Two local synagogues, Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Or Chadash, are partnering to create a new synagogue with a new mission, even a new name: Kol Ami (Hebrew for “All of My People”).

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Many Jews are familiar with the old joke of a Jewish man stranded on a desert island for years. His rescuers note that he built two synagogues and when asked for an explanation, he said, “The first one I attend, but I wouldn’t set foot in the other one.”

This bit of Hebraic humor illustrates the tradition of loyalty that most synagogue members feel towards their house of worship — whatever the denomination.

A family living south of Sabino Canyon woke up to snow on the morning of March 13, 2021, and it was still coming down when a boy and his dog were ready to play.

Two local synagogues, Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road, and Congregation Or Chadash, 3939 N. Alvernon Way, have decided on a different concept — partnering to create a new synagogue with a new mission, even a new name: Kol Ami (Hebrew for “All of My People”).

To understand the path forward of these two synagogues, let’s take a glance back to their past, leading up to the present.

The idea for Temple Emanu-El evolved from a meeting in 1904, according to the synagogue’s website. It would be the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory, which would not achieve statehood until 1912. Participants hoped the house of worship at 564 S. Stone Ave. could be completed in 12 months. It was actually six years later, when the congregation conducted its first service on the eve of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), 1910. Worshippers braved the dusty, unpaved thoroughfare to attend the service.

Fast-forward to September 16, 1949. A ceremony signaled the closing of the Stone Avenue location. A week later the congregational president was handed keys to the present synagogue on Country Club Road. History buffs will be interested to know that after going through several incarnations, including various churches, the Stone Avenue synagogue is now the Jewish History Museum, which houses various collections and is a venue for Jewish events.

The rest is rich Temple Emanu-El history. The congregation’s website mentions additions to the building and innumerable holidays and milestones celebrated. Different rabbis over the years have added their special stamp to the synagogue’s legacy.

Thomas Louchheim

One of them is Rabbi Thomas Louchheim. As he told me, Louchheim was hired as the assistant rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in 1989 and remained there until 1994.

In the summer of 1995, he was approached by a group of 12 families to be the rabbi of a new Reform congregation, according to the Or Chadash website. He accepted their invitation and in August of that year, the first sabbath service of Congregation Or Chadash (New Light) was held at the Zenith Center, 330 E. Seventh St. In 2001, services were moved to the Junior League of Tucson building. The following year, the synagogue purchased the Alvernon Way property that became its permanent home.

In 2019, as Or Chadash was about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, board members began discussions with their counterparts from Temple Emanu-El regarding the possibility of uniting to create a new synagogue.

“We both had a commitment to be a welcoming place where Jews and others could gather to learn, worship and create a social community, where we could serve each other and our world,” Louchheim explained.

By 2020 all worship services, committee meetings, religious school classes and more were jointly held online, he said.

On Feb. 7, members of the two congregations voted overwhelmingly to unite and form Kol Ami. Exactly how the two synagogue properties will be utilized has yet to be determined, Louchheim said.

Scott Saulson

Both Louchheim and Interim Rabbi Scott Saulson, of Temple Emanu-El, emphasized that this is not about merging two congregations.

“We are forming a new synagogue with a new outlook that builds its strengths from the legacies of our two synagogues,” Louchheim said.

Louccheim brings a familiarity with both synagogues and the Tucson community, while Saulson brings the ability to offer services to the Jewish community in innovative ways, the rabbis said of one another.

Both rabbis, as well as Cantor Janece Cohen of Or Chadash and Temple Emanu-El Cantorial Soloist Marjorie Hochberg will be sharing responsibilities. Board members of the two congregations will also be working together, in what will be a true meeting of the minds.

Marjorie Hochberg

Janece Cohen

The mission statement and various details have yet to be set in stone.

“It will be exciting to see how these unknowns fall into place,” Or Chadash member Celia Slatzer said enthusiastically.

Perhaps the greatest positive from the creation of Kol Ami is that members will be living the lyrics of a well-known Jewish hymn originally found in Psalm 133:

Hineh mah tov umah na’im

Shevet achim gam yachad.

Which translates from Hebrew to: How good and how pleasant it is for people to sit together in unity.

For more information about Kol Ami, email Rina Liebeskind at rina@octucson.org or call 512-8500 or Donna Beyer at dbeyer@tetucson.org or call 327-4501.

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Barbara Russek, a local freelance writer, welcomes comments at babette2@comcast.net