''Restoring Tomorrow'' is a 2017 documentary film directed by Aaron Wolf that recounts the history and the restoration of the

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome an ...

in Los Angeles, California.

Synopsis

The film follows filmmaker Aaron Wolf's personal journey of rediscovery, guided by the narration of Wilshire Boulevard Temple's history and reconstruction. At the time that Wolf was studying at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, he had little connection to his faith. He considered himself a “fallen-away Jew” and had drifted from the temple and his Jewish faith like much of the nation's younger generations. Weeks before their wedding, Wolf and his fiancé split, sending him back to his childhood temple to seek counsel from Rabbi Steve Leder. It was then that Rabbi Leder shared his vision to renovate the temple, which at that point was in total disrepair and falling apart. Rabbi Leder asked Wolf to document the temple's restoration, and Wolf agreed to bring on his production company
Howling Wolf Productions
to film the process. Intertwined in the story of the temple's restoration is the temple's history as the first Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California, told chronologically through the various rabbis that have led the congregations, including

Edgar Magnin Edgar Magnin (July 1, 1890 – July 17, 1984) was rabbi and spiritual leader of Wilshire Boulevard Temple (previously Congregation B'nai B'rith), the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Magnin served at the temple for 69 yea ...

and

Harvey J. Fields Harvey J. Fields (1935–2014) was an American Reform rabbi. He served as the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, the largest synagogue in Canada, from 1978 to 1982. He then served as the rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagog ...

. Most consequential for the film and its filmmaker is Alfred Wolf, Aaron's grandfather who had left Eberbach, Germany at the time that the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

rose to power and served as rabbi at Wilshire Boulevard Temple from 1949 to 1985. It is likely Rabbi Wolf's influence on the temple and the community that draws Wolf closer to the subject of the film, the temple and ultimately his faith.

Cast

* Aaron Wolf * Rabbi Steve Leder * George Alvarez * Bob Bookman * Lionel Bell * Steve Breur * Marian Brown * Stephen Davis *

Ryan Kavanaugh Ryan Kavanaugh (born 1974) is an American film financier. He co-founded and served as CEO of Relativity Media, where he brokered deals between Wall Street investors and major film studios. He credited his risk-assessment algorithm with Relati ...

* Stephen Sass * Karen Wilson * Dan Wolf * Joyce Powell * Don Schwarz * Louise Taubman * Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer

Awards and nominations

''Restoring Tomorrow'' was awarded Best Documentary at the 201
Myrtle Beach Film FestivalThe Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
hosted a special screening of the film on closing night on May 3, 2017, honoring famed LA architect

Brenda Levin Brenda A. Levin is a Los Angeles-based architect and advocate for historic preservation. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), her major projects include the restoration of iconic L.A. landmarks like the Bradbury Building, the Gr ...

for her work in renovating and reconstructing the temple. Director Aaron Wolf and Rabbi Steve Leder attended and participated in a Q&A following the screening.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=3249794, title=Restoring Tomorrow * ''Restoring Tomorrow'
official movie site
Documentary films about Jews and Judaism in the United States Documentary films about Los Angeles Jews and Judaism in Los Angeles 2010s English-language films