April 1, 2005/Adar II 21 5765, Volume 57, No. 31
Chuppah in the sanctuaryFirst Jewish wedding in 57 years held at Culver Street Synagogue
LEISAH NAMM
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 Rabbi Albert Plotkin signs the ketubah at the wedding of Randi Posner Beechamp and Larry M. Cutler on March 20. Also pictured, at right, is matron of honor Andrea Rattner of Manhattan. The wedding was the first Jewish wedding in more than 57 years to be held at the site of the Valley's first synagogue. Photo courtesy of JFM Photography |
In the 57 years since the building housed Temple Beth Israel, the Valley's first synagogue, it has been a Chinese Baptist church and then a Mexican Baptist church. In 2002, the Arizona Jewish Historical Society purchased the property and, in 2003, renamed it the CutlerAPlotkin Jewish Heritage Center.
On March 20, Randi Posner Beechamp and Larry M. Cutler exchanged their vows in a ceremony officiated by Temple Beth Israel Rabbi Emeritus Albert Plotkin, whose name is part of the center.
Cutler is the son of James and Bettie Cutler, longtime local philanthropists who died in an automobile accident in 1980, and after whom the CutlerAPlotkin Jewish HeritageCenter is also named.
"We thought it couldn't get better than having a Plotkin marry a Cutler in the CutlerAPlotkin Jewish Heritage Center," the groom said.
The couple had considered getting married at Sedona's new synagogue, but then Randi had the idea of having the ceremony in the Culver Street Synagogue, located at 122 E. Culver St. in Phoenix. "She really insisted because of the significance of the space named after my parents," Cutler said. "She was the deciding factor."
So the couple had a small ceremony with family members, including two sons each from previous marriages, in the sanctuary, followed by a family dinner at the Arizona Biltmore.
Although community volunteers and Boy Scouts have cleaned and painted the synagogue since AJHS acquired it, there's still a lot of work to be done, said AJHS executive director Risa Mallin. AJHS is preparing to start a capital campaign to raise funds for the renovation of the building, which housed Temple Beth Israel from 1920 to 1949.
But the meaning behind having the first Jewish wedding in 57 years at that location, "far outweighed the condition of the synagogue," Cutler said.
A partition behind the chuppah hid a bapistry, a holdover from the church, he said. "We got married under the chuppah and you couldn't see the (bapistry). A few flowers and family and it was fine."
Having Plotkin officiate at the wedding was especially significant to Cutler because of Plotkin's longtime relationship with his family. Plotkin not only knew Cutler's parents and grandparents, but he also officiated at the bris of Cutler's sons Brandon, 18, and Jacob, 20, and was present at each boy's bar mitzvah. In addition, "I was consecrated, bar mitzvahed, confirmed and married all by Rabbi Plotkin," Cutler said. "He's a very special man to our family as well as the community."
Cutler, an AJHS past president and current board member, said that he hopes his is "the first of many, many weddings for many, many decades to come" at the site and that members of the community will "help the AJHS restore the temple."
"It isn't much now," said Cutler, "But the original structure is there and once we restore it to what it once was, we plan on sharing it with both the Jewish and the non-Jewish community" to teach the history of Jews in Arizona.
And also to help young Jewish children know "they should be very proud of their heritage," he said, "and proud to know all the contributions that their ancestors have made to the Valley of the Sun and to the state of Arizona from its territorial days until today."
The synagogue is available for other community events, Mallin said. "We see positive things happening for the community there."
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