A NEW VOICE by Talia Joffe
D
esks and cabinets stacked with papers and knickknacks clutter the small office. Large exposed pipes hum overhead, drowning out the clicking of keyboards and a man singing in a side room. Muffled chatter and echoing footsteps in the stairway can be heard through the thin walls. This is not the kind of place you’d expect to be a house of worship, but this is the current headquarters of Congregation Kol Emeth, a Conservative Jewish synagogue in Palo Alto.
According to Kol Emeth’s senior rabbi David Booth, of the service). It was certainly an improvement a synagogue is a “communal learning home for a from the small room previously used, but it did not Jewish community… essentially a Jewish church.” age well. The stained glass blocked natural light, Besides being a house of worship, it can also func- and during holidays and major events, the seating tion as a social center, school, event hall, park, had to overflow into the social hall. and more. Synagogues can come in all shapes As the synagogue aged with nearly no changes to and sizes and are found all around the world. The the building, the congregation grew to over three Conservative movement is a fairly new branch of times the size the synagogue was originally built Judaism. The movement is egalitarian and mod- for. With increased attendance came increased ern but focuses on conserving Jewish traditions funding to fix facilities, but the synagogue was still and culture. It is often seen as a middle ground struggling. “You had a roof that was leaking, you between traditional and more progressive expres- had heating, ventilation, air conditioning equipsions of Judaism. For example, women and men ment that was failing. You had rat infestation. can hold equal positions, but You had failing windows and many Conservative Jews also “The building was not doors. You had failing lights,” keep strictly kosher. Kol Emeth, recounts Bernstein. Rablarge enough to house which means “voice of truth” in bi Booth recalled, “It gave Hebrew, is a synagogue with a our current needs us everything it had to give, tight-knit community and many the place was falling apart.” traditions. Kol Emeth has had a and certainly wasn’t It eventually became clear consistent presence in the local large enough to house that maintenance and repairs Jewish community for decades, were becoming too costly, our future needs if we but their image is currently goand after a lot of discussions ing through a thorough shift- the were going to contin- the community decided to synagogue has been knocked completely restart. ue to grow.” down and is being completely The decision to rerebuilt. build the synagogue was -Stuart Bernstein Kol Emeth was first built agreed on by nearly the enin the 1960s when the Jewish tire congregation in 2011, but community- and the general population- of Silicon it took over six years for the construction to begin. Valley was quite small. While “the building was not The Kol Emeth construction committee was faced of any architectural merit,” according to longtime with a series of challenges, such as obtaining congregant and project lead Stuart Bernstein, it building permits and finding the right contractors was more than enough for the members that at- and sub-contractors. The volunteer leadership tended and could even hold up to 200 families if group has had people leave and join many times, needed. It was conveniently located in a neighbor- and the original contractors and architects were all hood near some major streets and had a nonde- laid off due to stagnating progress and rising costs. script color palette consisting of light brown and Kol Emeth was stuck in a vicious cycle where they dark brown. For a while, the small synagogue was had to raise enough money before filing for a persufficient, but as the area grew and changed, the mit but permits were not being filed since there Jewish community did too. In 1983, Kol Emeth were no concrete designs, and the architects did went through its first and only remodel, with a not want to design until they had an expected budbrand-new sanctuary added. The new sanctuary get, but there was no exact budget to report until was long and tall, with large stained-glass win- enough donations came in. In early 2018, the Kol dows and a raised bimah(podium for the leaders Emeth community finally said goodbye to the fail-
ing building as demolition began. The rooms and hallways were quickly converted into a giant dirt pit, and Kol Emeth would soon be rebuilt literally from the ground up. Before any buildings were demolished or any contractors were hired, Kol Emeth went through a long process of getting community ideas and feedback. The new building had to represent the values and passions of the whole congregation, so everyone could feel welcome there. “We went through a process of really getting to the core of ‘who is Kol Emeth?’… So, we actually identified a bunch of keywords, like ‘humility’ and ‘learning’ and ‘Torah’ and ‘faith,’ that we saw sat at the center of who we are as a congregation,” explained Rabbi Booth. Kol Emeth “wanted something more significant… that pushed the boundaries of architecture beyond what one would have expected,” said Stan Field, principal architect of Field Architecture, who was certainly up to the challenge. As a member of Kol Emeth himself, he already had an idea of the personality and values of the congregation. He also wanted to tell a story with the design and make sure it felt connected to nature. Jewish symbolism is reflected in many as-
