Our Blog

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks In the opening verses of the Torah portion T’rumah, God instructs Moses to speak to the Israelites so that they

by Lynn Urbach, President  Which of the following is the most commonly observed practice for Jews in the United States? Going to synagogue on High

by Sam Spinrad Sunday mornings, after tefillah, our first, second, and third graders and their parents spend twenty minutes studying with Rabbi and me. Our theme

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks I think Purim was among my favorite Jewish holidays when I was a child. I looked forward to the Purim

by Rachel Stamieszkin We are happy to announce that we have added new prayer-music selections to our Bet Ha’am website. Helping our congregants, be they

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks February 11, 2020 – 16 Shevat 5780 “When Irving Berlin (Izzy Baline) was a child on the Lower East Side

by Rachel Lefkowitz I did not grow up practicing Judaism, so when I first went to Friday night services, I thought, “This is a great way

by Elaine Falender In connection with Bet Ha’am’s 25th anniversary in April 2010, congregant Elaine Falender did some “research” for a Shabbat dinner presentation. A

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Shabbat Va-eira | January 24, 2020 – 28 Tevet 5780 Among my earliest memories of childhood is my parents taking

by Rachel Weinstein Here’s my deal. I’m a therapist. A wife. I have two kids. I am trying to exercise, take care of our chickens and dogs, clean the house, shop

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Shabbat Sh’mot, January 17, 2020 – 21 Tevet 5780 I want to talk with you tonight about anti-Semitism. In the

by Anna Siegel I was recently given the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about my experience as an activist and the power of the

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks At the recent Biennial Convention of the Union for Reform Judaism, I attended a session titled Antiracism: Doing the Work

by Lynn Urbach, President I just got back from the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Biennial in Chicago. What an incredible, exciting five days it

by Sam Spinrad, Religious School Director I consider it one of my primary objectives to instill a sense of Jewish identity and curiosity in students

by Rachel Lefkowitz, Synagogue Administrator When I was a child, my family always spent Christmas day with my cousins at my grandmother’s house in Connecticut.

by Rachel Stamieszkin, Master gardener volunteer and Bet Ha’am garden committee member Have you seen our raised beds when you are visiting Bet Ha’am? Ever wonder what we grow

In his Rosh Hashanah sermon, Rabbi Saks spoke about the work he would like to do with our congregation to dismantle systemic racism in our

By Jane Snerson. D’var Torah, November 1, 2019. The Torah portion this week is Noah. Noah who was told by God that the people were

by Sam Spinrad, Education Director On Erev Simchat Torah, which fell on October 20 this year, we celebrated the beginning of our first-grade students’ Jewish education (consecration).