Welcome to Temple Beth Shalom Online
Who We Are
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Conservative-Egalitarian-Caring
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Contemporary-Challenging
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Uplifting-Learning-Celebrating
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Comforting-Healing-Exploring
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Join us on the Journey!
Ira J. Rothstein
- Rabbi
Ruth Katz Green -
Cantor
Mark Meyer-
President
Karen Ross -
Executive Director
Nancy Shechter - Ed. Dir.
Our Philosophy
Temple Beth Shalom was founded in 1978. Since then we have grown from a handful of individuals to over 500 families. Our building was dedicated in November,1984.
Our mission is to learn and experience the relevance, power and joy of our tradition. In order to fulfill this mission, we must perform acts of kindness, study our tradition on an ongoing basis and encourage participatory prayer.Together we will create a caring and vibrant center of Jewish life.
Our goal is to create a Mercaz- a center of Jewish life. In such a center, people will feel inspired to pray, study and socialize together. If the next generation can be taught how to live Jewish values, then we will have created a sense of community and interconnection. A Mercaz can only be created when enough people have been exposed to primary Jewish experiences. As a result, we must ask ourselves:
1. Do we explore our relationship with God? Are we
strengthening that relationship?
2. How do we pray and what do the words mean?
3. How do we celebrate holidays and what do the customs mean?
4. How do we read from the Torah and what do the words mean
to us?
5. Do we have a place for Jewish children to meet and
socialize with other Jewish children?
6. Is there a place where we can spend quality time working
with other Jews on programs, projects and events?
7. Is there a place we can turn to in a time of need?
8. Is there a place in which we can celebrate the life cycle
events of our lives?
What's Going On
Shabbat Services Friday evenings in March, April, May and June are at 8PM except on April 27, May 18 and June 1 for TBS Alive which is at 7:30PM and May 4 for Early Shabbat Prayer, Birthday and Alef Services which is at 7:30PM. Saturday morning services are at 9:30AM.
TBS ALIVE! Friday Night services filled with music and inspiration. Don’t Miss It. Join us at 7:30PM on April 27, May 18 and June 1!
Rabbi’s Mysticism and Meditation Class- A time set aside for learning meaningful and probing Jewish texts. Time will also be set aside for meditation and inner awareness. If you are seeking refuge from the noise of everyday life, this will be a wonderful opportunity for inner reflection, learning and spiritual growth. Tuesdays from 7:30 to 8:15 on April 17 and May 15.
The Essentials of Judaism – Putting the pieces together - Part 2. If you did not take Part 1, don’t let that stop you. Part 2 is a stand on its own course. Join us and bring a friend. Tuesdays- 7:30PM to 8:30PM on April 24, May 1, 8, 22 and 29
A Glimmer of Light- Throughout the year, on selected Friday evenings, Rabbi Rothstein will hold a short 15 minute meditation meeting in our meditation room. In 15 short minutes, we will study one teaching and then meditate for a few minutes. It is relaxing. It is calming. It is spiritual. Here is this year's list: April 13, 2012 and June 15, 2012.
Thursday, March 22, 2012 Join the woman for a “Chocolate Seder”. Surround and be surrounded by two of the greatest things in life; Women and Chocolate. 7-9pm. Bring all the women in your life for this unique experience. You do not have to be a member of Sisterhood or of Temple Beth Shalom to attend. You will have the opportunity to make a unique craft for your Seder table. Donation is $18. Per person and must be received by the Temple office no later than Thursday, March 8. Please note: This is a dessert seder.
May 7 at 7:30PM. TBS is proud to present the movie The Adjustment Bureau. Even if you have seen it already come and see it with Rabbi Rothstein and it will be as if you are watching a totally new movie. Aside from being entertaining, it’s a movie about free will, destiny, angels and of course God. Bring a friend. No fee for TBS members. $3.00 for non TBS members. Refreshments will be served.
April 6 at 7AM- Join us for the Service for the First Born followed by our Chametz Burning Ceremony.
Sale of Chametz forms are available in the information centers
in the lobby or through the office. All sale of chametz must be done by Friday
Morning, April 6th by 8AM.
Something To Think About
By Rabbi Ira Rothstein
Joy And Evil
The first hand accounts of the
massacre at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, remind me
of the
dark evil places human beings are capable of reaching within themselves.
As I write these words, the killer of Jewish children is surrounded by French
police. The reports are that he was trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and
Pakistan. Most disturbing of all is the report that the killer videotaped
his murderous rampage as it was happening. If that was not coldblooded
enough, the report is that he pulled 7 year old Miriam Monsonego by the hair
around the school yard, before calmly reloading his gun and executing her in
cold blood.
It is a premise of Jewish theology that God puts both light
and darkness into the world and we are free to choose between them. But
sometimes, you have to wonder why the darkness must be so dark and the evil must
be so evil.
Someone once wrote that joy is everywhere. “It is in
the earth’s green covering of grass, in the blue serenity of the sky, in the
reckless exuberance of Spring, in the severe abstinence of gray Winter.
Joy is in the living flesh that animates our bodily frame. Joy is in
living, in the exercise of all our powers, in the acquisition of knowledge.
And joy is in the fighting of evil. Joy is therefore everywhere.”
What I take from this passage is that the stubborn and unrelenting presence of evil in our world requires us to stand up to it and that we will never find joy unless we are willing to do so. Ultimately, if we stand up to evil and darkness on a consistent basis, we will realize that in our universe joy can be found everywhere. However, today it is hard to find joy, when we think of a killer pulling an innocent 7 year old girl by the hair around a playground and then executing her simply because she was a Jew. Darkness still fills our world and that darkness won’t go away on its own. Joy can be found, not only in the blue serenity of the sky, but in the acquisition of knowledge and in the fighting of evil. It is worth pondering such a concept on this dark day.
