, who had dedicated the building in 1896. By the time Davis resigned in 1947 to become the director of the New York Federation of Reform Synagogues, Shaarai Shomayim was in its strongest position in the 20th century. In gratitude for all his service, the congregation presented Rabbi Davis with the keys to a 1948 Nash sedan and his wife with a set of sterling silver flatware.
Rabbi Lester Roubey favored a liberal interpretation of Reform Judaism
Davis's successor, Lester Roubey, was a scholar and intellectual who served the congregation from 1947 to 1952. His was a more liberal interpretation of Reform Judaism. While the Davis era represented a return to tradition with members wearing tallitot and celebrating bar mitzvahs (which had not been celebrated since the 1870s), Roubey swung the pendulum back to the left. As a result, the congregation lost some members to the newly-organized conservative congregation, Temple Beth El.
In 1949, at Roubey's urging, the Israeli flag was removed from the pulpit on the grounds that it was inappropriate to display the flag of another sovereign country. It was not until 1978 that the Board approved the return of the Israeli flag to the pulpit. When Roubey left in 1952, he was succeeded by another short-term rabbi, William Sanderson, whose brand of Judaism was less controversial than Roubey's. But it was Sanderson's successor, Samson Shain, who firmly kept the congregation's ritual practice and services in the Classical Reform tradition.
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