Temple Judea to Celebrate Opening of New Campus

After 10 years of planning and 18 months of building, members of Temple Judea are expected to unveil their new Tarzana campus on Lindley Avenue in September. Early reports suggest that the synagogue will be architecturally spectacular.

The new campus replaces the congregation's 50-year-old temple building, which had become too small to accommodate its members, according to Karen Twersky, the temple's membership vice president. The clergy and temple members began to divide their time between the Tarzana temple and Temple Judea in West Hills.

"It really started to feel very fragmented," said Twersky. "We felt we needed to belong back in one place, and decided to rebuild our main campus in Tarzana."

Twersky told Encino Patch that the grand reopening will consist of 10 days of events and programming.

"We wanted to say thank you to our members," said Twersky. "We’ve planned 10 days of activities for members and the general community, and everything ... is completely free of charge."

Al Weiner, the chairman of the building committee and a past president of Temple Judea, has been overseeing the construction and design of the new campus.

"It’s been a massive effort with lots of people volunteering their time," said Weiner, who mentioned the key contributions of the temple's executive director, Ellen Franklin, along with the work of Dr. Irving Klasky, a member who has been working on the development of the new campus for many years.

Weiner told Patch the building committee faced many challenges, not only because of the difficult economic times for fundraising, but also because of the physical challenges of building on a confined, 3.5-acre site. The committee requested proposals from 17 architectural firms; 11 responded and seven were interviewed. According to Weiner, one firm stood out, Herman, Colliver and Locus.

"We went to see their work and we were just knocked out, not only by the beauty of their designs, but also by their ability to use space well," said Weiner.

"They designed a sensational campus for us. It was an interactive process between them and congregants and the building committee," said Weiner. "Our charge to them was to make as much use of the space as possible within our budget. As a result, almost every space in our new building is a multipurpose space."

The temple also contains four new classrooms, a youth lounge, remodeled administration offices and a new gift shop. It boasts some artistic features, too, including a grand staircase called an aliyah, which is Hebrew for "ascending."

"It turned out, serendipitously, that there were six flights of stairs," said Weiner, "and we realized that there were, in the Bible, six days of creation. The architects found a ceramic artist to depict the six days in the risers in ceramic tiles."

Another key distinguishing feature, said Weiner, is an aluminum veil with a cascade of Hebrew letters laser-cut into the design. The veil will cover each of the temple's sacred spaces.

The final service at the old campus on Valley Circle Boulevard will be held on Sept. 9 at 6:15 p.m; after that, the campus will close. The first service at the new campus will be held the following day at 10 a.m. At 7:30 p.m., the new sanctuary will be consecrated.

On Sept. 11, a full day of interfaith remembrance of the events of 9/11 is planned. The mayor will also be present for an official ribbon-cutting. On Sept. 16, the first Friday Shabbat service will take place, followed by a free Shabbat dinner for members.

Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana; 818-758-3800; templejudea.com.