The shofar blows again in Pacific Palisades as Jews prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and the High Holidays next week.
Although members of the Kehillat Israel congregation won't physically be in the Palisades this year, their spiritual home -- the synagogue -- still stands after the fire.
"When your home burns down, one of the first questions you ask yourself is, 'Do I return?' When I found out KI was still here, it was a reminder of the anchor of this space, this community. We're not just rebuilding a home, we're rebuilding this idyllic life we had before," said Emily Kane Miller, a member of the Kehillat Israel congregation in Pacific Palisades who lost her home in the fire.
When Kehillat Israel's current structure was built nearly 30 years ago, it was designed to be fire-resistant with a metal roof and concrete walls. The Palisades Fire was the first time the building was tested, and although homes burned all around, displacing half the congregation, the building passed the test. A renovation is now underway, which was planned before the fire.
"I hope that this is a Rosh Hashanah, that is a rebirth of healing and of an opportunity to acknowledge the pain and then to look at the rebirth and the newness," said Chayim Frenkel, the cantor for the past forty years at Kehillat Israel.
"This High Holiday, we go in with baggage. We go in with the pain of this year. We go in worried about how it will feel to pretend it's all normal. Don't," said Kehillat Israel's Associate Rabbi Daniel Sher. "The opportunity that comes from this tragedy is a world we can't even finish dreaming about."
The synagogue has always served as a community center for its members. Following the fire, its role will expand to support the entire Palisades community, and welcome that community back.
"Starting to coordinate what it will mean to be a space for other religious institutions to use as well. We have a chance to be a foundational pillar of the rebuilding of the Palisades," said Rabbi Sher.
"The shul has really needed to grow this year. We've needed to be a resource for social services. We've needed to help people understand how to rebuild. We've needed to continue to be a spiritual home, even though our actual shul home wasn't available for worship. We've figured out how to flex, how to level up, and how to stay connected," said Miller, who also serves on the Kehillat Israel Board of Trustees.
Kehillat Israel hopes to have its renovation complete and be back in the building in the spring of 2026, so they can celebrate the next Rosh Hashanah in the Palisades.