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She helped rescue the Torahs from their burning synagogue. A year later, the congregation is thriving.

JL;DR SUMMARY A year after the devastating Eaton Fire destroyed the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, the resilient synagogue community is thriving, adapting to temporary worship spaces at a local church while planning for a rebuild. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish ContinuityCommunity ResilienceSynagogue GrowthPasadena Jewish Temple And CenterCantor Ruth Berman HarrisEaton FireWildfire RecoveryRabbi Joshua RatnerSynagogue RebuildingTemporary Worship Space

Places mentioned

Pasadena, California, United States
"PASADENA, Calif. A year after fire reduced the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center to ash, Cantor Ruth Berman Harris stands in the rain on the empty lot where it once stood."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"Joined by the synagogues president and custodian, they worked quickly, loading the 13 scrolls into two cars as the fire, a beast consuming Los Angeles, roared closer."
Buenos Aires, Argentina
"She grew up in Buenos Aires and lived through two acts of mass violence that targeted the Jewish community there the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, which killed 85 people, including friends of hers."
California, United States
"In neighboring Altadena, Heather Sandoval Feng and her husband, Oscar, stand on the front steps of what used to be their home."

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Cairo Item ID 72193
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-01-08 05:30:56 UTC
Curated 2026-01-08 08:32:54 UTC