December 5, 2025
“If you build it, they will come.” Many of you will remember these famous words from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams when Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer, ploughs his corn fields to build a baseball diamond. The film, arguably my favorite baseball film, reveals that Ray is on the verge of defaulting on his property. Without his crop, he is unable to earn enough money to make the payment. His brother-in-law ridicules him for destroying the one thing that could provide income. It is not often that one ploughs a corn field; fast forward nearly 30 years and in real life, three brothers are planning to plough their own corn field.
Sterling, IL is home to Nik, Alex, and Ricky Jakobs. It was also once home to Temple Sholom, a synagogue that housed Jewish life for several generations. However, due to the closure of the Northwestern Steel and Wire Plant, many who called the area home were forced to move away, leading to the demise of Temple Sholom. Those who remained could not maintain the building. The synagogue was sold, and like many other small town midwestern synagogues it became a development of condos and businesses.
The story of Jewish life in Sterling began with the Jakobs’ grandfather, Norbert Jakobs, who survived the Holocaust and moved to the area in 1949. He bought land and began planting corn, soybeans, and other crops. On Rosh Hashanah, Nik pitched a tent on the field and the Jews who remained in Sterling gathered to hear the shofar and welcome in the new year with Rosh Hashanah services. Nik’s vision was to take part of the cornfield and rebuild Temple Sholom. His purpose in doing so was to create a museum that told the story of Jewish life in midwestern small towns and created a sacred space for those in and near Sterling to come and gather as a Jewish community. Nik and his family were not rebuilding solely because of his own family’s connection to the land, but also because of the many Jewish families in the area who yearned for a Jewish home.
As I reflected on this story (which you can read more fully in the Forward), I thought about what it takes to create and sustain Jewish life. It takes the fire inside of the people who are drawn closer to Jewish heritage, Jewish pride, the Jewish people, and Jewish faith. That fire is fueled by a vision that is tended to each day. In the article, mentioned above, Benyamin Cohen writes, “Hope, here, isn’t an idea. It’s a practice, the daily work of planting what you may never see bloom.” We are truly blessed at Beth Tikvah to share in the vision of creating sacred community. While we have a building and a thriving congregation, it takes the same will and desire of all of our members to plant a garden that can flourish and can continue to grow.
From our volunteers who serve our community in many different capacities, to our staff who till the soil inside our building every day, we flourish because we share a vision for what Jewish life can look like in Northwest Columbus, OH. Together, we nurture Jewish learning; we instill a sense of Jewish pride, tell our Jewish story, and add pages to the next chapter. We do the sacred work of building a better world for our neighbors and community. This work is only possible because of the people who sustain it.
I am so grateful to all those who support our sacred work through Life & Legacy contributions, gifts to Mishpacha, Annual Commitments, as well as the volunteers whose dedication gives our synagogue its unique character. I hope you will take the time to read about the building of Temple Sholom in Sterling, IL and think about how all of us can find the fire to continue to build and nurture what we have created together in Northwest Columbus.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner