Building Our Synagogue Is Their Greatest Mitzvah

By Emily Jennewein, President

There may be no higher mitzvah, nor anything more lasting in congregational Judaism, than building a synagogue. The devotion, humility and pride of those who helped with the vision, design and construction of Beth Israel's magnificent La Jolla campus was evident at a sold-out dinner and packed service on March 16.

Dan Epstein

Dan Epstein, co-chair of the Architect and Building Committee, said building Beth Israel was the most meaningful project of his long and varied career in construction. He recalled countless meetings and extended negotiations that, he concluded, were well worth the effort. He spoke about the hard work and selfless contributions of his co-chair, May Sebel, and many others including Bob Berton, who chaired the land acquisition committee, Melissa Garfield Bartell, who chaired the art committee, Helene Ziman, who chaired the interior design committee, Sally Wyte, who chaired the landscape committee, and Ted Mintz, who chaired the construction development committee. Epstein and his wife Phyllis were co-chairs of the evening to honor those who built the bricks and mortar of our congregation.

Douglas Austin

The campus’ architect, Douglas Austin of Austin Veum Robbins Partners, recalled the spirituality he felt in designing the campus to look like a small part of Jerusalem in San Diego. Though not Jewish, Austin visited Israel, read extensively about the history of the first and second temples in Jerusalem, and as the son of a minister, brought a learned background to the project.

Robert Price recounted how very meaningful it is to his family that members of his family have been involved in creating all three of Beth Israel’s synagogues. Along with Elliot Feuerstein and the late Stan Foster, Price helped raise the funds for the current campus. Price cited his work with Stuart Simmons, Beth Israel’s executive director emeritus, as the most gratifying of all his work on the project.

Rabbi Jonathan Stein

Past President and 150th Anniversary Chair Mary Ann Scher introduced former Rabbi Jonathan Stein, who addressed the congregation about the importance of participating in a Jewish community and recalled his own involvement with the planning and building of Beth Israel’s campus. Rabbi Michael Berk encouraged members to heed Rabbi Stein’s message to fully participate in the life of our Beth Israel community.
Stein, as the current president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, previewed the forthcoming report on the future of Reform Judaism, which will envision a future that addresses the major challenges facing the Reform Movement: how technology changes the nature of community-building and affiliation, financial challenges, and the meaning of being a religious movement in a culture that is inherently anti-institutional.

Rabbi Stein cited his greatest legacy to Beth Israel as having brought Rabbi/Cantor Arlene Bernstein to our congregation. Rabbi Stein and his wife Susan last visited Beth Israel in 2008 when they helped us honor Rabbi/Cantor Bernstein for her 10 years of service.

The evening was the final stop on Three Temple Tour that enabled us to visit each of Beth Israel’s former homes, and to re-live many glorious memories. The first board meeting of the anniversary year was held in our original synagogue building, now a historic monument in Old Town. And we conducted an authentic, Classical Reform service from the 1940s in our second temple, where we lived out half of Beth Israel’s history. Stan Schwartz, Beth Israel’s temple archivist, was invited to sit on the bimah in recognition of his invaluable historical contributions throughout the planning and celebration of the 150th anniversary year.