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Congregation
Or Chadash
3939 N. Alvernon
Tucson, AZ 85718
Tel: (520)-512-8500
Fax: (520)-512-8600
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About Our Congregation
History of Congregation Or Chadash
During the summer of 1995, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim was approached and asked to be the rabbi of a new congregation. Rabbi Louchheim asked these (12) families to begin to organize a congregation, and then he would consider it.
According to the Arizona Jewish Post (9/1/95), “More than 150 people attended the Or Chadash, ‘New Light,’ first Friday night service on August 18.” Services were held at the Zenith Center at 330 East 7th Street. Part of the vision for the congregation, 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.”
Rabbi Louchheim had already made a commitment to the University of Arizona to lead some of their High Holy Day services that year. Members of the congregation were invited to join the U of A students and others for these services.
On September 17, 1 p.m. at Hillel, Congregation Or Chadash held its first Open House. Over 140 people attended.
In the early days of the congregation there was an attempt to purchase the Stone Avenue Temple, Arizona’s oldest synagogue building. “It is our responsibility,” said Rabbi Louchheim “as Jews who live in this community, to restore this building to its original purpose. For many years, it has been left alone, yet remarkably, some of the original work, like the wood pews, remain. With all the synagogues that have been destroyed in the last 50 years, it is incumbent on us to save this one.” The building was not purchased for the congregation; however, according to an article in the Arizona Star (10/25/95) “several congregants said they could ante up a down payment” to save the building for the community. At the time, the congregation had 20 family members and a mailing list of over 200.
The congregation was incorporated in the state of Arizona on October 9, 1995.
From the Zenith Center, the Friday evening services moved to the home of Peggy Hitchcock. Services were held in her beautiful Pavilion beginning on Friday evening, November 10, 1995. Torah study and some holiday celebrations took place in Rabbi Louchheim’s home, as well as the first religious school. Trudy Wrubel served as accompanist and Cantorial soloist from 1995 to the Fall of 1999. There were no services held on the first Friday of each month, in an attempt to encourage families to observe the Shabbat in their own homes.
The first Bat Mitzvah held at the Pavilion was that of Ayla Ruben on February 6, 1996. May 23rd, 1997 was our last Friday evening service there. We then moved our services to the JCC.
The first Board of Directors of the congregation was:
President: Ken Jacowsky
Secretary: Betsy Sandlin
Vice President-Education: Steve Caine
Vice President-Membership: Pam Treiber
Treasurer: Lois Jacowsky
Members-at-large: Elaine Nathanson
Rhonda Krinsky
Trudy Wrubel
Marjie Klein
The second draft budget of the first budget of the congregation, dated September 6, 1995 was $81,250.
The original members of the congregation, as best as we can determine so far, were: The above board members, Fran Braverman, Gail Dent, Jane and Herb Elins, Belle Horwitz, Robert Klein, Bonnie and Oscar Krasner, Wendy Kreindler, William Louchheim, Sr., Saul Ostroff, Rise and Bill Rosenfeld, Connie and Ian Shalek, and Emily (Wolitzky) Danies.
The New Light bulletin was first published in November of 1995. The first congregational meeting was held on Sunday, December 3, 1995 at 11:00 a.m. at the JCC.
In October 1996, we had 56 students in our religious school program at the JCC. Marcia Louchheim was the first Director of Education. In 1997, we had over 100 students. In 1998, we held our religious school classes in the Temple Emanu-El building. In the 1999-2000 year enrollment was over 140 students attending our religious school at the Tucson Hebrew Academy. In the Spring of 2000, the congregation hired Brenda Landau as the new Director of Education.
In August 1996, Ken Jacowsky received a donation to the Congregation to purchase a Torah scroll. The donation was from Goldie Silverman in memory of her husband Jake. The scroll was brought from Kharkov, Russia (near the Black Sea) by Marcia Louchheim’s great-grandfather, Rabbi Joshua Frumhoff, to B’nai Sholem, an Orthodox congregation in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Board of Directors of B’nai Sholem decided to “gift” this scroll to our congregation for $1,000. Mary Ann Danin created a mantle for this scroll. Fran Braverman donated two yaddim for the scroll. The scroll was dedicated Friday evening, January 29, 1999. That same evening we were presented with our UAHC charter.
In 1996, Fran Braverman became the first adult Bat Mitzvah.
