Leaders of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, which has served the Pasadena area for more than 100 years, have confirmed that the headquarters of the Conservative synagogue and Jewish preschool, B'nai Simcha, are among the many victims structures of the Eaton program. Fire, which had burned 10,000 acres in Pasadena and Altadena as of Wednesday afternoon.
“The property is gone,” CEO Melissa Levy said in a phone call with The Times.
He added that while the destruction of the congregation's historic building is devastating, it is not his primary concern at this time.
“We have many parishioners who have already lost their homes and many with houses next to houses that are burning,” Levy said. “We're trying to focus on our people now and then we'll get to the building.”
In a letter sent to members Wednesday morning, leaders assured the community that the congregation's Torah scrolls had been rescued from the sanctuary, chapel and classrooms before the fire destroyed the building. They are now safely stored in a congregant's home. The Torah is a sacred book for the Jewish people and is treated with reverence and care.
“We are devastated, but we will rebuild. “We are here, together, and we will be fine.”
— Pasadena Jewish Temple Leadership
Founded as Temple B'nai Israel of Pasadena in 1921, the community that would become PJTC purchased the Spanish-style building on North Altadena Drive, just north of East Washington Boulevard, in 1941 and has remained there ever since.
Jews have not always been accepted in or around Pasadena; In the early 20th century, exclusionary covenants prohibited the sale of property to different groups, including Jews. Temple B'nai Israel went from being a religious center for the local Jewish community to also becoming a cultural and recreational center. In the late 1940s, the community added a larger sanctuary and social hall (where the Van Halen band would later practice), additional classrooms, and a popular swimming pool (now full). It changed its name to the Pasadena Jewish Community in 1949 before finally settling on the Pasadena Jewish Center and Temple to honor both sides of its identity in 1956.
More changes came in the 1990s, when changing religious practices and local demographics led PJTC to merge with Shomrei Emunah, a Jewish synagogue in Sundland-Tujunga in 1997 and Shaarei Torah in Arcadia 12 years later. Today, PJTC is the only Conservative-affiliated synagogue in the western San Gabriel Valley.
The close-knit congregation currently has around 400 member families, most of whom live in the geographic area from La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta to Monrovia and Arcadia.
Rabbi Alex Weisz, senior rabbi at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, grew up going to PJTC and said he is confident it will recover.
“My family has been involved in the community for decades, and if anyone can make this work, it's the people there,” he said.
PJTC leaders also expressed their commitment to recovery.
“In the wilderness of ancient times, and in Pasadena today, we know that shrines have always been built and rebuilt,” the leaders wrote in an email. “We are devastated, but we will rebuild. “We are here, together, and we will be fine.”
