Temple Beth Am (formerly: Olympic Jewish Center) is a historic Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1935, it moved into a new building designed by one of the earliest African-American architects in Los Angeles,

Ralph A. Vaughn Ralph A. Vaughn (1907–2000) was an African-American academic, architect and film set designer. Born in Washington, D.C., he was an assistant professor at Howard University before moving to Los Angeles, California, where he designed many buildi ...

, in 1959. In recent years, it has received significant donations from Holocaust survivor

Sigi Ziering Sigi Ziering (March 20, 1928 – November 12, 2000) was a German-born American business executive, scientist, playwright and philanthropist. A Holocaust survivor, he immigrated to the United States with his family, earned a doctorate in theor ...

and his wife, Marilyn, whose names are on the building.

Location

The synagogue is located on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, just South of Beverly Hills.Fairfax : Temple Beth Am Reunion
''The Los Angeles Times'', October 11, 1990

History

Temple Beth Am was founded in 1935 as the Olympic Jewish Center. Pamela Susan Nadell, ''Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook'', ABC-CLIO, 1988, pp. 202-20

/ref> It is the third oldest Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles.Temple Beth Am: Building Our House
Jacob Pressman served as its rabbi from 1950 to 1985.Los Angeles

Jewish Virtual Library Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

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,

, in 1959.Dreck Spurlock Wilson, ''African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945'', New York City: Routledge, 2004, p. 66

/ref> In 1990, it celebrated its 55th anniversary. In recent years, it has received significant donations from Holocaust survivor

and his wife Marilyn, whose names are on the building. The current cantor is Rabbi Hillary Chorny. In 2012, the

Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...

nearly fell to the ground during a service.Julie Gruenbaum Fax
A Torah falls, a shul bonds
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', September 27, 2012 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 developerDennis McLellan
George Konheim, 84; Leading Developer, Philanthropist
'' The Los Angeles Times'', December 09, 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Am (Los Angeles, California) Synagogues in Los Angeles Jewish organizations established in 1935 1935 establishments in California Synagogues completed in 1959 Conservative synagogues in California 1959 establishments in California