September 10, 2003 -- A Westchester synagogue was gutted by fire yesterday, leaving the congregation without its place of worship for the upcoming High Holy Days.
The electrical fire tore through the Congregation Bet Am Shalom synagogue, which had been housed in a stone mansion on Soundview Avenue in White Plains since 1958, said Lester Bronstein, the congregation's rabbi.
Religious leaders throughout the area have offered to host the congregation for the holy days, Bronstein said.
"The community is gathering around us, offering us space and love," he said. "We don't know where we'll gather for the holy days because we have too many offers at the moment."
Bronstein said the group may still hold services at the burned-out site, even if it means "we'll be surrounded by the timbers and ashes."
The fire started at around 9:20 a.m. in the caretaker's apartment on the third floor of the 1920s stone mansion, destroying the roof and causing millions of dollars in smoke and water damage, Bronstein said.
"This is devastating. This is my home," said Debbie Weiner, a past president of the congregation. "I was named at this synagogue. To see firefighters shoot water on the roof goes to my heart."
The caretaker, his family and the synagogue's secretary all fled without injury.
The temple's Torah scrolls were safely removed from a part of the building the flames did not reach.
"I spoke to the fire chief, and he assigned a firefighter to go with me, and we got into the building and took them out, one by one," said Robin Rattner, executive director of the synagogue.
The five scrolls are being stored temporarily at a nearby synagogue.
It took firefighters from White Plains and several out-of-town fire companies several hours to extinguish the blaze.
Several firefighters suffered smoke inhalation.
The mansion was acquired by the congregation not long after it was founded, Bronstein said.
"There was a warm, comfortable feeling about the place because you [had] the remnants of the mansion, with big porches and old wood rooms," Weiner said.
The congregation now comprises about 413 families, with a total of 1,500 members.
A modern addition to the mansion was built in the 1990s, Bronstein said, and officials were hopeful the new wing would not have to be demolished.
"They're not so optimistic about saving the old part of the building, but they think they can save the new part," Bronstein said.
