Mark Siegel is celebrating with his congregation as the Heska Amuna Synagogue returned to its sanctuary for the first time in five years, following Covid and major construction to fix a structurally failed wall.

It was not an easy road to this return and celebration.

During Covid, Heska Amuna was deeply divided on whether to sell the building on Kingston Pike or to stay. Despite having the majority in favor of selling, the required congregational vote of 75% fell short of that mark.

This emotional dispute went on for about three years, dominating the congregational life of the synagogue. The debate was intensified by a further complication of being prohibited from using the sanctuary due to a structurally failing 20-foot-high wall.

Mark Siegel was in the minority who did not want to sell the building. His father had chaired the congregation the year after Mark was born, so Mark had been a member of the congregation his entire life.

Feeling compelled to step into a leadership role because of his emotional attachment to the building, and feeling the building had many amenities they would never be able to have again, Mark volunteered to become the next chair of the congregation.

Despite the continued majority in favor of selling, Mark took the position that neither side of the dispute had proven their desires could be successfully accomplished. Mark says, “Those who wanted to sell the building had not defined exactly where the congregation would go if we did sell. Those who wanted to stay in the building had not shown that the money could be raised to fix the wall and stay in the building.”

Mark’s chief aim was to glorify God and have the congregation focus on what both groups were supposed to do as a congregation: praying together, celebrating their religion and taking care of each other. He appointed two committees, one for each side, with each side tasked to take six months to quietly work on developing their plans. At the end of six months, each side would present its plan to the congregation in a businesslike fashion, a vote would be taken, and the congregation as a whole would agree with the decision.

As the six months ended, proposals were presented and the vote was taken. Mark says, “I fully expected the congregation to vote to sell the building. At the subsequent meeting, however, 55% of the congregation voted to stay in the building.”

Mark recalls how controversial the issue was, literally debated for years and how everyone feared the congregation would splinter. However, once the decision was made, the whole congregation demonstrated their commitment to find resources, implement repairs and exhibit their desire to do what was best for Heska Amuna.

March 13-15, 2025, was a three-day extravaganza celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim and the return to the synagogue building they love.

Not only did the congregation conduct their regular services and recognize those without whom this celebration could not have taken place, but Friday, March 14, provided a special parade as congregants reenacted a historic event from Heska Amuna’s past.

Founded in 1890, Heska Amuna had grown strong enough by 1902 to have a synagogue building and when that congregation opened the sanctuary, they paraded up Gay Street with their Torah scroll containing the first five books of the Bible wearing their prayer shawls and their skullcaps to demonstrate their pride in the accomplishment.

On March 14, 2025, the current congregation re-enacted that event, parading with five Torah scrolls up Kingston Pike.

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