Fire cleanup closes West Temple for weeks

JANE KAUFMAN | STAFF REPORTER jkaufman@cjn.org | @jkaufmancjn

Afaulty ballast in a light caused an electrical fire and smoke damage Nov. 4 at Beth Israel-The West Temple in Cleveland.

Rabbi Enid C. Lader said she and temple education director Debbie Chessin were preparing to lock the building and were doing final checks after religious school Nov. 4 when the building-wide smoke alarm sounded.

At first, Lader saw nothing. On her trip up from the basement a second time, she noticed a cloud of acrid black smoke near the ceiling of the children’s library, making its way toward the sanctuary.

Lader said she notified the Cleveland Fire Department, stood outside the building at 14308 Triskett Road to flag down the responders and then watched a firefighter carry out two of Beth Israel’s four Torah scrolls simultaneously.

“He held them like he was carrying out children from a blaze,” Lader said. “It was just so beautiful to see him carry them out so tenderly and carefully.”

Beth Israel chair of security Rick Keller and temple president Peter Sackett carried out the other two scrolls.

“The whole building needs to be cleaned from top to bottom,” she said, adding that the temple has insurance to cover the cleaning, which is expected to take three to four weeks.

Lader said she does not know how many of the Jewish children’s books housed in the library were damaged, but there have already been offers to help replace them.

Lader did not have an estimate on damges.

Beth Israel will hold its Kristallnacht commemoration and service at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, 20401 Hilliard Blvd. in Rocky River. The service will feature the Ross family string quartet, along with readings and a presentation by Arnie Milner of Agudath B’nai Israel Synagogue in Lorain, who has developed a Holocaust education program.

Shabbat morning services will be held for the next few Saturdays at members’ homes. For information about service locations, Lader advised people to email bethisrael@nls.net.

Lader said she expects some clergy to take part in the Kristallnacht program especially those who couldn’t attend on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3 when the congregation held services both to welcome new members and to mourn the loss of the 11 people killed at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, as well as two AfricanAmericans killed in Jeffersontown, Ky.

“Our building is the physical center of Jewish life on Cleveland’s West Side,” Lader said. “I know that it’ll get cleaned up. We’ll be back in the swing of things, and although we might not be open for business, we’re definitely taking care of the business we need to take care of.”

Staff at several Panera locations were quite generous in allowing her to set up shop in a booth when she needs to hold one-on-one meetings with congregants, she said. Lader has been working at home with her cell phone as well.

Lader said Sackett has provided thoughtful leadership.

In addition, she said Rabbi Lauren Werber at Elyria’s Temple B’nai Abraham reached out immediately, and Beth Israel will share space at Temple B’nai Abraham for religious school over the next few weeks.

“I felt like this past week was the frying pan,” Lader said. “And we went out of the frying pan and are now into the fire.”

Still, she said she has felt buoyed by the response from members, other clergy and the Cleveland Board of Rabbis.

“We’re definitely not in this alone.”