The History of Beth Jacob Congregation |
In 1925 a group of 33 people decided that Jews who lived in the West Adams section of Los Angeles needed a synagogue with a Talmud Torah and social center close to their homes. This small group chose the name “West Adams Hebrew Congregation.” The new congregation purchased a lot at the corner of West Adams Street and Hillcrest Drive. By the following year women of the congregation organized a sisterhood. In 1928, the congregation dedicated its first building. Originally, it was organized as a conservative synagogue, with some calling it “semi-orthodox”. Over the years, the West Adams Jewish community grew, as did the synagogue. Services and Torah studies for adults were held daily. Rabbi Nathan Addelson joined the congregation in 1933 and remained until 1938. In 1939 a newly ordained at the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago, Simon Dolgin z”l, followed Rabbi Addelson and led the congregation. In 1949, Beth Jacob established its own day school. In 1954 Rabbi Dolgin z”l moved the Congregation from West Adams to Beverly Hills, an “exclusive area.” Beth Jacob not only moved geographically, but spiritually as well. Rabbi Dolgin z”l gradually moved the congregation to a more meticulous Orthodox practice and the congregation took an increasingly traditional image. With the move to Beverly Hills and the more traditional approach, service attendance increased, adult classes flourished, and the growth of Yiddishkeit was in evidence in Beverly Hills. In 1955 Beth Jacob’s day school changed its name to Hillel Hebrew Academy and it moved in 1964 into a new building located one block from the congregation where it stands flourishing today. In 1964, Beth Jacob merged with local congregation B’nai Israel. In 1971, Rabbi Dolgin z”l made aliyah and opened a branch of Beth Jacob in Ramat Eshkol section of Jerusalem where it thrives today. Rabbi Maurice Lamm succeeded Rabbi Dolgin as the Rabbi, and led Beth Jacob until 1984 when Rabbi Abner Weiss succeeded him. Rabbi Steven Weil became Beth Jacob’s Rabbi in the year 2000 and has developed Beth Jacob into a true place of Torah and community. Beth Jacob’s membership consists of over 750 families, and sees itself as a model for other Orthodox Synagogues across the nation. |
To Read Beth Jacob's Mission Statement, Click HERE |
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