Under the aegis of The Union for Reform Judaism, in 2020, Rabbi Scott Saulson was hired as Interim Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El to work with clergy and the boards of both Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Or Chadash to bring these two Jewish communities together.
This remarkable union is underscored by the name of the new synagogue—Kol Ami, All Of My People—as well as by its mission, “To Be A Home Of Joyful Judaism For All,” both of which reflected deliberate consideration and enjoyed overwhelming endorsement by both memberships.
Temple Emanu-El, founded in 1910, was the oldest established synagogue in what was then still the territory of Arizona, before statehood in 1912. Congregation Or Chadash, founded in 1995, was a conscious effort by its founders and Rabbi Thomas Louchheim to discover how Reform Judaism’s spirituality and rituals would engender a sense of communal intimacy and belonging. The mutual fiscal concerns projected by responsible lay leaders from both groups eventuated in the sale of the Or Chadash property, the determining factor in locating the new entity on the Country Club campus, while Emanu-El was required to invest in renovating the Country Club facility—its interior and exterior—in order to provide a physically safe facility for both communities.
Another current of concern was which of the two religious, social, and managerial cultures would prevail. Rabbi Louchheim’s lengthy career in Tucson, his prior experience as assistant rabbi at Emanu-El from 1989 until 1993, then as sole rabbi in 1994, and his clearheaded foresight bolstered crucial support for the creation of the new synagogue. Both groups would unite their worthy heritages into a shared commitment to a future together.
As Interim Rabbi, Scott Saulson facilitated the transition for both communities’ spiritual leaders. His guidance through this process allowed for an appreciation of legacies and enthusiasm for new opportunities and experimentation. The overall experience for both communities benefited from a clergy team of convivial and mutually respectful rabbis. The cantorial voices of differing styles and traditions were equally prepared to share their practices with Kol Ami. This open-minded and open-hearted clergy team, which shared all the positive emotions of transitional work, realized their mutual goals for Kol Ami’s future in the years to come.
Read More About the Legacy Congregations Below
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The first known Jewish settler arrived in southern Arizona in 1854. Fifty-six years later, on Rosh HaShanah Eve, October 3, 1910, Tucson’s unpaved major thoroughfare, Stone Avenue, became home to the first Jewish house of worship in the Arizona Territory: Temple Emanu-El. Rabbi E. M. Chapman from Albuquerque, N.M. was hired to conduct High Holy Days services and preside at the dedication of the temple. Rabbi Chapman was offered and accepted a one-year contract at a salary of $1000 with the promise that services would be conducted mostly in English with very little Hebrew. Today, the Stone Avenue Temple is the home of the Jewish Heritage Museum.
Twelve rabbis served Temple Emanu-El on Stone Avenue. Rabbi Albert T. Bilgray was hired as the last rabbi to lead the congregation in its original building. He continued as the synagogue began building their Religious School on Country Club Road in 1951. The chapel, office, and sanctuary building was completed and dedicated by Governor Paul Fannin on February 24, 1962. Four years later, in May, 1966, the school, now with 500 students, was dedicated.
That same year, the Nogales, Arizona branch of Temple Emanu-El Religious School opened with 25 students.
Rabbi Joseph Weizenbaum assumed temple leadership in September, 1972, after the retirement of Rabbi Bilgray, whose retirement after 25 years of temple leadership was celebrated in November, when he was elected Rabbi Emeritus.
In 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gordon established the Carol Gordon Fist Gallery of Judaica, containing treasured art and religious objects, in memory of their daughter.
In 1994, Rabbi Weizenbaum retired and was elected Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Thomas Louchheim then assumed leadership on an interim basis for a year, after which three rabbis served the congregation until 1998, when Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon was hired. He served the congregation for 19 years, until the Rabbi Educator, Batsheva Appel, became the rabbi prior to Temple Emanu-El joining with Congregation Or Chadash to form Kol Ami Synagogue.
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In the summer of 1995, while serving as Chaplain and Bereavement and Volunteer Coordinator for the Jacob C. Fruchthendler Hospice program at Handmaker Services for the Aging, Rabbi Thomas A. Louchheim, former rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, was approached by twelve families and asked if he would become the part-time rabbi of a new congregation. As the Arizona Jewish Post, on September 1, 1995, noted: “More than 150 people attended the [Congregation] Or Chadash, [translated as] New Light, first Friday Shabbat service on August 18” at the Zenith Center, on East 7th Street near downtown Tucson. Part of the congregation’s vision, according to Rabbi Louchheim, was to reshape the Shabbat ritual experience and to “offer a new perspective on our spiritual search for value and meaning.”
In August 1996, the Board of Directors of B’nai Sholem, an Orthodox congregation in St. Joseph, Missouri, “gifted” a Torah scroll, which had been brought to America from Kharkov, Russia by Rabbi Joshua Frumhoff, the great-grandfather of Marcia Louchheim, rabbi Louchheim’s wife. Congregation Or Chadash dedicated the scroll on Friday evening, January 29, 1999. On June 7, 1998, Or Chadash was accepted by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now URJ) as a member of Reform synagogues. The religious school began under the direction of Marcia Louchheim at the dining room table in the Louchheim home. By 1998 there were 100 students; by the time that Brenda Landau took over as Director of Education in 2000, there were 140 students.
After seven years of holding services in a variety of rented facilities throughout Tucson, in April of 2002, the congregation purchased a 4.2-acre residential property. In 2004, the house, renovated to accommodate administrative offices, became the official home when the congregation moved into the building. Soon after, as membership grew, portable classrooms and a sanctuary space were added on the property.
On December 7, 2009, Rabbi Louchheim, Cantor Janece Cohen, and the Board of Directors of Congregation Or Chadash formally received Scroll MST-1408, a rescued Holocaust Scroll, as a long-term loan from the Czech Memorial Scroll of Westminster, United Kingdom. A special dedication took place on Friday, May 21, 2010.
The Grand Opening of the Or Chadash Library was celebrated on April 22, 2012, with over a thousand volumes organized and cataloged by congregants. The library had a system for individuals to check out books, and a special shelf was dedicated to books by authors who were members or relatives of members.
In May 2012, the Or Chadash Board of Directors dedicated the property as the “Rabbi Thomas A. Louchheim Campus” when Rabbi Louchheim received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, California, honoring his 25 years in the Rabbinate.
Throughout its history, one of the most important missions of Or Chadash was its commitment to interfaith collaboration and multi-faith connections. During its 25-year history, the congregation participated in joint holiday and Shabbat services with both Conservative and Reform synagogues in Tucson. In addition, there was always a strong commitment to creating bridges between Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Sikhs through peace walks, educational programs in the different religious schools, and various events and teachings designed to create greater religious understanding among faith groups.