pects of Kol Emeth’s new design. The overall aesthetic is inspired by the mishkan, the Tabernacle built by the Israelites when they were wandering the desert for 40 years, according to the Torah. Since it was constantly being taken down and reassembled in a new location, the mishkan is described as a very humble structure made from materials available in the wilderness, as opposed to the massive, ornate, awe-inspiring Temple in Jerusalem centuries later. The new Kol Emeth sanctuary follows the exact dimensions of the Tabernacle described in the Torah and is built from all-natural materials. The mishkan is also described as having a surrounding curtain to close itself off from the ordinary tents and harsh desert around it. Field hopes that the trees on the perimeter of the synagogue will create a similar, but metaphoric and spiritual, barrier. He “liked that idea of an inner world and an outer world, so when you arrive inside, you felt somehow special, and it had a sense of the sacred” (Field).The architecture of the sanctuary will also continue the feeling of being enclosed in a sacred space. The ceiling will be made up of thin, curved wooden slats that bulge in toward the center of the room, to emulate a tallit (prayer shawl) or wedding canopy overhead. The
ceiling “drapes over the entire congregation, and one feels as if it embraces them” (Field). The curves also help create a natural, organic feel in the building. Another notable feature of the new synagogue is that it will be LEED platinum certified. LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an organization that ranks and certifies how environmentally friendly a building is, and platinum is the highest award possible. The synagogue uses many strategies to minimize heating and cooling and will produce energy using solar panels. It will also be made of all natural or recycled materials. The building will also have a net-zero waste system. Environmentalism and appreciation for nature are very present in Jewish texts and traditions, so the synagogue should reflect those values. As Rabbi Booth puts it, “the way that we construct [the synagogue] has to be reflective of the values that the community holds.” The parking lot was also moved underground, opening up a greater area for green space and trees. Other important features include a courtyard at the center with a large iconic olive tree, just like in the old building. “It won’t be the same olive tree,” Rabbi Booth concedes, “but it will hopefully create a lot of familiarity for people in that new space.” There will also be a new preschool to attract young families and provide early Jewish education for young children. With the brand-new building, Kol Emeth hopes to provide a more inviting environment for the community. With the new, larger synagogue more alternative services can be held for people who prefer nontraditional prayer. Kol Emeth also hopes to attract a new and bigger crowd, since the congregation has been aging with the building. The old building gave off an old-fashioned impression to the younger generations, but the synagogue hopes that its modern and green design will attract and retain more young tech workers and their families. “Young people wanted a contemporary space… an environment that makes them feel better,” explains Bernstein, “So by listening to those new and potentially new congregants, and building a building that satisfies some of their requests, we think we’ll be able to attract that demographic.” The reconstruction and rebranding are especially important now since the number of Conservative Jews has been steadily decreasing in recent years. Between 1990 and 2013, the number of self-identified Conservative Jews in America fell by over 21%. Rabbi Booth is not concerned, however, since membership at Conservative synagogues across the country has actually been increasing during the same time period. Judaism on the West Coast has been spreading, and he hopes that the new Kol Emeth building will continue that trend. Kol Emeth is planned to open in December 2019, right in time for Hannukkah. Like the olive tree in the courtyard, Kol Emeth will look different on the outside, but it will be a fresh take on something familiar. “It will be a real magnet for the community that’s beginning to make its home here,’ concludes Rabbi Booth. “The Jewish community that’s being drawn by tech and by values are going to really feel like they want to come be a part of the new Kol Emeth.”
T
alia Joffe is a junior at Los Altos High School and Freestyle Academy, where she studies animation. Talia enjoys music and plays many instruments, including snare drum in marching band. She has been a Kol Emeth congregant since her baby naming there.