Seminaries

When a foot-long chunk of water-damaged plaster fell from the domed sanctuary ceiling at Wilshire Boulevard Temple last year, shattering in front of the pulpit below, the room was quickly cordoned off. Had the incident last October occurred during Saturday Shabbat services instead of three days earlier, the story might have been different. "Fortunately, it happened when the sanctuary was empty," Rabbi Steven Leder said. The historic synagogue already had launched a major building program that included the restoration of the 1929 edifice with its distinctive sanctuary and Moorish dome.