Temple Israel of Hollywood, Reform synagogue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States.
Temple Israel of Hollywood is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue on Hollywood Boulevard, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. The current building was constructed in 1948 and designed by architects Samuel E. Lunden and S. Charles Lee; it has been expanded several times since. Above the front doors, a frieze shows two pairs of hands making the sign of the Priestly Blessing.
The synagogue was founded in 1926 by seven people, five of whom worked in the film industry, and held its first services in the Hayakawa Mansion. Over the following decades it grew alongside the Jewish community in Hollywood and moved into the building it occupies today.
The congregation's cultural life has long mixed worship with Hollywood performance. Its Midnight Show fundraiser drew stars such as Al Jolson, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Lena Horne. The frieze over the front doors shows two pairs of hands making the Priestly Blessing; Leonard Nimoy, a member, adapted that gesture into the Vulcan salute.
The building is on Hollywood Boulevard and easy to reach on foot or by public transit from much of central Los Angeles. It is worth checking in advance when services or events are scheduled, since the calendar changes with the seasons and religious holidays.
The frieze over the front doors shows two pairs of hands making the Priestly Blessing. Leonard Nimoy, a congregation member, drew on the gesture he had seen in his Boston childhood to devise the Vulcan salute. The sanctuary lamp was donated by Hal Wallis, producer of Casablanca.
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