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For similarly named synagogues, see Emanu-El.

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]

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.

References

  1. ^ a b "Home page". Temple Emanuel.[self-published source?]
  2. ^ a b c 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. ISBN 978-0-913185-00-1 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Wanamaker, Marc (2006). Beverly Hills:: 1930–2005. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-1815-8 – 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. ^ a b "Temple Emanuel". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Szonzyi, David M. (1985). The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-88125-057-2 – 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. ISBN 978-1-4711-0585-2 – 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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