Temple Beth El breaks ground on $12 million expansion project

Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester held a groundbreaking for a major $12 million expansion project for its synagogue. Federal, state and local officials joined with Temple Beth El's senior rabbi Joshua Davidson and members of the congregation for the milestone event held May 16. Among the officials attending were New Castle town supervisor Barbara Gerrard, congresswoman Nita Lowey, state senator Suzi Oppenheimer and state assemblyman Robert Castelli. "Today we recommit ourselves to the foundations upon which our congregation stands: worship, Torah study, social justice and community. Within our expanded space we will at last be able to provide appropriate learning environments for every age, celebrate properly our members' milestone joys, and dedicate our sanctuary as a sanctuary. As our patriarch Jacob did so long ago, we will turn our rocky Westchester soil into the foundations of a new Beth El," said Davidson. "All of New Castle wishes the Temple success with its expansion project. The Temple has been a vibrant member of our community for a very long time. It provides excellent educational programs, interesting discussion groups, and offers leadership in current social issues. We are truly fortunate to have the Temple and its members as our neighbors," said Gerrard. "I congratulate Rabbi Davidson and all the members of Temple Beth El on this joyous occasion. The expanded synagogue will help Temple Beth El continue to provide meaningful spiritual, educational, cultural and social justice programs and services, not only to its growing membership, but to the larger Westchester community," said Lowey. The groundbreaking event is a culmination of a two-year long capital campaign that raised $10 million from members of the congregation. "Today's milestone event would not have been possible without the tremendous generosity of those members of our congregation who have contributed to the capital campaign. We are also very grateful to members of our development team whose hard work and dedication over the past several years has made this project a reality," said William Pollak, president of Temple Beth El. The expansion project calls for the construction of a new addition of 18,000 s/f to complement the existing 18,435 s/f building. Construction is expected to be completed in August 2011. The new building is being designed by architect Alexander Gorlin. The new addition, which is designed to blend with the natural setting of the 7-acre wooded property, will feature classrooms, a social hall and kitchen, a chapel/library/music room, administrative offices and restrooms. The current sanctuary will remain the same size but will be restored to its original splendor. There will be additional parking and a realignment of traffic flow through the property as well as improvements to the entrance to the temple property from Rte. 117. Built in 1972, the current synagogue was designed to accommodate a congregation of 450 families, which over the past three decades has grown to 640 families or more than 2,000 people. This has resulted in an overcrowding of the existing building which is currently being used for religious school classes, a nursery school and an adult education program. The expansion will allow the sanctuary to be dedicated to its intended use for worship and lifecycle events. The existing synagogue was designed and built as a memorial to the Eastern European synagogues lost during the Holocaust.