Penn Live reports: A thick coat of wet, gray soot sinks underfoot as one enters the Chisuk Emuna synagogue. Scorched cinderblocks, once covered in plaster, now stand exposed and scarred, and the roof bows steeply inward, toward the puddled center aisle.
The heart of the synagogue at Fifth and Division streets in Harrisburg suffered some of the worst damage in a wind-fanned two-alarm blaze that struck late Friday.

But the group that huddled at the synagogue’s doors Saturday morning to survey the damage was optimistic. Faith is much more than four walls, congregation member Cory Schneider said.

“The community is not a building. The community is the people withi that building,” she said. “We’re a family.”

And like a family, they stood together, gathering whatever could be saved of their community’s belongings: A Book of Legends, a charred blue stone from a light fixture, a blackened restroom sign warped by the heat.

All 11 of the congregation’s Torahs had been recovered and taken to the Jewish Community Center, said synagogue historian Bruce Bazelon. Some are more damaged than others, he said, but he was optimistic they could be restored.

The synagogue’s historical archives dating to 1883 and a liturgical ornament from 1917 were also intact, Bazelon said. Congregants chatted outside about a salvaged Haggadah — a book read during the Passover Seder. Passover begins Wednesday night.

Firefighters battled the blaze, discovered about 10:15 p.m., until about 11:15 p.m. Crews remained on the scene until 7:30 a.m. Saturday, city fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

Fire Battalion Chief Herb Berger estimated damage to be at least $1 million. He said an official ruling on the cause had not been made.

Synagogue members said the fire apparently started from candleholders still warm from a Shabbat dinner Friday night. Although the candles were extinguished before everyone left the building, the heat from the holders apparently ignited the table, feeding a fire that engulfed the wall and ceiling before spreading through the building, congregation president Dr. Stanley Schneider said.

Synagogue members celebrated their 50th year in the building two years ago. It’s not clear whether the building can be repaired or how much it will cost, Schneider said. The 220-member congregation will meet at the Jewish Community Center until other arrangements are made, he said.