Lifecycle Events
Temple Beth Israel is here to support you and your family through life's most beautiful moments.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Temple Beth Israel works with each individual B’nai Mitzvah child and family, tailoring our approach to their specific needs and skills, while working within a framework of congregational expectations. As a community, we are blessed to be small enough to be able to provide individualized attention, finding solutions for each child and family.
In addition to attendance at the Rabin Religious School, our students spend most of a year learning one-on- one with the rabbi in preparation for bar or bat mitzvah. Beyond focusing on the performative aspect of the ritual (e.g., reading from the Torah), we also consider what it means to be part of a Jewish community in 21st Century America, the significance of the Torah portion, and what unique learning each young person has to offer the congregation.
Weddings
Every ceremony is uniquely crafted to reflect that couple and their values. The symbols and rituals of the Jewish wedding are employed to bring meaning to your celebration.
A couple may make creative use of the Jewish wedding ceremony; alternatively, it may be a fairly traditional Jewish wedding, but the explanations and words the rabbi says to and for the couple will be what makes a wedding uniquely suited to the couple . Temple Beth Israel welcomes all couples, including interfaith and same sex couples.
Please contact the rabbi to discuss upcoming weddings.
Funerals
All things must end, even the lives of those we hold most dear. At Temple Beth Israel we come together as a community to support mourners in the ways which work for any given family. From a very traditional funeral followed by a full seven days of Shiva to a memorial service with no Shiva, our membership mourns in ways that match their needs.
Our congregation has its own Jewish Cemetery nearby in which we have buried our members for over 150 years. Some choose traditional pine boxes, while others choose to be cremated and have the ashes buried. At Temple Beth Israel, we believe that the rituals of Judaism must serve the needs of today’s Jews.
Welcoming Infants
The welcoming of a new child is a joyous moment for the family and our Temple Beth Israel community. Whether we are holding a traditional Bris (Brit Milah) for a boy or a naming ceremony for a girl or boy, we are celebrating with the family. Conferring a Jewish (usually Hebrew) name speaks to the child’s identity as a Jew.
At Temple Beth Israel we like to involve parents, grandparents, siblings and friends of all faiths to take part in the ceremony. As a congregation, we recognize any child as Jewish who has at least one Jewish parent, whether father or mother. It is our hope that as the child grows all members of the family (and community) will gather again to celebrate future simchas (celebrations) together. Is it too early to set a Bar/Bat Mitzvah date?