Eagle Scout brings butterflies to Temple Adat Shalom

By Emily Sorensen

Temple Adat Shalom in Poway is filled with butterflies, thanks in part to an Eagle Scout project.

The temple is hosting a permanent exhibit of ceramic butterflies, which are part of the San Diego Jewish Academy’s Butterfly Project, formally entitled “Zikaron V’Tikvah,” which is Hebrew for “Remembrance and Hope.” The exhibit was installed in early summer.

The project was originally inspired by the film documentary “Paper Clips” and a poem, “The Butterfly,” written by Pavel Friedmann, who died in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The project’s aim is to help combat anti-Semitism, indifference, and Holocaust denial through educational workshops.

The eventual goal of the project, which has expanded from its San Diego roots to go nationwide, is to create 1.5 million ceramic butterflies, representing the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust.

“Zikaron V’Tikvah honors both the victims and survivors of the Holocaust with handmade butterflies as a symbol of renewed life,” said Temple Adat Shalom spiritual leader Rabbi David Castiglione in a press release.

The temple is able to display the butterflies thanks to Andrew Bartfield, who installed the presentation displays as part of his Eagle Scout project. Bartfield is a scout with Boy Scout Troop 676.

“There were SO many things I could have done for my Eagle Scout project, but this felt special. I feel a connection to what I was doing, and I’m hoping visitors to the memorial get a sense of remembrance so that those children didn’t die in vain,” said Bartfield in a press release.

The display includes several hundred butterflies made by members of the temple’s religious school about two years ago, for the Butterfly Project. Prior to Bartfield’s project, the butterflies had been sitting in storage.

The displays are located in the temple’s burgeoning Holocaust garden, which is a memorial to all the people who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The garden is on the east side of the campus, in the northeast corner of the property, and are available to the public for viewing.

Bartfield, who is a member of Temple Adat Shalom’s congregation, originally approached the temple wanting to focus his Eagle Scout project on doing something for the Holocaust garden. “We helped mold his project,” said Jeffrey Frankel, executive director at Temple Adat Shalom.

Frankel said that the butterfly displays may be shifted as the garden is further developed, but will remain as a permanent display in the Holocaust garden.