TORONTO — Holy Blossom Temple’s tower, a structure that brought mystery and a little mischief to generations of congregants, was dedicated to the memory of Jacob Hertzman earlier this month.

Jacob, a “deeply religious” little boy who was born with multiple congenital anomalies, died in 1996 at the age of 14.

Years ago, David Hertzman, Jacob’s father, decided he wanted to do something special in honour of his son’s short life.

“He loved the temple. When he passed away, I wanted to memorialize him there,” he said.

Holy Blossom’s acting senior rabbi, Yael Splansky, recalled when Hertzman first approached her about dedicating the tower in his son’s memory.

But because the shul’s $30-million renewal and renovation project was always just over the horizon, his idea had to wait, Rabbi Splansky explained.

“He didn’t want something that had all the bells and whistles. He wanted the tower safe and clean, and he wanted it open for people to enjoy. It had been locked for decades, because the stairs weren’t safe and it was being used as a [storage area],” she said, adding that the restoration of the tower was a perfect way to launch the renewal project, which is set to begin Phase 1 of construction next fall.

During her Rosh Hashanah sermon the day before the Sept. 7 dedication ceremony, Rabbi Splansky described Jacob as “a very thin boy… a bright light. A big toothy grin, and a shock of platinum blond hair, a big personality and he would dress to the nines.”

She talked about the thrill he got from finding the tower door unlocked and sneaking up the rickety steps to the top of the tower, where he enjoyed a great view of the city.

 “The steps are now secure, there’s lighting that’s been put in, new windows,” she said.

“But what remains are the signatures. All these decades, kids have been sneaking up there and adding their names to the wall,” she added. “Now there is going to be a whole new generation of kids adding their names to the wall.”

During the dedication, which drew about 600 friends, family and congregants, Jacob’s father read an excerpt from The Jacob Stories, a book published by the Hertzman family to memorialize “his ceaseless string of adventures.”

The Tower, written by Hertzman, describes the excitement Jacob felt when he and his father first snuck up to the top of the tower.

“We entered the narrow space. It was dark, dusty and mysterious… The windows were grimy and cracked, but that did not bother Jacob. He was so excited that he jumped up and down… [and said] ‘This must be what looking down from Heaven is like!’”

“This memory inspired me to rebuild the tower,” Hertzman said. “I hope his spirit can provide some light for the temple to shine again.”

Tom Friedland, chair of the Holy Blossom Temple Renewal Project steering committee said he was grateful to the Hertzmans for sharing such a personal event with the congregation.

“It was very rewarding to see what was the formal kick-off of the renewal project,” for which more than $18 million has already been raised, he said.

Plans to renovate and restore the Reform congregation’s 75-year-old building date back to 2004, when the shul’s board approved a plan to turn the sanctuary around 180 degrees to face Jerusalem.

The original design, conceived in the 1930s, intentionally had the sanctuary face west, away from Jerusalem.

The issue deeply divided the 7,000-member congregation, and in 2007, 42 per cent of the congregation voted against the reorientation.

“There was a sense that the people who felt passionately about not reorienting it, felt passionately about it and we were not going to have shalom bayit without rethinking that,” Friedland said.

“Shortly after that vote, the board went back to the architects and thought we should just leave it in the direction that it is. That is the tradition of this temple, and it is absolutely the right decision.”

But the controversy didn’t end there. A 2012 Globe and Mail article suggested that when Rabbi John Moscowitz, the spiritual leader who served Holy Blossom for 25 years, endorsed the proposal to shift the main sanctuary’s orientation, it ultimately led to his ouster.

The treatment of Rabbi Moscowitz – who is currently on a three-year sabbatical until 2015, when he will retire and continue as rabbi emeritus – also caused a rift, because his supporters felt that “a cadre of old guard board members had been plotting to remove him for years” due to his right-wing Zionist leanings, the Globe report said.

But Friedland said the congregation is looking ahead to provide for the next generation of Holy Blossom members.

“We’re moving forward with the physical renewal, and the rabbinic transition committee is also trying to confirm who our senior rabbi will be,” he said.

“The hope is to have a person in place for the next high holidays… and they are moving forward with the interview process.”

As for the renovations, the latest version of the plans – adopted last year when Leo Baeck Day School’s south campus moved to a new location – boasts a new central atrium gathering space, a new family chapel, enhanced outdoor areas, a renovated congregational hall, a modernized education wing, a restored main sanctuary and updated, environmentally friendly HVAC and electrical systems.

“There is a palpable sense that we’re really moving forward, and people come up to you, and say, ‘We’re so excited, we’ve been waiting a long time for this,’” and it is important to show ourselves that we are capable of doing it.”