Temple starts up expansion drive

Amy R. Spurgeon

NEWPORT BEACH -- Temple Bat Yahm this weekend officially began an

ambitious $5-million expansion project.

“From the heights of this evening we have a vision of our children

climbing up after us,” said Temple Bat Yahm Rabbi Mark S. Miller. “I am

very humbled by the opportunity to help fulfill the promise of this

blessing.”

About 250 Temple Bat Yahm congregants celebrated the official start of

fund-raising Sunday night with a candlelightvigil on the site of the

planned construction, which is behind the temple.

A slide show, complete with violins, dazzling desserts, and a full moon,

depicted the completed blueprints.

Groundbreaking for the construction is scheduled for next year.

Temple Bat Yahm, which means “daughter of the sea,” was founded in 1973

by eight Newport Beach families. Now with 674 families, the Reform

congregation has outgrown its current facility by more than 250 families

and is seizing an opportunity for growth, said longtime congregant and

expansion campaign vice chairman Bernie Spiro. Temple leaders anticipate

further demand at the temple, the largest in Orange County, as

developments continue in Newport Coast.

“This is not an expansion as is traditionally done,” Spiro said.

“Ultimately this will become a campus.”

The temple has already raised $2.5 million in donations and will continue

collecting money throughout the year. Fund-raising efforts will be led by

the Temple Bat Yahm 2000 Campaign committee.

The expansion will sit on a 1.5 acre plot of land the temple purchased

this land from the Irvine Co. two years ago. The temple still has to get

approval from the city in order to begin construction.Plans for the

project include an expanded sanctuary, a small chapel for weddings, Bar

Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, meditation gardens, an outdoor amphitheater,

eight new religious school classrooms, classrooms for adult education,

renovation of the preschool, a library and media resource center, a

computer center, a youth lounge and a recreational area for sporting

events.

Miller first began planning for the expansion more than two years ago.

He emphasized Sunday that the project was not just about the buildings,

but was a project that would benefit generations for years to come.

“All of this building is a means to an end,” Miller said. “It is to

create a meaningful and rich Jewish life.”

Once completed, the campus will serve as an educational tool for Jewish

and non-Jewish residents throughout Orange County. The campus will be

open to visitors to teach about Jewish life, religion and culture.