Temple Beth Am
History
Temple Beth Am was founded in 1935 as the Olympic Jewish Center. It is the third oldest Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles.
Jacob Pressman served as its rabbi from 1950 to 1985. Under his leadership, the synagogue took its current name, Temple Beth Am in 1957. It moved into a new building designed by the African-American architect, Ralph A. Vaughn, in 1959.
The congregation has received significant donations from Holocaust survivor Sigi Ziering and his wife Marilyn, and the building has been named in their honor.
In 2012, the Sefer Torah nearly fell to the ground during a service. As this is seen a traumatic event in the Jewish faith, rabbi Adam Kligfeld requested that members of the congregation share among themselves forty days of fasting to recover.
Notable members
- George Konheim, real estate developer
References
- ^ "Fairfax: Temple Beth Am Reunion". The Los Angeles Times. October 11, 1990.
- ^ Nadell, Pamela Susan (1988). Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 202–203.
- ^ Temple Beth Am: Building Our House Archived 2015-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Los Angeles". Jewish Virtual Library.
- ^ Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (2004). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. New York City: Routledge. p. 666.
- ^ Fax, Julie Gruenbaum (September 27, 2012). "A Torah falls, a shul bonds". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (December 9, 2001). "George Konheim, 84; Leading Developer, Philanthropist". The Los Angeles Times.
