Soon after Beth Am was founded in 1974, rebbe Dr. Louis Kaplan wrote about the “felt need of our members and friends for a synagogue with a special blend of prayer and study, tradition and innovation, combined with opportunities for direct involvement…We must be willing to accept the challenge of Judaism as an eternal quest, a spiritual and intellectual adventure for all of us. Even as we revere the treasures of history and thought bequeathed to us, our deepest concerns are for today and for the future.”
Today, we honor that commitment and embrace that challenge – through torah.
The word torah is multi-faceted. In addition to the Sefer Torah, the Torah scroll itself, torah can mean the corpus of Jewish sacred literature. It has also come to mean the specific torah values claimed by individual Jews and Jewish organizations. Beth Am’s “torah” is expressed through five pillars, core values that undergird and animate our work.
As we celebrate our history and our 50th Anniversary, we also celebrate these values. We make a statement about the kind of congregation we are today and the future we envision.
קהילה
Kehillah – Sacred Community
צדק
Tzedek – Social Justice
מקום
Makom – Connection to Place
עמך
Amcha – Celebrating Diversity
לימוד
Limud – Learning
December 13-14, 2024
Beth Am’s 50th Anniversary Celebration begins! Enjoy a festive weekend of Shabbat services, musical performances and the camaraderie of your fellow congregants.
December 15-16, 2024
In honor of our 50th Anniversary, we’re writing a new Sefer Torah. As we scribe the first letters, enjoy activities for all ages, acquire new Torah-related skills, and learn more about the Torah itself.
December 2024 – December 2025
Learn, rejoice, reflect and celebrate the entire anniversary year with a robust schedule of special events.
Coming in December!
