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Imagine this...
When the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Campus of Wilshire Boulevard Temple opens later this summer in time for its new classroom and family spaces to be filled with joyful energy at the start of the new school year, our congregation, the Jewish community, and the City of Los Angeles will have an exciting new destination designed for a lifetime of meaningful experiences.
Imagination brought two great congregations together, a merger that is opening new opportunities. “This historic union brings the best of each institution together to create a more vibrant, powerful, and creative Jewish future in West Los Angeles,” said Rabbi Steve Leder. “In an era when so many are drawing inward and sometimes feeling pessimistic about the future, we are embracing the journey ahead with optimism and plans for great success. Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Resnick Campus is a testament to the visionary DNA that has always been and always will be Wilshire Boulevard Temple."
Imagination, a sense of history, and a vision for tomorrow inspired Lynda and Stewart Resnick, the visionary philanthropists and entrepreneurs behind The Wonderful Company, to make their lead gift. “We have always believed philanthropy must start close to home and that Tikkun Olambegins in one’s own community,” said the Resnicks in a statement. “Wilshire Boulevard Temple has been a welcoming home to our family for a generation and we are proud to support the establishment of a space that will provide that same sense for families in West Los Angeles for generations to come.”
The youngest members of our community will be among the very first to experience the beauty and comfort of the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Early Childhood Center. Wilshire BoulevardTemple’s reputation for early childhood excellence is well-established. The addition of the Resnick Center brings the quality Wilshire Boulevard Temple is known for to Brentwood and brand new classrooms carefully designed for experiential learning. All of the rooms for the ECC will be oriented towards an outside garden. All of the rooms will have new equipment, their own individual bathrooms, and kitchenettes. The Resnick Early Childhood Center is taking applications for Fall 23. You can read more about the Resnick ECC in this bulletin and online at www.wbtecc.org
Also opening for classes next Fall is the Bram and Elaine Goldsmith Religious School. Reimagining religious school for today and tomorrow, the Religious School is developing innovative new programs and activities thanks to a generous gift from the Goldsmith Charitable Trust. Karen and Russell Goldsmith said their donation continues a tradition begun by his father and mother to improve the quality of religious school education. “It's critical that Jewish children grow up understanding that they have a responsibility and a very special place in the world as Jews,” Russell Goldsmith said.
With the renovation now well underway, Building Chair and Past Temple President AlbertoValner led a video tour of the campus as it is today and how it will look when complete. There is much to see, both inside and out, from the sanctuary and social halls and a Westside extension of the Karsh Family Social Service Center, to classrooms and play spaces for religious school and early childhood center. Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro reacts to the work in progress and adds her insights to the video commentary.
Imagine is a word heard often by anyone and everyone working on the campus renovation and the activities that will take place there. Imagine all that is truly possible. Imagine all we can do. Imagine the lives we can touch and the difference we can make. Imagine that.
To watch our Resnick Campus construction tour and learn more about the progress of the inspiring new Wilshire BoulevardTemple Campus, visit www.wbtla.org/resnick-campus-renovation