Community and Connection: Dr. Joanne Rief Reflects on Beth El's Trip to Eastern Europe
07/22/2019 05:48:25 PM
The late, great Anthony Bourdain once said: “Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something...Read more...
Moved by Music: Announcing The Patsy and Fritz Goldschmidt Music Fund
07/15/2019 01:33:30 PM
By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Strategist
Beth El Congregation recently received one of the most significant contributions ever made to the synagogue by a non-member.
Some are drawn to Beth El by its “rockstar” clergy, while others seek personal connections through the...Read more...
Hope is Not Yet Lost: Rabbi Schwartz's Reflections from Eastern Europe
07/08/2019 07:43:11 PM
An Indispensable Judaism: Beth El Introduces Its New Mission Statement and Core Values
07/01/2019 08:26:44 PM
By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Manager
On a brisk morning in January 2018, Beth El's Board of Directors, senior staff, and clergy began shaping the congregation's vision for the future. Their challenge was to articulate the synagogue's mission and values.
“The mission statement and core values align the congregation, and all its various community constituents, along a unified vision of who we are as a community and what we want to accomplish together,” said Joshua Bender, Executive Director.Read more...
Four Jewish Connections to the Fourth of July
07/01/2019 07:51:11 PM
Get to Know: Andy Shankman
06/28/2019 05:16:50 PM
Beth El recently hired Andy Shankman to serve as Religious School Manager and Bnai Mitzvah Coordinator. In his new role, Mr. Shankman will work closely with families to ensure students get the most out of their education, support teachers with their various needs, and oversee the Bnai Mitzvah tutoring...Read more...
Arriving at Auschwitz
06/28/2019 03:13:32 PM
By: Rabbi Stevev Schwartz
Even being there, standing in the barracks and walking along the same dusty and stone filled streets they walked on, it is so hard to get your head around it all. How did human beings actually do these things to other human beings?
Of course, there are academic...Read more...
The Journey Begins
06/26/2019 01:34:02 PM
After two days in Warsaw, our group of 60 plus travelers is making its way to Krakow by bus, a ride of some three hours. Congregational trips are wonderful. Bonds are immediately formed, new friendships ignited, and old relationships renewed. Together we learn and discover,...Read more...
The Creative Process
06/19/2019 08:35:39 PM
By: Rabbi Steve Schwartz
People often ask how sermons are constructed, wondering where I find ideas of what to talk about, why I choose certain references, and what my creative process is. Here are a few thoughts about the sermon I gave on June 1st that might give a bit of insight into how a sermon comes...Read more...
To the (Jewish) Graduates
06/17/2019 08:30:10 PM
By: Rabbi Steven Schwartz
Wednesday night Becky and I watched with pride as our nephew Ezra graduated, with 27 fellow classmates, from Krieger Schechter Day School. The ceremony included the singing of Hebrew songs, words of Torah, and as you might expect presentation of diplomas. It concluded with...Read more...