Valley Beth Shalom

Last updated

Valley Beth Shalom
Valley Beth Shalom.JPG
Valley Beth Shalom synagogue
Religion
Affiliation Conservative Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz
  • Rabbi Ed Feinstein
  • Rabbi Nina Bieber Feinstein
StatusActive
Location
Location15739 Ventura Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California
CountryUnited States
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Los Angeles
Geographic coordinates 34°09′20.19″N118°28′36.68″W / 34.1556083°N 118.4768556°W / 34.1556083; -118.4768556
Architecture
Date establishedc.1950s
Completedc.1980s
Website
www.vbs.org

Valley Beth Shalom (informally called VBS) is a Conservative synagogue at 15739 Ventura Boulevard in Encino, Los Angeles, California, in the United States. [1] With approximately 1,500 member families, [2] it is one of the largest synagogues in Los Angeles and one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the United States.

Contents

Newsweek included the synagogue on its 2009 list of America's 25 Most Vibrant Congregations, saying, "Valley Beth Shalom continues to be one of America's most relevant and community-minded synagogues." [3]

History

Valley Beth Shalom was formed in the 1950s through the merger of three small synagogues, and was initially named Valley Beth Sholom (sic.), located on Sepulveda Boulevard. In the 1970s, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis became a driving force in the expansion of the congregation and the current synagogue was completed during his tenure in the late 1980s. [4]

Overview

The clergy include Senior Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, rabbis Ed Feinstein and Nina Bieber Feinstein, and cantors Herschel Fox, Phil Baron, and Jacqueline Rafii. Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, arguably one of the most influential and renowned rabbis of his generation, [5] was rabbi for many decades as well, serving in this capacity until his death in 2014.

The synagogue launched the Jewish World Watch, [6] an NGO founded by Schulweis and Janice Kamenir-Reznik, and is a founding member of the Havurah movement. [7]

On Yom Ha'atzmaut 2003 (6 May), a Molotov cocktail was thrown through one of the synagogue's stained-glass windows. Mayor James K. Hahn said, "These are acts of terrorism, they're acts of hatred, and they tear at the very fabric of our community." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic Reform synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 701 Farmington Avenue, in West Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Elohim</span> Reform Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, New York, US

Congregation Beth Elohim, also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation and historic synagogue located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, New York, in the United States.

Harold M. Schulweis was an American rabbi and author. He was the longtime spiritual Leader at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California.

Rabbi David Eli Stern is the senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the largest synagogue in the South/Southwest United States and the third-largest in the Union for Reform Judaism. He was selected as the 26th most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine in 2008 and the 30th most influential in 2009. Rabbi Stern graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College, earned his M. A. in Jewish education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR Los Angeles, California in 1988, and was ordained from HUC in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilshire Boulevard Temple</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles, California, US

The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.

Congregation Beth Israel is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 989 West 28th Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1925, but did not formally incorporate until 1932. Its first rabbi was Ben Zion Bokser, hired that year. He was succeeded the following year by Samuel Cass (1933–1941). Other rabbis included David Kogen (1946–1955), Bert Woythaler (1956–1963), and Wilfred Solomon, who served for decades starting in 1964.

Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 411 South Eighth Street, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1907 to provide services for the High Holidays, it was then, and remains today, the only synagogue in the Lebanon area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (New Orleans)</span> Synagogue in New Orleans, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States.

Reuven Hammer was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel. A prolific writer in both the Israeli and international press, he was a regular columnist for The Jerusalem Post's "Tradition Today" column. He lived in Jerusalem.

Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, more commonly known as Beth Shalom B'Nai Zaken EHC, or simply Beth Shalom, abbreviated as BSBZ EHC, is a Black Hebrew Israelite congregation and synagogue, located at 6601 South Kedzie Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The congregation is led by rabbi Capers Funnye; and assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter. Beth Shalom is affiliated with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinai Temple (Los Angeles)</span> Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue

The Sinai Temple is a Conservative synagogue located at 10400 Wilshire Boulevard, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The Sinai Temple congregation is the oldest and largest Conservative congregation in the greater Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth El (Alpena, Michigan)</span> Unaffiliated synagogue in Michigan, United States

Temple Beth-El is a non-denomational Jewish synagogue, located at 125 White Street, in Alpena, Michigan, in the United States. It is the only synagogue in northeastern Lower Michigan. The congregation is closely associated with the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Bycel</span>

Lee Bycel is an American Reform rabbi, rabbinic educator and social activist. He served as dean of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles for 15 years, as western regional executive director of American Jewish World Service, and, in 2017, retired from Congregation Beth Shalom of the Napa Valley. He is an adjunct professor of Jewish Studies & Social Justice with the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco.

Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, also called The Sephardic Temple, is an unaffiliated Jewish congregation and synagogue that adopts Sephardi nusach, located at 10500 Wilshire Boulevard, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Established on February 1, 1920 as the "Sephardic Community of Los Angeles", the congregation exists today as the merger of three major Sephardic organizations with approximately 600 member families.

Steven Blane is an American rabbi, cantor and recording singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth Am</span>

Temple Beth Am is a Conservative synagogue located on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard, just south of Beverly Hills, in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1935, it moved into a new building designed by one of the earliest African-American architects in Los Angeles, Ralph A. Vaughn, in 1959.

Temple Ahavat Shalom Northridge is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 18200 Rinaldi Place, in Northridge, in San Fernando Valley, Southern California, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1965 and is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism.

Congregation Adath Israel is a former Conservative synagogue and religious community in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the United States, that held services from 1907 to 2006.

References

  1. "Cruising the Boulevard". Los Angeles Conservancy.
  2. Popper, Nathaniel (September 23, 2005). "Next Generation Of Pulpit Rabbis Shakes Up L.A." The Forward . Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  3. "America's 25 Most Vibrant Congregations". Newsweek . April 3, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  4. "Our story: History". Valley Beth Shalom. 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  5. "50 Influential Rabbis". Newsweek . April 3, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  6. Schulweis, Rabbi Harold M. (September 15–16, 2004). "Globalism and Judaism". Sermons. Valley Beth Shalom. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  7. Fax, Julie G. (March 31, 2005). "Courage and Innovation". Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  8. "4 California Fires Are Called Hate Crimes". The New York Times . May 8, 2003.