Since late June, Beth El and the South Hills Jewish community have stepped up for our friends in Africa who are suffering from famine. The work done by our community has been publicized across the country, and on three continents!  I hope that you read the article last week in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, or…

I was born into Beth El. My parents were born into Beth El. My grandparents and great grandparents were here, part of the original group of founders. One set of my parents’ families was from Beechview and one from Brookline. I came up through the religious school and had my Bar Mitzvah under Rabbi Steindel.…

Milt Wolf:  Back around 1978 I used to go to minyan downtown or in Squirrel Hill, and Sam Balk told me that Beth El was just starting their minyans up again.  So that’s when I started going to the minyan at Beth El.  I was not a member yet. Now I’m a dual member at…

We are brand new members as of September 2016. We were not members anywhere before.  We’ve been in Pittsburgh for 7 years. My father passed 2 and a half years ago in France, where I am from originally, and about a year and half after his passing, I had a lot of questions. Alan and…

It’s nearly impossible for me to pick just one memory from my experience at Beth El.  I went to preschool at Beth El, went through Religious School and had my Bat Mitzvah here, was an active member of Kadima and USY, and now work with our Hebrew school and Kadima.  Looking back, what stands out…

Rabbis Alex and Amy Greenbaum have been our spiritual leaders since Rabbi Alex’s installation in 2002. In anticipation of our Tribute Event honoring the Rabbis’ 15 year anniversary at Beth El, I asked Rabbi Alex and Rabbi Amy to share some of their first impressions from back in 2002. Rabbi Alex: One of my favorite memories…

On April 30th,  Morah Mollie Neuman and I led the Shorashim class and their families in a hands-on educational program about “Mitzvot” or Deeds of loving Kindness. We partnered with the Dream Center of Monroeville whose mission is to directly impact the issues that afflict Pittsburgh communities by reconnecting people to God and a community of…

My first friend at Beth El: The first summer that we joined Beth El, Steve and I came to a new member picnic.  We happened to sit at a table outside with another couple. What are the chances that I sit down and start talking to an actuary?!?!  I am an actuary, and there are…

Mark Blatter:   I grew up Orthodox in Brooklyn, NY, and I put on tefillin regularly until I was in my 20’s. When my father died 15 years ago, I came to morning minyan at Beth El.  And I had to re-learn how to put tefillin on.  I’d forgotten about how to do it even. And…

My cousin Lili, a native of Peru, introduced me to quinoa many years ago (recipe below.)  According to Wikipedia, this ancient grain was domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.  It has been an important staple in the Andean cultures where the plant is indigenous but until recently it was relatively obscure to the rest of…