Beth Jacob Congregation (Beverly Hills, California)

Beth Jacob Congregation is a synagogue in Beverly Hills, California. It is the largest Orthodox synagogue in the Western United States.[1]

Beth Jacob Congregation
Beth Jacob Congregation in 2015
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
Location
Location9030 West Olympic Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California
Geographic coordinates34°3′33.08″N 118°23′20.26″W
Architecture
Completed1954
Direction of façadeNorth
Website
www.bethjacob.org

Location

The synagogue is located at 9030 on West Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California.[2]

History

The congregation was started in West Adams, Los Angeles in 1925.[3] It was named West Adams Hebrew Congregation, and it was located at the corner of West Adams Street and Hillcrest Drive.[3]

In 1954, it relocated to Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills.[3][4][5][6] At the same time, the congregation became more traditional and Orthodox under the leadership of Rabbi Simon A. Dolgin.[3][5][6] In 1955, its day school was named the Hillel Hebrew Academy and moved into a building one block away.[3]

After Dolgin moved to Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem, Israel, Maurice Lamm served as rabbi from 1971 to 1984.[3] He was followed by Abner Weiss from 1984 to 2000, and Steven Weil from 2000 to 2009.[3][1] Since 2009, Kalman Topp has served as the Senior Rabbi.[3]

In July 2014, a ceremony was held at Beth Jacob to honor the memory of murdered Israeli teenagers Yaakov Naftali Frankel, Gilad Michoel Shaar and Eyal Yifrach.[7] Lihi Shaar, the aunt of Gilad Shaar, is a member of Beth Jacob.[7]

References
  1. Michael Gilgannon, Let My People Go: Insights to Passover and the Haggadah, Rowman & Littlefield, 1985, p. xv
  2. Beth Jacob Congregation: Contact Us
  3. Beth Jacob Congregation: Our History
  4. Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 39
  5. Kerry M. Olitzky, The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996, p. 388
  6. Max Vorspan, Lloyd P. Gartner, History of the Jews of Los Angeles, Huntington Library, 1970, p. 261
  7. The City of Beverly Hills Lowers Flags to Honor Fallen Teens Archived July 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Beverly Hills Courier, July 01, 2014
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