By Michelle Edgar
Sixteen months after the devastating Palisades fire displaced hundreds of families and reshaped the Pacific Palisades community, Kehillat Israel is returning home.
On Friday, the nearly 900 family congregation carried its Torah scrolls back into its newly renovated sanctuary, marking one of the first major religious institutions to reopen in the Palisades following the January 2025 fire. For many in the community, the moment represents far more than the reopening of a building; it symbolizes resilience, healing, and the emotional rebuilding of a neighborhood still navigating recovery.
Of Kehillat Israel’s member families, 250 lost their homes entirely in the fire, while another 250 were temporarily displaced. For Cantor Chayim Frenkel, the reopening carries both personal and communal meaning. Frenkel first arrived at the synagogue in 1985 at just 23 years old, describing the moment as another rite of passage only a decade after his own bar mitzvah. “Returning home as a community is deeply emotional and personal for me,” Frenkel said. “Music and prayer have carried us through these past 16 months. Now, to be welcomed back into our cherished holy space, my family’s spiritual home for the past 40 years, is a blessing.”
The reopening also coincided with Frenkel and his wife, Marsi Frenkel’s 40th anniversary serving the congregation, a milestone that has become deeply intertwined with the history and evolution of Pacific Palisades itself. “When we got there, it was literally Utopia,” Frenkel said of the Palisades in the 1980s. “It was the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden burned down, and the Garden of Eden is being rebuilt.”
Founded in 1950 by several Pacific Palisades families, Kehillat Israel began as a small congregation of roughly 240 families gathered on what Frenkel described as “a little piece of sacred land.” Today, the congregation has grown to nearly 900 families and serves as one of the spiritual anchors of the Palisades community.
The redesigned 4,700 square foot sanctuary was led by Herman Coliver Locus Architecture, with principal Steven Rajninger and project manager Megan Costello overseeing the transformation. The updated space now accommodates more than 400 congregants and was intentionally designed to foster calm, reflection, and reconnection.
Among the sanctuary’s new features are “The Portal,” a redesigned entryway intended to serve as a serene transition into sacred space, a newly crafted ark, updated memorial walls, enhanced acoustics through a suspended “Sound Cloud,” and upgraded audiovisual systems for both in person and virtual gatherings. “This is more than a physical reopening,” said Senior Rabbi Amy Bernstein. “It is a moment to gather again in a familiar space that has been transformed to meet our community members where they are now, a place of calm, reflection, and belonging.”
Since the fire, the congregation continued gathering across temporary locations throughout Los Angeles, holding worship services in synagogues, homes, hotels, and community spaces across the region. KI also launched a fire relief fund that distributed direct aid to impacted families, uninsured residents, small businesses, and employees affected by the disaster.
Frenkel credited the nonprofit Change Reaction and founders Greg Perlman and Jody Perlman for helping distribute millions of dollars in relief with minimal barriers for recipients. “What was really different this time is we were exiled,” Frenkel said. “We lost our community. We lost an entire generation of our elderly who are not coming back to live in the Palisades.”
Still the congregation has remained connected despite its members dispersing across Los Angeles and beyond, from Playa Vista and Santa Monica to Encino, New York, and the East Coast.
Frenkel describes the community now as a “diaspora,” but one still deeply rooted in KI’s mission and identity. Part of that mission moving forward, he said, is helping rebuild not only the Jewish community, but also the broader interfaith fabric of Pacific Palisades. “We are going to be there for our sister and brethren faith based communities that burned down,” Frenkel said, referencing institutions including Corpus Christi Church and other local congregations affected by the fire. “These are our family.”
Frenkel recently signed another seven year contract that will carry him through retirement, something he says reflects his commitment to helping guide the next chapter of rebuilding. “We plan to make KI a safe haven for everyone. If we’re able to offer safety and sanctuary to our community, the doors are wide open,” he said.
The reopening arrives at a pivotal moment for Pacific Palisades, as families, businesses, schools, and faith institutions continue the long process of returning and rebuilding. Many KI members are expected to move back into newly rebuilt homes within the next six months. For Frenkel, the reopening is about continuity and preserving the spirit of a community that refused to disappear. “I always tell our children to imagine an invisible bridge between the synagogue and their home,” he said. “Your home is the small sanctuary, and we are the large sanctuary, here to give you a loving, inclusive hug.”