The congregation has participated in an interfaith scriptural study with a Muslim group and two Christian churches in town.
On June 7, 1998, the congregation became a member of the Union for Reform Judaism (at the time known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations).
In January 1999 the congregation became a sponsor of the Coalition for the Environment and Jewish Living (COEJL). Our rabbi and members have participated in numerous spiritual hikes in the area.
The congregation from its inception has been involved in various social action projects including, Operation Deep Freeze, feeding the hungry, delivering food to shut-ins, and other activities.
Cantor Janece Cohen was hired for the 1999 High Holy Days. She was then hired as Cantor of the congregation at a special meeting held in January 2000.
In the Spring of 2000, in conjunction with Congregation Chaverim we built a home under the supervision of Habitat for Humanity, the first Jewish-built Habitat home in Tucson.
The congregation’s first Confirmation was June 9, 2000. The Confirmands were Emily Brent, Ruth Morrison, Ariel Tinney, and Robert Weintraub. Ariel was in the first Religious School class held in the rabbi’s home when the congregation started.
4/9/01 Joined the Northwest Interfaith Center (now Interfaith Community Services)
4/22/01 The congregation held a Jewish community blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross. Over 50 donors participated in the Yom Ha'Shoah drive and 44 units of blood were collected, exceeding the Red Cross goal by 19 units.
6/2001 The congregation began holding services at the Junior League.
8/13/01 Board created the “Special Needs” fund to assist the congregation in teaching students with special learning needs.
8/13/01 The Board agrees to move ahead and declare that we are going to do all we can to build a facility on the northwest side of town, and this be the mission of the Board.
2001-2002 Religious School enrollments were 150 students making ours the largest synagogue religious school in the Tucson Jewish community.
1/14/02 The Board passed the Vision Statement for the Congregation: Congregation Or Chadash is a warm and welcoming spiritual Jewish Community – a place to experience God.
3/10/02 At a special meeting of the congregation a motion was passed to purchase the property at 3939 N. Alvernon Way, just north of River Road. A capital campaign of 1.8 to 2.2 million dollars was begun. Fred Havas made the motion. David Weintraub seconded.
4/13/02 The congregation celebrated its first Adult B'not Mitzvah on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5762. The B'not Mitzvah were: Su Benaron, Diane Kerrihard, Terri Krasner, Rhonda Krinsky, Fay Roos and Toni Tallman.
5/02 The 4.2 acre property 3939 North Alvernon Way was purchased for $900,000.00.
4/04 Added as a privilege of membership to the bylaws: (F) Eligibility to purchase cemetery plots in the Or Chadash Section of Evergreen Mortuary and Cemetery at the member’s rate. Property purchased for the Congregation Or Chadash section at Evergreen Cemetery. (Approved at Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 2, 2004).
5/2/04 Hung mezuzah on the door of our office building on 3939 North Alvernon Way.
Written by Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, (5/2/2004)
Our Permanent Home
The History of 3939 N. Alvernon (a work in progress)
Or Chadash purchased the property from Libby Ross in April, 2002. The purchase price was $900,000, with the seller making a donation to the congregation of $200,000 and the Bank of Tucson financing $700,000. The property was appraised for $1,000,000.
The circumstance under which the property came to us is interesting. My deceased stepmother, Mary Norman Ross was previously married before she married my father. She was married to a man by the name of John W. Ross II (it is purely a coincidence that both family names are Ross). Mary Norman and John had two children, John III and Allison, and they divorced when the children were in elementary school. John III subsequently re-married, to Libby.
Mary Norman married my father in 1967 and all of sudden, there were four children in the household: my sister, my stepsiblings John and Allison, and me. John III used to go over to his father’s home at 3939 N. Alvernon to play, and I went there a few times. So I met Libby about 35-40 years ago. Libby’s husband died about 1995.
In early 2001, Libby called me about finding financing for one of her tenants. At the end of the conversation, she mentioned that she was considering selling her home and asked if I knew anybody that might be interested. I said, “maybe I do” thinking of Or Chadash, as I knew our antennas were up looking for a property. I then contacted Andy Briefer. At a subsequent board meeting, I presented the scenario for the property and it initially fell on deaf ears. But after a time, the idea resurfaced and I contacted Libby to start the process.
Almost to the day one year later, we own it.
Written by Mark L. Ross
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