It’s not often that you meet a 100 year old. Most organizations and people have an expiration date far earlier than the century mark. Not Beth El Congregation--we are proud to be celebrating our centennial year!
Thanks to Phil Metlin for sharing his creativity and love for Beth El in the centennial video he generously donated to us!
Featuring members of our diverse and delightful congregational family, 100 Reasons celebrates Beth El’s 100th anniversary with 100 stories, 100 memories, 100 reasons to join us!
In honor of our Centennial celebration, a new Centennial Garden with a beautiful courtyard will be created with personalized engraved bricks. The Centennial Garden will be set in the area to the right of our High Holiday entrance.
Your commitment to dedicate a brick in our Centennial Garden will be a permanent and visible reminder of your family. With these bricks, you can celebrate milestones with your personal dedications in honor or memory of family or friends, of celebrations and life cycle events. These bricks will be reserved in our new Centennial Garden and will help beautify and support Beth El while honoring those in your life.
Beth El Congregation began 100 years ago with the vision of an extraordinary woman–Rebecca Ruderman. A member of the growing Jewish community of Beechview, Rebecca recognized the need for a local Hebrew school for the children. She braved the hilly, unpaved streets, literally knocking on doors in search of Jewish families. She organized other Jewish mothers to form The Jewish Women’s Club of Beechview, a group whose mission was to develop a formal Hebrew curriculum, recruit students, and find a home for the new Hebrew School.
The men of the community began gathering for services in the same rooms used for schooling, and before long they met formally to charter an Orthodox synagogue: Beechview Hebrew Congregation Beth El. By 1920, the congregation had purchased its first lot at 1910 Broadway in Beechview. [Read more]
An article about Beth El’s Centennial was recently featured in the Almanac. Read it HERE
As part of Beth El’s Centennial celebration, we created a special book, “The People of Beth El – 100 Years Young.” All member families receive a copy.
How will YOU get involved? What will YOU do?
April 3, 2019
My name is Shayna Bennett and I’m a student teacher at Beth El. I have grown up at Beth El and have been able to call this amazing synagogue my home away from home. And now as a teenager I have the privilege of sharing my love of this place with the next generation of…
October 29, 2018
The following is the text of Rabbi Amy’s 2018 Yom Kippur sermon: A few months ago, I was out for dinner with my book club. At the end of the meal, along with the check, the waitress gave us a handful of wrapped sesame candies. One of my friends said with a wistful smile, I…
April 15, 2018
Blessings are like a stop sign to remind us to slow down and thank God. Throughout the year in Bshul (cooking class) students have learned the blessings for every food group. I introduced the hand-washing blessing, Yadiim, and repeat it at the beginning of every cooking lesson. This keeps us holy and sanitary! For Shabbat…
