Temple Emanuel (Beverly Hills, California)

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Temple Emanuel
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Main Building.jpg
The synagogue building, in 2019
Religion
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
StatusActive
Location
Location300 North Clark Drive, Beverly Hills, California
CountryUnited States
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Los Angeles, California
Geographic coordinates 34°04′18″N118°23′06″W / 34.0718°N 118.3851°W / 34.0718; -118.3851
Architecture
Architect(s) Sidney Eisenshtat
Type Synagogue architecture
Style Modernist
Date established1938 (as a congregation)
Completed1953
Website
tebh.org

Temple Emanuel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 300 North Clark Drive, in Beverly Hills, California, in the United States. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

1938 until 1990s

The congregation was founded in 1938. [4] [5] The first rabbi, Ernest Trattner, served until 1947, when he left amid dissension among the congregation, culminating in litigation. [6] [7]

The current building, completed in 1953, was the first religious building designed by architect Sidney Eisenshtat, who went on to become a noted designer of synagogues and Jewish academic buildings. [8] Built with red brick and concrete, it is considered an important example of Modernist synagogue architecture. [9]

Inside, the Belle Chapel presents a permanent memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. [10] The sculpture inside the chapel was designed by Dr Eric May and donated by Nicolai Joffe. [10]

Isaiah Zeldin served as one of its rabbis from 1958 until he left to found Stephen S. Wise Temple in Bel Air in 1964. [11] [12] Rabbi Zeldin was preceded by Bernard Harrison; after Rabbi Harrison's death, a chapel was dedicated in his honor. [13] [14] Edward Krawll was cantor for many years. [15] Meanwhile, comedian Groucho Marx was a congregant. [16]

By 1993, the synagogue had a US$2 million debt. [2] One of the proposed solutions was to merge with the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a large Reform synagogue located at Western and Vermont Avenues in Koreatown. [17] However, Temple Emanuel's congregation narrowly voted to reject the merger, deciding that it would change the traditional culture of the synagogue too much. [2] Finances were stabilized by donations, and a capital campaign eventually yielded approximately $10 million. [18] The building underwent a substantial renovation in 2011, under the supervision of Rios Clementi Hale Studios. [9] [19]

Since 1994

From 1994–2015, Laura Geller had served as senior rabbi. [1] This made her the first female rabbi to lead a major metropolitan congregation. [20] [21] Rabbi Jonathan Aaron has served as senior rabbi since 2015. The clergy team who work alongside Rabbi Aaron are Rabbi Sarah Bassin (Associate Rabbi), Rabbi Adam Lutz (Assistant Rabbi/Director of Education), and Cantor Lizzie Weiss.

In 2019, the school and community building, located across the street, was sold to a developer; and, in 2021, they were demolished to make way for a residential apartment project.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Home page". Temple Emanuel.[ self-published source? ]
  2. 1 2 3 Chazanov, Mathis (December 9, 1993). "Temple Emanuel Congregation Rejects Merger: Religion: Despite support by acting rabbi and board, members voted against joining Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Decision leaves a $2-million debt and squelches hopes of easy solution to finding a new rabbi". The Los Angeles Times .
  3. ↑ Rosen, Oded (1983). The Encyclopedia of Jewish institutions: United States & Canada. Mosadot Publications. p. 18 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Wanamaker, Marc (2006). Beverly Hills:: 1930–2005. Arcadia Publishing – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "About". Temple Emanuel. 2013.[ dead link ][ self-published source? ]
  6. ↑ Westwood Temple v. Emanuel Center, 98 Cal.App.2d 755, 221 P.2d 146 (1950). Copy of opinion available here at Google Scholar.
  7. ↑ "California rabbi resigns to take job with movies". Tampa Times. Florida. September 2, 1926.
  8. ↑ Gruber, Samuel D. (April 1, 2005). "Sidney Eisenshtat, 90, Leading Synagogue Architect". Forward .
  9. 1 2 "Temple Emanuel". Los Angeles Conservancy . Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Szonzyi, David M. (1985). The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. pp. 278–279 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ "Isaiah Zeldin, 1st Dean". Hebrew Union College. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Los Angeles". Jewish Virtual Library .
  13. ↑ "Beverly Hills' Rabbi Bernard Harrison Dies". The Los Angeles Times . November 9, 1957. p. B5.
  14. ↑ "Dedication of Rabbi Harrison Chapel Held". The Los Angeles Times . October 17, 1960. p. B3.
  15. ↑ "no title". The Los Angeles Times . May 7, 2000. p. 90.{{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  16. ↑ Chandler, Charlotte (2012). "Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends". New York: Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
  17. ↑ Chazanov, Mathis (September 2, 1993). "Wilshire Blvd., Emanuel Temples to Merge". Los Angeles Times .
  18. ↑ Torok, Ryan (November 6, 2013). "Bruce Corwin can't stop giving". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles .
  19. ↑ Rus, Mayer (December 4, 2011). "Back to Shul". Los Angeles Times Magazine . pp. 46–53.
  20. ↑ "Laura Geller". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Jonathan Aaron, and Rabbi Jill Zimmerman". Temple Emanuel. August 24, 2006. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.[ self-published source? ]
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