Stephen Sass wiped tears from his eyes as he took the stage May 17 to receive an award recognizing his leadership toward the renovation of the century-old Breed Street Shul in Boyle Heights.
Although his work over about the past 15 years has been tough going at times, he said that the section of Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) that says, “It’s not upon you alone to complete the work but neither are you free to desist from doing it,” continues to inspire him.
The scene was part of a Breed Street Shul Project (BSSP) gala celebrating Sass, the organization’s founding and board president, and the centenary of the shul, which opened in 1915 under the name Congregation Talmud Torah. It was home to a thriving Jewish community in Boyle Heights up until World War II, when Jews there began migrating to West L.A. and the San Fernando Valley.
Sass accepted the award during an event held in the Los Angeles Times building, where he said that working to rehabilitate the historic shul has been the “greatest honor of my life.”
BSSP’s successes include transforming the chapel — the smaller and older of two buildings at the site — into a community center for the neighborhood’s Latino population that has hosted “Day of the Dead” celebrations as well as a cross-cultural event known as Fiesta Shalom. In 2011, the Journal reported that BSSP had raised $3.5 million to restore the building’s artwork, fix its ceilings, do seismic work and more.
The chapel and sanctuary building, which opened in 1923, had been home to squatters and targeted by vandals and graffiti when Sass began working at the site.
The journey to restore the Byzantine-style sanctuary, in particular, has come with significant setbacks — the seismic work alone is expected to cost upward of $5 million, according to Sass, vice president of legal affairs at HBO and president of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, the parent organization of BSSP.
Still, the work of BSSP is part of the larger revitalization — and Jewish return — to the eastside and to the downtown area. Even Hillary Clinton, who appeared at the shul’s site in 1998 when she was first lady, has spoken of its importance — in her case, to the Save America’s Treasures campaign she was representing at that time.
At the recent gala, musician Craig Taubman told a crowd of more than 200 that the day’s honoree was a leader, one he would follow anywhere. Those aren’t empty words: It was Sass who recommended to Taubman that he purchase, on the edge of downtown, the city’s oldest synagogue building, built in 1909, which the singer has since transformed into the popular interfaith center, the Pico Union Project.
During the celebratory 11 a.m. event chaired by BSSP board members Mitch Kamin and Zoe Corwin, people mixed and mingled over mimosas and other drinks and noshed on brunch food, with some enjoying the view from the building’s outdoor terrace before finding seats in the auditorium, where photographs of some of the city’s best-known personalities, including Kobe Bryant and Leonardo DiCaprio, hang on the walls.
Civic leaders, clergy and others were in attendance, including former L.A. County Sherriff Lee Baca, City Controller Ron Galperin, and Sass’ rabbi at Beth Chayim Chadashim, Rabbi Lisa Edwards. The honoree’s mother, Pearl, and his husband, Steve Hochstad, were there as well.
Robin Kramer, executive director of Reboot, a nonprofit that seeks new inroads to Jewish life, presented the award to Sass, who thanked his husband, saying, “Steve has been with me for every step of this BSSP journey.”
Seeing Sunday’s turnout made him hopeful for the future, too, he told the Journal.
“It’s awesome to see the room crowded with people, to see the diversity and all age groups being downtown and seeing that people feel really connected and want to be involved with the project,” he said. “It’s really a great feeling. … It’s really affirming to see that people get what we are trying to do and that is the greatest honor.”
Baca, who grew up in Boyle Heights, told the Journal he is aware of the importance of the synagogue to the city and that it is a “major institution in that area.”
“It’s a beautiful building,” he said. “It has a history. It’s an icon within Los Angeles County, and I think it’s important to preserve it, and I wholeheartedly support this.”
Around 2 p.m., waiters served glasses of wine while Taubman concluded performing for Sass and the others. Attendees then delivered a toast to Sass, to the previous 100 years, and to the future of the Breed Street Shul.
“L’chaim,” everyone said in unison, raising glasses.
