LORI EPPSTEIN
Bulletin Staff
With a roof inspired by Abraham's tent, a glass-ensconced sanctuary and its bucolic setting, Los Altos' Congregation Beth Am could never be mistaken for an army barracks.
But lately, the synagogue has had a military kind of problem called hot-bunking.
The congregation's Rabbi Richard Block recalled the dreaded bunk rotation from his days in the Navy. "While one man is on watch, the other is sleeping. By the time the second man retires, the bed is still warm from the first," and still a third man waits his turn.
With many more programs and 900 more members than it had when the building was first constructed in the '60s, the 1,200-member Beth Am has been forced to hot-bunk classrooms, social halls and even storage rooms to accommodate staff and congregants.
But not for much longer.
If all goes as planned, builders will break ground next spring for a $5.2 million expansion. The synagogue's appearance will remain relatively unchanged, but it will gain eight classrooms, more offices and an expanded library.
Until that happens, Sunday school first-graders will continue to hot-bunk their room with preschoolers, who leave behind warmed chairs for their elder classmates. The 200-member Russian emigre program will remain in its cramped and windowless storage bunker.
The Los Altos chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous may move from its regular room at the congregation -- again. And the rabbi emeritus will endure his utility closet-turned-office a little longer, Block said during a recent interview.
"Everything here feels a little like a wandering Jew," the rabbi joked.
After the expansion, the entire campus will be modernized for computer and Internet capabilities. Bathrooms and entrances will be modified for the disabled, the parking lot reconfigured and the heating system upgraded.
Also, as is the fashion at public schools these days, a large multipurpose room will be added for a wide range of activities from meetings and educational activities to b'nai mitzvah and wedding receptions.
"This is a sacred mission," Block explained. "We are building for the Jewish future and securing the next generation's opportunity to serve God and the Jewish community."
Beth Am leaders hired San Jose-based architect Rob Steinberg to design the expansion based on the original 1960s scheme by his father, Goody Steinberg. Both architects are long-time congregants at Beth Am. Rob Steinberg is a product of its Hebrew school.
The elder architect, speaking from his San Jose offices, fondly recalled building Beth Am.
The design's "emphasis was on children" and was aimed toward "teaching them what Jewish identity was all about," he said. "We were postwar families looking for a Sunday school for our young baby boomers."
Most of the buildings on the synagogue's grounds blend in with their woodsy surroundings. But the sanctuary, with its tent-like white roof and glass walls, is Goody Steinberg's signature. Before the eucalyptus saplings matured, it could be seen from miles away.
The synagogue's president, Steve Bauman, said the sanctuary's "vaulted ceiling has the feeling of a soaring spirit. It reminds me of the beauty of the area and God's good work, and I still feel under the tent of community."
It would be difficult to expand upon such feelings. But in fact, the extra rooms will do much to improve conditions for the education staff, Sunday-schoolers and parent-child learning programs. Whether Hebrew students are studying in small groups in the same class, parents and kids are crafting their own ritual objects or teens are hopping about in theatrical improvisation, there isn't enough space, Bauman said.
"Our classrooms are conventional rectangular boxes where frontal learning takes place. If we want something innovative with 20 adults and 15 children, you can't do it in a 16-desk room."
One-third of Beth Am's congregants echoed Bauman's sentiments when they voted to expand during a special meeting of the synagogue administration and advisory board this spring. The initiative passed with 96 percent of the votes.
The membership now must back up its commitment with $4 million by next spring, Bauman said. Fund-raisers have begun to rattle their cups, anticipating the city's official go-ahead.
City officials are set to issue building permits after Beth Am neighbors give their blessings, Bauman said. Congregation leaders will meet with the neighbors at the end of July.
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