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"We won every hearing, every time," David Finkelstein, Beth El's former president and its spokesman on the case, said last week. The Mednicks "had their own agenda. It just didn't comport at all with the facts of the case or the law."

A state Court of Appeal recently rejected the Mednicks' argument that an anti-discrimination law called the Unruh Civil Rights Act would apply to Beth El. The act pertains to businesses and some nonprofits, but the court ruled that Beth El has no "business purpose or financial motive."

Finkelstein also denied the temple ever discriminated against Leslie, who was 11 when she enrolled in Beth El's religious school in November 1994.

Instead, Finkelstein asserted that her parents were overly zealous about mainstreaming Leslie into a regular class and misrepresented the amount of care she required.

"We didn't have a problem with the child. She was fine. We had a problem with the mother who was on a crusade for mainstreaming," Finkelstein said.

He noted that the temple has worked with other children who have disabilities. "We haven't had any problems with any of the other handicapped children," he said.

Finkelstein, however, did acknowledge that Leslie's degree of disability was more severe than any other child the synagogue had ever enrolled. And in a brief submitted to the appellate court, the synagogue's attorneys also noted that it became clear Beth El wasn't equipped to handle the situation.

The Mednicks tell a completely different story, asserting that the temple fought for the right to discriminate against a child with disabilities.

Barry Mednick also said he believed his family's case "fell into a hole" in the law. He understands that the Catholic Church can't be sued for excluding women from the priesthood, for example, because such a stance is part of religious doctrine.

"What was done to us was not part of the religion," he said.

Despite losing, the parents still believe they did the right thing in fighting the alleged discrimination.

"We're proud of ourselves that we brought it to light," Barry Mednick said.

The bitterness surrounding the lawsuit is apparent.

Shelley Mednick said she found the temple's attitude "Nazi-like…You can't treat the handicapped this way. That's how the Holocaust started."

Finkelstein called such a claim "ridiculous."

The problems began when the Mednicks joined the 650-member Temple Beth El. The family had been members of Foster City's Peninsula Sinai Congregation for 15 years, but decided they wanted Leslie exposed to a larger number of children.

Their lawsuit alleged they were treated with hostility from the start and were forced to sign a "punitive" contract in order to enroll Leslie at Beth El. Synagogue officials said the contract only required what other organizations required of the Mednicks — that the family provide an aide.

In April 1995, an incident occurred that led the Mednicks to quit the synagogue. Shelley Mednick had been Leslie's aide, but decided to hire a 12-year-old classmate to help Leslie instead.

During recess, however, Leslie was left alone in class and got caught amid horseplay between two children. She became covered with chalk dust and was sprayed with Lysol.

The synagogue blamed the Mednicks for not providing an adult aide, and the Mednicks blamed the synagogue for lack of supervision.

After they lost on appeal this fall, the Mednicks filed for breach of contract in small claims court.

They asked for $2,700, which included the synagogue dues, religious school fees, and the cost of providing an aide in class and an outside tutor.

Finkelstein denied the synagogue breached the contract. The couple lost in small claims court in late November.

The Mednicks had earlier vowed to take the original case to the state Supreme Court if they lost on appeal. They have changed their minds.

Going to the Supreme Court would have taken several years and more money, Barry Mednick said. In addition, he noted, the Supreme Court could chose to ignore the request because the appellate court did not officially publish its opinion on the case.

Leslie, who has autism and delayed physical development, is now a 15-year-old freshman at Aragon High School in San Mateo. Except for math and physical education classes, she is the first "full-inclusion" student with multiple disabilities at that public school.

In the end, Barry Mednick said, "the frustration is minor" over Beth El. The family has since joined Burlingame's Peninsula Temple Sholom, where they said they found a warm, open community. Leslie celebrated her bat mitzvah there and will mark her confirmation there as well.

"We have what we wanted," he said.