Tree of Life hires firms to help congregations in rebuilding Squirrel Hill synagogue
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Leaders with Congregation Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha took another step toward rebuilding with the hiring of two consulting firms that will help with logistics of getting back inside the Squirrel Hill synagogue.
“It’s a next step to returning physically and spiritually to the building,” said Barb Feige, the congregation’s executive director. “It is the next step in returning it to being a worshipful place and a community collaboration location.”
The synagogue on Wilkins Avenue has remained empty since Oct. 27, 2018, when a gunman killed 11 people in an anti-Semitic rampage.
The hiring of the firms, Feige said, is a step in a deliberately slow and mindful process.
“We’re going back to wanting to be — and determined to be — more than just a synagogue,” she said.
Chatham University and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh have indicated interest in sharing in the collaborative space that Feige and the congregation envision.
Feige said the building needed work even before the shooting.
“It’s an older building with some delayed maintenance,” she said.
Lipton Strategies, a consulting firm based in Los Angeles, will assist in creating a capital fundraiser to finance the project, said Jeffrey Letwin, co-chair of the congregation’s steering committee. That will include identifying possible donors, crafting a message and structuring the bones of the campaign.
Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, a Strip District-based architecture firm, will work on planning the overall project – wants for the space, working with congregants on what they would like to see and working with other stakeholders such as Chatham and the Holocaust Center.
Having professionals on board takes a lot of burden off the shoulders of volunteers, Letwin said. It also brings a sense of excitement in taking steps forward.
What the end results will look like — structurally and in terms of programming — have yet to be decided. What is known, Feige said, is that it will include a memorial to the 11 killed among the three congregations worshipping that morning.
“We talk about renewal, remembrance and rebuilding — those are the aspects we’re looking at as we head back into the building,” she said.
Letwin said the memorial and returning to the synagogue are separate but related endeavors.
“Next year it would be great to know we have some sort of definitive timeline for when we can celebrate the High Holidays together,” he said.