Emanu-El NEXT

After almost 100 years at 2 Lake Street, Congregation Emanu-El has launched Emanu-El Next

Since the 1800’s, Emanu-El has been where we’ve educated our children, found sense of self and fostered a community.

Emanu-El Next will transform Emanu-El’s physical infrastructure, and build our endowment and our capacity to serve our sacred Jewish community. Our home, however, is in great need of repair and renovation. Our building was not designed to meet today’s seismic or security standards, nor does it welcome intimate gatherings or allow us to provide the kind of quality education we would like.

WHAT THIS PROJECT WILL ACHIEVE
Our building is comprised of three elements – the Main Sanctuary, the Courtyard Wing and the Temple House. Congregation Emanu-El is proposing construction of a new Courtyard Wing within the existing Lake Street and Arguello façades, along with significant upgrades to the adjacent Temple House. This project provides an opportunity to address the seismic and safety needs of the Courtyard Wing, and to expand our ability to meet the strategic goal to be a welcoming, accessible home to all Jews throughout the Bay Area.

TOUR THE COURTYARD
Explore a 360º view of the Courtyard

Our Six Strategic Initiatives

To ensure the continuity of the congregation and the building, we have identified six strategic initiatives that will be met with this campaign.

We have to prioritize safety and security improvements – a significant investment is necessary to address existing seismic challenges in the Courtyard Wing. Additional improvements will include new areas for both large gatherings and intimate interactions, from learning classrooms to areas of play. These spaces will facilitate life-cycle events and the improvement of one’s self through enlightened exchange. It’s time to move our place of worship and community into the 21st century with a cutting edge, functional, warm and safe haven open to all those looking to enrich their lives in the Jewish faith.

Safe, Secure, and Sustainable

Emanu-El Next will invest in modernizing and upgrading the Courtyard Wing to today’s seismic standards. The temple will also be redesigned to incorporate best practices in security, with one entrance with multiple layers of security, the perimeter of the building entirely secured, and the children’s play area relocated to the top floor. The original building was designed to be open and accessible in a period very unlike today, when security practices are absolutely necessary.

Warm and Welcoming

Emanu-El Next will restore the original entrance from Lake Street with an inviting welcome center that leads into a light-filled courtyard that draws focus toward the Main Sanctuary. The Courtyard Wing will be bustling with people making friends, taking classes, and engaging with the community. This welcoming ethos will be incorporated into the entire building, with a design focused on fostering engagement and accessibility to meet the needs of all community members.

Intimate Spaces

Emanu-El’s current building is packed beyond capacity, with more than 1,100 programs taking place annually, students studying in stairwells, and adult education courses being held in classrooms designed for children. With this transformation, Emanu-El will become the perfect destination to enjoy small, intimate gatherings through the creation of new, flexible spaces such as a lounge, the Jewish Experience Lab, classrooms with modern technology, and small conference rooms.

Joyous Celebrations

Emanu-El Next will focus on renovating and updating Guild Hall to serve as its premier event location. While Guild Hall has many built-in advantages, it is not currently set up to meet the needs of congregants who want to celebrate milestones and simchas surrounded by family and friends. We will update the space to bring in more natural light, provide a more central entrance, add modern amenities, and create greater flexibility to allow for multiple events at the same time. The space will pay tribute to our beloved building’s history and be available year-round for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, parties, weddings, and other life-affirming events. The renovated space will also allow Emanu-El to make more room available for our community partners, such as those working in the social justice sector.

State-of-the-Art Education

Education is central to Jewish practice and a core value for Emanu-El. Yet our classrooms are undersized, outdated, and without modern technology. In Emanu-El Next, classrooms will be designed to correspond with best practices in modern educational approaches – larger rooms with more open space that allow for collaborative activities and experiential learning, outside environments for learning and play (such as gardens), and integrated technological infrastructure.

Financial Accessibility

A crucial part of the Emanu-El Next project is to make a significant investment in our reserves and endowment. The future of Emanu-El is dependent on our ability to welcome all Jews looking to practice and explore Judaism, regardless of their economic circumstances. We currently offer membership to anyone who would like to join, and we need additional resources to sustain this model. Simply raising our dues and fees to match rising expenses would make it too difficult for many of our members to actively participate in Jewish life. The increase in our endowment will help secure a future with a vibrant membership from diverse backgrounds and ensure there are sufficient resources to maintain our beautiful new home and provide a wide range of high-quality programs and services.

What’s New With Emanu-El Next

2023 Donor Spotlights

January – Leela de Souza Bransten and Peter Bransten
June / July – Lisa Stern
August – Bob Tandler and Valli Benesch
September – Dale Boutiette and Alla Gershberg
October – Nelli and Kevin Perkins

2022 Donor Spotlights

January – David Friedman
February – Richard and Rebecca Goozh
March – Cissie Swig
April – Jan and Bob Newman
May – Kimberly and Danny Sanner
June / July – Myrna and Stuart Aronoff
October – The Ehrlich Family

2021 Donor Spotlights

January – Donny Friend and Doug Goldman
February – Steven Dinkelspiel
March – Rita Semel
April – Sandi Bragar and Jerome Rossen Donor Spotlight and Rabbi Ryan Bauer
May – Kirsten Wolberg Donor Spotlight and Mark Cavagnero, Lead Architect
June / July – Susan Morris
October – Sara Siems
November – Interview with Joel Roos
December – Fred Levin

Our Impact Over Time

Driven by the core Jewish belief of tikkun olam, to make the world a better place, Emanu-El has a long history of deep involvement in the local community.

1906
San Francisco Earthquake Recovery Efforts
Following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger led recovery efforts through instituting an ad hoc ambulance system and spearheading hunger relief and housing programs for the homeless and others suffering due to the disaster.

1920s
An Opportunity to Serve
Building on the history of community service, Emanu-El women volunteered to sew bandages for local hospital patients.

1963
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Addresses our Congregation
Committed to racial justice, Rabbi Alvin Fine invited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to address Congregation Emanu-El as he led our nation in the struggle for civil rights. Emanu-El continues to partner with a diverse coalition of local and national organizations in the pursuit of social justice.

1969 – 1989
Soviet Jews Welcomed
Congregation Emanu-El’s members organized efforts that advocated for persecuted Soviet Jews to emigrate to the United States to find religious freedom and economic opportunity. The congregation continues to support efforts for international human rights.

1985
The HIV/AIDS Epidemic
At a time when mainstream religious groups avoided confronting the HIV/AIDS crisis, Emanu-El clergy addressed the issue through bold sermons and activated the community to respond by raising funds for the Shanti Project. Throughout the 1980s, Emanu-El developed initiatives to respond to the AIDS crisis and combat pervasive homophobia.

1995
Protecting the Redwoods
Rabbi Stephen Pearce viewed halting the clear-cutting of the redwood ecosystem as our moral obligation. Here, Rabbi Pearce’s effort to protect something larger than Emanu-El is carried out by joining with interfaith leaders and environmentalists to save Northern California’s treasured forests.

2017
Standing Up Against Hate
When white nationalist hate groups announced their intention to demonstrate in San Francisco, Emanu-El hosted the city-wide Interfaith Gathering Against Hate. Emanu-El works in coalition with local civic and religious organizations dedicated to strengthening our democracy and promoting the civil rights of all people.

2018
Confronting the San Francisco Housing Crisis
Congregants conduct food, supply and clothing drives to benefit homeless youth at Larkin Street Youth Services. In 2018, Emanu-El partnered with city and business leaders to launch Heading Home, a $30 million initiative to transition 800 homeless families into permanent housing.