When congregants of Conservative synagogue Congregation Beth Israel, enter and leave the building, Rabbi Jacob Herber wants them to feel “inspired because the building and what happens inside will speak to the Jewish soul, the Jewish heart, and the Jewish mind.”
So when the synagogue began planning building-wide renovations and improvements, for which construction began Feb. 5, Herber, CBI’s spiritual leader, said the goal “was first and foremost to able to us to provide a synagogue” with those qualities.
“We want everybody to feel welcome and have access to the synagogue,” he said.
The renovations, which will cost about $3.1 million, will affect every aspect of the building, but will focus mainly on Siegel Hall, the synagogue’s social hall; a new main entryway; updated sanctuary; and improved handicapped access to make the synagogue “totally accessible to those who have physical challenges,” Herber said.
The renovations, slated for completion by the High Holidays, began with the focus on Siegel Hall and its kitchen, said Herber. The completed hall will seat more than 500 people, providing “the community with the largest facility for kosher events in the city.”
Siegel Hall will also “reflect the multifaceted needs of our congregants,” according to Marsha Denny, chair of the project’s capital campaign committee. It will be able to serve as space for “sisterhood garage sales as easily as the location for an “elegant wedding,” she said.
The scope of the renovation project was expanded, said Denny, after other congregants stepped forward with additional requests, some specific to the sanctuary.
“Every member’s concerns were heard,” according to Mark Freedman, M.D., co-chair of the fundraising committee and a CBI vice-president, and all of their “different viewpoints were respectfully considered.”
As a result, the project grew to include updates to the sanctuary, which are still in the planning process, adding a more curved bimah that will bring it in closer proximity to the rest of the congregation, and that will be more easily accessible by those with physical handicaps.
‘A turning point’
With the new construction, said Denny, CBI is looking to not only create a facility that will “maintain members and attract new members,” but also one that the “clergy will feel proud of.”
The congregation “felt it was important that [Rabbi Herber] had his own input” in the project, Denny said. Herber, who has been spiritual leader of the congregation since 2003, recently signed a contract to remain at Beth Israel through at least July 2011.
The renovations will “reflect a turning point in the life of the synagogue,” said Denny, who also is co-chair of the project’s fundraising committee and is the synagogue’s immediate past president.
Denny said that Beth Israel’s sanctuary was last renovated in 1981 and Siegel Hall had not been updated for “35 or 40 years.” Therefore all of the facilities were “sorely in need of renovation.”
After receiving the main gift for the project from Marvin and Marilyn Zetley, along with lead gifts from several other families, Denny said the project was able to move forward.
The site of the synagogue will be renamed the Marvin and Marilyn Zetley Campus of Beth Israel, to reflect their contribution to the project.
Donald Bass, current president the synagogue, said “a real rejuvenation” is taking place at CBI.
“We’ve attracted many young members. We want to make sure we have the facilities that will allow them and encourage them to have all of their lifecycle events for their families in our synagogue.”
Herber said the congregation, which has around 450 member families, is continuing to grow. And the Hebrew school, according to Bass, has more than 75 students, which is a “100 percent increase over last year — and it’s just going to keep increasing.
Fortunately, Bass said, Beth Israel was “in a position to attract the interest of donors who are committed to preserving Conservative Judaism in Milwaukee…. We’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
“What we’re very proud of at Beth Israel is that we have a long-term vision,” Freedman said.
“That vision included bringing in the best clergy possible … making sure our programming was relevant and exciting … and [now] creating a physical structure that enhances the spiritual experience and reflects the wonderful things going on inside of its walls.”
The project was designed by Engberg Anderson Design Partnership, Inc., of Milwaukee and Madison. The general contractor is Berghammer Construction Corp. of Milwaukee.
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