Prayers provide foundation for new, domed sanctuary

Thursday, August 20, 2009 | by amanda pazornik

Members of Congregation Kol Shofar in Tiburon didn’t have to travel as far as Israel’s Western Wall in hopes of having their prayers answered.

In fact, all they had to do was maneuver through a construction zone, find a spot on a makeshift balcony and watch their rabbis do all the work. 

On Aug. 17, about 70 congregants perched on scaffolding inside the future site of Kol Shofar’s domed sanctuary to watch rabbis Lavey Derby and Chai Levy bury hundreds of their prayers beneath the gravel. The small sheets of paper and even children’s pictures were to become a permanent part of the future floor once the concrete was poured.

Joshua Steinhauer, Kol Shofar’s board president, and Ron Brown, a leader of the synagogue’s capital campaign committee, came up with the idea.     

“We thought it would be meaningful for our community to find a way to embed its prayers into the building, much like the way people place prayers in the Kotel when they visit Jerusalem,” Brown said.

In addition to revamping its sanctuary, the Conservative congregation is adding classrooms and an expansive multipurpose structure. The synagogue also aims to renovate the landscaping, exterior and interior of the existing buildings.

Of the prayers received, many wished the synagogue “mazel tov!” on moving forward with the building project. Some took the opportunity to pray for many more years of memories in the sanctuary. Children participated by sketching their interpretations of what the new project would look like.  

Prayers were collected throughout July in large jars following Shabbat services, and at other synagogue events. For those who couldn’t deliver their prayers in person, e-mails were gladly accepted (former congregants who’d moved away and out-of-towners capitalized on this method). 

A commemorative depiction of the rabbis placing their congregants’ prayers in the sanctuary will be mounted in or near the new sanctuary.

“I was struck by the look on everyone’s faces,” said committee member Bruce Raful. “For those of us who have been working on [the project] for so long, this was simply another step. But for our congregants, who have suffered through the pains of the town hearing process and our fundraising efforts, it was really uplifting to see how awed they were.” 

The construction comes after years of dispute with the Tiburon Neighborhood Coalition, which fought the renovation and expansion project from the beginning. Ultimately, the rulings of the Tiburon Town Council — and the wishes of Kol Shofar congregants — prevailed.

Until the project’s completion, Kol Shofar congregants will be driving all over the area to take care of temple business. The synagogue has temporarily relocated its offices, religious school and sanctuary to various nearby locales. 

For High Holy Days services, the synagogue has secured the theater inside the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. It’s beautiful, yes, but for congregants like Raful, nothing will compare to worshipping in the new sanctuary. 

“In the end, that’s why we’re all doing it,” he said. “For the uplifting of our community.”