SHOMREI TORAH WILL DEDICATE LONG-AWAITED WEST HILLS TEMPLE.

Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer

With a motorcade of Holy Scriptures and piercing blasts of the ram's horn, members of Shomrei Torah Synagogue will mark a turning point Sunday in the life of their congregation - the dedication of a newly built temple in West Hills.

The event, climaxing an 18-year, $7 million undertaking, will usher in an era of renewed growth for the 700-member Conservative congregation and make Shomrei Torah the third synagogue to open along a 3-mile stretch of Valley Circle Boulevard.

``God knows, we've waited long enough for it,'' said Rabbi Eli Schochet, the congregation's spiritual leader, as he stood in the roughed-in sanctuary of the new 43,000-square-foot complex. ``It's a remarkable facility, and I think for the first time in our congregational history, we'll be able to do all the things we've wanted to do.

``Now the beauty of worship will be enhanced immeasurably,'' he said.

Shomrei Torah's recent history illustrates two trends shaping synagogues in the San Fernando Valley: the merger of smaller congregations with larger ones, and the growing concentration of Jews in the west end of the Valley and nearby communities in Ventura County.

Shomrei Torah was formed nearly two years ago from a union of two older congregations, the 150-member Temple Beth Ami in Reseda and its 550-member neighbor, Congregation Beth Kodesh, in West Hills.

By then, Beth Kodesh had already secured financing for a new synagogue to replace the cramped quarters it has occupied for 35 years - a 12,000-square-foot sanctuary donated by a Catholic church in June 1961.

In recent years, space at the Shoup Avenue temple has been so tight that the synagogue was forced to borrow a nearby Mormon Stake Center to hold services for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

The constraints of the old building also created difficulties for the synagogue's education programs.

``We've had to change the furniture around as many as three times a day to accommodate the preschool, the afternoon Hebrew school and adult education in the evening,'' said Judy Krigsman, Shomrei Torah's executive director. ``We want to be able to attract new members and have the space to offer events and for the community to join us.''

Sunday's dedication of the synagogue, following an inaugural dinner dance tonight, will actually mark the congregation's first step in a gradual relocation from its current address about 2 miles to the east.

The first Sabbath services at the new site are scheduled for Friday night and June 22, and the synagogue will move its administrative offices July 1, Krigsman said.

Although heavy construction is slated for completion by July 15, interior work and finishing touches will likely continue for weeks, said Fred Lipsig, synagogue member serving as the job-site coordinator for the project.

``If we finish by Aug. 1, I'll be very happy,'' Schochet said. ``It's like waiting for the Messiah. It's a very slow and patient process.''

Spiritually, the transition will begin Sunday with the relocation of the synagogue's collection of 14 Torah scrolls, each one bearing the first five books of the Old Testament.

At 9 a.m., members of the congregation will form 12 lines - representing the 12 tribes of Israel - and pass the Torahs hand to hand into the sanctuary.

The Torah procession will be followed by songs, prayers and a ceremonial pouring of soil from Jerusalem into a special garden built just east of the sanctuary.

The road to the new synagogue has been a long one.

Beth Kodesh purchased the 10-acre site 18 years ago for about $500,000, but had to wait until 1991 before Valley Circle Boulevard was extended to the property and access was available to sewer lines and utilities.

``At that point, we began our fund-raising effort'' for construction of the new synagogue, Lipsig said.

It took three years for the congregation to secure financing for the project, and construction began in September 1995, Krigsman said.

The congregation's new digs consist of a 26,000-square-foot main building that houses the sanctuary, banquet hall, chapel, administrative offices, gift shop, kitchen, conference facilities and a stage.

Next door are a pair of two-story education buildings, each containing 24 classrooms.

Overall, the complex provides nearly four times more interior space than the current building.

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Photo: Rabbi Eli Schochet says Shomrei Torah's new, expande d spiritual home has been 18 years in the making.

David Crane/Daily News