A Welcome Message from Rabbi Steve Leder

At Wilshire Boulevard Temple, we care about our neighbors. Our beautiful campus is in the heart of Koreatown—one of the most dynamic and diverse communities in the country—and we know that many of the area’s residents have immense needs.

Within a five-mile radius of our Temple, about one-third of adults go hungry some of the time, and nearly four in ten adults cannot afford any dental care. An estimated one in four families in our community lives below the federal poverty level.

That is why we have created the Karsh Family Social Service Center—which offers the most comprehensive outreach to neighbors of any synagogue in America and perhaps the world. The Center, located along 6th Street at our Erika J. Glazer Family Campus, is devoted to providing free or low-cost dental and vision care, legal aid, mental health counseling, and food security.

We are proud to be opening the Karsh Family Social Service Center.

We want each of the tens of thousands of people who are expected to pass through the Karsh Center’s doors each year to know that the Jewish people is a good, kind, and caring people, and that we live the Torah’s commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves in very real ways. We want our neighbors to know we are here to help.

Of course, not only our clients, but we too will benefit from the Karsh Center.

Our goal is for 1,000 Wilshire Boulevard Temple members to volunteer in this effort every year and, in doing so, to experience the meaning and purpose that come from helping others.

Each of our members can make a personal difference by becoming a Karsh Family Social Service Center volunteer. What we can achieve together will change people’s lives and our city for the better in powerful and profound ways.