Our Blog

by Lynn Urbach, President Our Bet Ha’am Annual Meeting was just a couple of weeks ago. We probably broke any previous attendance record—we had sixty-three

by Lynn Urbach, President Please join us for our Annual Meeting of the Congregation on June 16 at 6:30 PM. This an opportunity for members to hear

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Some of you were there. Worship on Saturday, May 16, was an emotional service for me. It was an emotional

by Toby Rosenberg, congregant This spring Bet Ha’am’s annual gala fundraiser, A Storied Affair, will transform into an exciting virtual event we are calling A Different Story. Still

by Bill Welch, board member I discovered ironically that last week’s Torah portion, Tazria/Metzora, contains among other things a detailed description about how the community

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks As I write this, it’s the end of April and I was supposed to have completed this piece weeks ago,

by Rachel Lefkowitz, Synagogue Administrator Two months ago, my biggest concern was about bringing food for onegs on plates rather than in containers. Well, the

by Lynn Urbach, President Dear Friends,I want to give you an update on our response at Bet Ha’am to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rabbi Saks, Sam

with Rabbi Jared H. Saks In February, Rabbi Saks led a thoughtful discussion of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. At the time, we anticipated a scholar-in-residence weekend

by Lynn Urbach, President Dear friends, Things have been changing so fast as we all respond to COVID-19. We hope that most of you are

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

We learn in a famous Talmudic phrase Kol Yisrael areivin ze ba-zeh –this means “We are all responsible for one another” (Sanhedrin 27b). This applies not only

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