About the Shul
Shaarei Tefila is one of the oldest congregations in Los Angeles.
Boyle Heights to Beverly Blvd
The congregation was founded in the early 1930s as the Western Jewish Institute in Boyle Heights, then the center of Jewish life in Los Angeles. As the community moved west, the shul moved with it. The main sanctuary that stands today on Beverly Blvd was designed and built during the 1950s under the direction of Rabbi W. Spiegelman. It is a large room with a proper mechitza, a balcony, and stained glass that still catches the afternoon light.
A home after the war
In the years after the Second World War, many survivors arriving in Southern California made Shaarei Tefila their shul. It was where they said kaddish and where they found people who understood. The community that formed in those rooms went on to shape much of Orthodox life in the region.
Who has stood here
Over the decades the shul has hosted Chief Rabbis of Israel, Prime Ministers, Presidents and members of the Knesset, along with visitors from across the Jewish world.
Today
Shaarei Tefila is an Orthodox congregation led by Rabbi Avi Weller. There are three Shachris minyanim every weekday morning, Mincha and Maariv each afternoon, a full Shabbos and Yom Tov schedule, shiurim during the week, and a kiddush after davening on Shabbos morning.
Neighbors and longtime members continue to build on what was started here ninety years ago.