Members from more than 800 families as far north as Monroe to as far south as Federal Way gathered on Jan. 21 to mark the 50th anniversary of Wedgwood's Temple Beth Am, 2632 N.E. 80th St. The celebration included song and a presentation of original artwork to the temple's surviving founders.
Temple member Cathy Shiovitz created the artwork "Sh 'Ma," whose name comes from a common Jewish prayer. Each founding member received his or her own personal copy as a sign of gratitude for what they helped to create a half-century ago.
Shiovitz writes in at attachment to the artwork, "The painting is intended to stand as a visual symbol of the passion and courage it took to develop a new community in Seattle 50 years ago. The founders have given us a priceless gift of community and memory, and we lovingly honor them this night by carrying their vision into the future."
THE FOUNDING
Another highlight of the celebration was a DVD produced and directed by temple member Roger Bergson. Narrated by another temple member, Linda Brill, the DVD examines the temple's founding and the impact it has had on the community, the city and world.
Temple Beth Am's founding members were all members of Temple De Hirsch, but because of their North End residences, they felt "fairly separated from them." So they approached Temple De Hirsch's board with a proposal to start a branch in the North End, but they declined.
According to founding member Charles Kaplan, Temple Beth Am's founders had held services in their various homes for up to a year and a half before that point.
After Temple De Hirsch's refusal, the group placed an ad in The University Herald (this paper's predecessor) "saying anyone interested in starteing a North End Jewish congregation, please come to Hillel House (Jan. 6, 1956). Well, over 100 people came," Molly Cone said.
The group grew so large that the congregation moved to the Unitarian church in the University District, where there hadn't been a reform congregation in more than 50 years, said founding member Lillian Kaplan.
A 'HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE'
Temple Beth Am means "house of the people," and its founders followed that idea from the beginning. Laura Paskin, former temple president from 1998 to 2000, explained that from the start, Temple Beth Am was different from other synagogues: "We are very egalitarian here. We don't care where you come from, how much you make or whether you're male for female."
Founding member Jeanette Lowen added, "There really was no hierarchy of people in the temple. Anyone who wanted to render service and put their shoulder to the wheel was encouraged to so."
However, its members tried to keep its congregations small. Cone explained, "We decided that when we reached maybe 200, maybe 250, we wouldn't grow anymore. We'd stop; we'd help another congregation start. We quickly learned that staying small...we didn't have the money to do anything. So we didn't stay small."
SOCIAL ACTIVISM
Much of the growth the temple experienced over the early years was under the guidance of Rabbi Norman Hirsch. His social activism included freedom marches with Martin Luther King Jr., which even resulted in jail time for the rabbi.
More recently, the temple has hosted Tent City twice, sponsored a Homeless-to-Renter program and took in refugees from El Salvador and Bosnia.
Another priority for Temple Beth Am has been education. Scholars from New York and Israel have come to visit the temple, and temple members have planned trips to Israel. Rabbi Jonathan Singer will take a group of 10th-graders to New York as part of their covenant renewal, similar to confirmation for Catholics.
Temple Beth Am also is home to the Seattle Jewish Community School, as well as its own classes for temple children. Adult learning opportunities also are available each weekend.
Cecily Kaplan, Temple Beth Am's program director, notes that the temple will undergo renovations this June, sending some of its more than 600 religious-school students to University Prep: "We're fortunate to have a great relationship with them, and they actually began their classes in our classroom years ago."
FROM THE TEMPLE TO THE WORLD
For five decades, Temple Beth Am has been a community bedrock of giving and caring in the North End. Its commitment to the community and those in need have inspired great numbers of temple members to carry on the tradition of social awareness.
As Rabbi Beth Singer aptly states in the DVD, "My hope is that any person who's a part of this synagogue, takes that piece of Beth Am out into the community, Seattle or the world, and that it nurtures them to do good work in the world."
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