After a year’s absence, during which Leo Baeck Temple’s sanctuary and building underwent extensive interior renovations, congregants returned home in a joyous procession on Sept. 9.
More than 100 members, taking turns carrying eight Torah scrolls, walked and rode from American Jewish University, which hosted the congregation for the year, to the temple on Sepulveda Boulevard, across from the Getty Center.
Among the Torahs was one rescued from the Holocaust, a Sephardic scroll and one commissioned for the synagogue’s 50th anniversary.
Joining the procession were three men who alternately led the Reform congregation since its founding in 1948: Rabbis Leonard Beerman and Sanford Ragins, and the current spiritual leader, Rabbi Kenneth M. Chasen.
At a Sept. 11 dedication ceremony, the procession was recreated, carrying the Torahs the final steps into the sanctuary.
The extensive renovations, under architects Frederick Fisher Partners, cost approximately $11 million, said executive director Abigail G. Spiegel.
Renovations included soundproofing of all auditoriums and offices, natural light diffusion, reorientation of the bimah, and some exterior work.
Leo Baeck Temple, frequently a leading Jewish voice in progressive causes, has a membership of some 640 families.
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