When Steven Lewis volunteered to co-chair a 2022 renovation committee for his Pacific Palisades synagogue, he had no idea the project would become his emotional anchor when his house burned three years later.
“It was something positive I could focus on,” Lewis said. “I don't know how I would have spent the last year and a half without this project.”
For the record:
10:26 am May 20, 2026An earlier version of this story said that the homes of two Kehillat Israel rabbis had burned in the fire. Three rabbis lost their homes.
On Friday, the synagogue reopened its doors after being closed since January 7, 2025, following the devastating fire. Kehillat Israel did not burn but suffered significant smoke damage. What had begun years ago as a revitalization project added a layer of remediation. It is now one of the first religious spaces to reopen in Pacific Palisades since the fire devastated the neighborhood where more than 70% of its members lived.
Lewis and his family are among the 230 Kehillat Israel (KI) families who lost their homes in the stockade fireincluding the three rabbis of the congregation, with an additional 250 families being displaced. Most, including Lewis, are in various stages of struggling with insurance, permits and construction, whether they have to rebuild from the ground up or save their homes by repairing damage caused. due to toxic smoke.
Approximately 480 Kehillat Israel families lost their homes or were displaced after the Palisades fire. The reopening of the temple was an enriching moment for a grieving community.
(Photograph by Robin Aronson)
As part of its opening reception, the synagogue hosted Shabbat services. The 400-seat sanctuary was full. Neighbors hugged and stranded in the courtyard and community hall, children strolled with friends, and when it was time for services to begin, attendees clamored in a group of joyful chaos as they tried to enter the newly remodeled sanctuary. The services were filled with singing and speaking as parishioners filled the rows, lined the walls and spilled into the aisles. With a full band accompanying the services of the Reconstructionist congregation, the tone was one of joy, reunion and celebration.
“It was a monumental moment, one that we were very grateful for,” said Meredith Kaplan, a multigenerational temple member who lost her home in the fire. “But I also felt so normal and good. Back in the synagogue, almost, in a strange way, as if no time had passed.”
A new ark, housing the temple's Torahs, was dedicated to the exuberant cantor Chayim Frenkel and his wife Marcy Frenkel.
Cantor Chayim Frenkel and his daughter Mandi Frenkel sing together in front of the new Torah ark.
(Photograph by Robin Aronson)
“The Torahs are always the first thing we rescue from the sanctuary when there are fires,” said Frenkel, who has worked at the synagogue for 40 years. “Knowing that our history is safe and surrounded by this beautiful design, and having it dedicated in honor of me and my wife, Marcy, is extremely powerful.”
The clergy specifically placed the handles of the tall ark on the bottom, so that even preschool children could open it. As the congregation stood before the ark inside the bowl-shaped sanctuary for the first time since the fires, Rabbi Amy Bernstein performed the blessing used to dedicate the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem 3,000 years earlier.
“Let it be a place where everyone who enters finds inspiration, affirmation and connection,” Bernstein said.
While many religious institutions had to close due to the Palisades and Eaton fires, Kehillat Israel was in a unique position to be among the first to reopen. At least 14 sanctuaries burned to the ground last January.
In 2022, temple staff began a limited revitalization project. Handles were falling off and fabrics were showing wear from a major remodel 31 years earlier. Technological needs had also long been overshadowed; Kehillat Israel has been livestreaming its services since the pandemic. So the committee hired architects and builders, made plans, obtained permits and, most importantly, raised funds before the Palisades Fire. The plan was to preserve the original design of the beloved sanctuary, while making technical and aesthetic improvements. Originally scheduled for completion in the fall of 2024, delays to the project allowed KI to begin work on the building quickly after the fire, although with new smoke damage remediation work, and the decision to stay true to the look of the sanctuary became even more prominent. For many, it was one of the last remaining family spaces.
Hugs and selfies abounded at Shabbat services.
(Photograph by Robin Aronson)
Other synagogues, churches and mosques are on the path to rebuilding, but they face the same obstacles as many of their parishioners and members, and more. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents Palisades, says she has been working closely with religious institutions, but insurance disputes and fundraising have been a challenge.
“Their ability to rebuild is very much tied to their active membership,” said Park, who attended the reopening. “But their own members have lost their homes and are mired in their own uncertainty and financial challenges.”
Despite differences in rebuilding efforts, the faith community celebrated a congregation's victory, even if it was not their own. Rabbi Daniel Sher, also of Kehillat Israel, said he received text messages from rabbis across the city encouraging him to enjoy the moment. Rabbi Bernstein is close friends with Rev. Grace Park of Palisades Presbyterian Church, which burned in the fire, and they are excited about what this reopening means for forging bonds between their congregations in ways only the fire made possible.
“It sounds cliché, but the walls between our communities were literally burned to the ground,” Bernstein said. “We are both aware that we would like to start doing more things together, not only for Grace's congregation and mine, but also to unite the people of Palisades, or those who want to come to Palisades.”
The congregation gathers for a Shabbat meal and fills the temple hall.
(Photograph by Robin Aronson)
The synagogue's reopening signals that the wheels of Palisades' recovery are in motion. Carole and David White, who lost their Palisades townhouse, were anxiously awaiting reopening services.
“It means the whole world,” Carole White said. “It really is one day at a time, and some days are better than others.”
“And today is a good day,” David White said. “It's the closest we've ever been to coming home.”
