Temple Emanuel (Beverly Hills, California)

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For similarly named synagogues, see Emanu-El.
Temple Emanuel
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Main Building.jpg
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
Location
Location300 N Clark Drive, Beverly Hills, California
Geographic coordinates34°04′18″N 118°23′06″W / 34.0718°N 118.3851°W / 34.0718; -118.3851
Architecture
Architect(s)Sidney Eisenshtat
Completed1953

Temple Emanuel is a Reform synagogue in Beverly Hills, California.

Location[]

It is located at 300 N Clark Drive in Beverly Hills, California.[1][2][3]

History[]

The synagogue 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][8]

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.[9] Built with red brick and concrete, it is considered an important example of modernist synagogue architecture.[10]

Inside, the Belle Chapel presents a permanent memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.[11] The sculpture inside the chapel was designed by Dr Eric May and donated by Nicolai Joffe.[11]

Isaiah Zeldin served as one of its rabbis from 1958 until he left to found Stephen S. Wise Temple in Bel Air in 1964.[12][13] Rabbi Zeldin was preceded by Bernard Harrison; after Rabbi Harrison's death, a chapel was dedicated in his honor.[14][15][16] Edward Krawll was cantor for many years.[17][18] Meanwhile, comedian Groucho Marx was a congregant.[19]

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.[20] 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 some $10 million.[21] he building underwent a substantial renovation in 2011, under the supervision of Rios Clementi Hale Studios.[10][22]

At present[]

From 1994–2015, Laura Geller had served as senior rabbi.[1] This made her the first female rabbi to lead a major metropolitan congregation.[23][24] 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.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Official website: Homepage
  2. ^ a b c Mathis Chazanov, 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, December 09, 1993
  3. ^ Oded Rosen, The Encyclopedia of Jewish institutions: United States & Canada, Mosadot Publications, 1983, p. 18. [1].
  4. ^ Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills:: 1930–2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006 [2]
  5. ^ Official website: About Temple Emanuel
  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. ^ Rabbi Ernest Trattner on findagrave.com
  8. ^ California rabbi resigns to take job with movies. Tampa Times (Florida) 2 Sept 1926
  9. ^ Samuel D. Gruber, "Sidney Eisenshtat, 90, Leading Synagogue Architect", Forward, April 1, 2005.
  10. ^ a b "Temple Emanuel", Los Angeles Conservancy (accessed 2014-10-06).
  11. ^ a b David M. Szonzyi, The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1985, pp. 278-279 [3]
  12. ^ "Isaiah Zeldin, 1st Dean" at Hebrew Union College website (accessed March 21, 2010), archive.org copy here.
  13. ^ Los Angeles, Jewish Virtual Library
  14. ^ "Beverly Hills' Rabbi Bernard Harrison Dies". Los Angeles Times. Nov 9, 1957. p. B5.
  15. ^ Dedication of Rabbi Harrison Chapel Held. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File); Oct 17, 1960; p. B3
  16. ^ Rabbi Bernard Harrison on Findagrave.com
  17. ^ The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2000. p. 90. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ^ Edward Krawll on findagrave.com
  19. ^ Charlotte Chandler, Hello, I Must Be Going: Groucho and His Friends, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012 [4]
  20. ^ Mathis Chazanov, "Wilshire Blvd., Emanuel Temples to Merge", Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1993.
  21. ^ Ryan Torok (November 6, 2013). "Bruce Corwin can't stop giving". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
  22. ^ Mayer Rus (December 4, 2011). "Back to Shul". Los Angeles Times Magazine. pp. 46–53.
  23. ^ "Laura Geller | Jewish Women's Archive". Jwa.org. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  24. ^ "Rabbi Laura Geller | Rabbi Jonathan Aaron | Rabbi Jill Zimmerman | Los Angeles". Tebh.org. 2006-08-24. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
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