Temple Emanuel (Beverly Hills, California)

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

For similarly named synagogues, see Emanu-El.
Temple Emanuel
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
Location
Location300 N Clark Drive, Beverly Hills, California
Geographic coordinates34.0718°N 118.3851°W / 34.0718; -118.3851
Architecture
Architect(s)Sidney Eisenshtat
Completed1953

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. Official website: Homepage
  2. 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. .
  4. Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills:: 1930–2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006
  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. "Temple Emanuel", Los Angeles Conservancy (accessed 2014-10-06).
  11. David M. Szonzyi, The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1985, pp. 278-279
  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. 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
  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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