As Temple Beth Am enters the new year, we mark a powerful milestone: 70 years of creating a Jewish home together. This anniversary celebrates the people and stories that make this community while honoring the significance of the number 70 in Judaism.
Over this year, we look forward to honoring and sharing each decade of our rich history with you. Like many synagogues, Temple Beth Am’s origin story starts with a dozen or so families meeting in a living room, but in the seven decades since then, we have charted a course that is all our own. We have grown from 70 households to 900; gone from one part-time clergy member to three Rabbis and a clergy team; and our permanent location has rooted our Jewish community in North Seattle and beyond.
It is under Rabbi Ruth’s leadership, our current Senior Rabbi, that we adopted our first mission statement: “We deepen relationships to Judaism and our community by engaging the soul, heart, and mind.” Our guiding light, this focus on connection and relationships, has nurtured our community through thick and thin and led us to this 70th celebration.
The tireless work of our Board, congregation, and staff is at the heart of our relational community. From the stories of members of our community who are no longer with us—may their memories be blessings—to those who are newly engaged, we’ll highlight the people and experiences that created and continue to strengthen our community and values.
Social justice was one of Temple Beth Am’s founding principles. Our first long-term rabbi, Rabbi Norman Hirsh (1962-1995) marched with Dr. King and was one of 17 rabbis arrested in St. Augustine, FL, for protesting racial segregation, discrimination, and violence. The protest sign he carried hangs proudly in our building today. We aligned with the sanctuary movement in the 1980s; sponsored a Bosnian Muslim family in the 1990s; and on numerous occasions hosted families overnight in our social hall for the Mary’s Place shelter. Our congregation has received three Fain Awards from the URJ for our work on homelessness and freedom to marry.
Under the tenure of Rabbi Jonathan Singer (1995-2013; joined by his wife Rabbi Beth Singer in 2007 as co-senior rabbi), Temple Beth Am’s membership nearly doubled, from fewer than 500 households to our current size. To meet the needs of our expanding religious school, we built a new classroom wing, which opened in 2007 and was used during the week by the Stroum Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood School.
When the Rabbis Singer announced their departure in 2013, the congregation again coalesced to navigate a year of interim leadership and a rabbinical search. Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick joined as our senior rabbi in 2014. We acquired the Early Childhood School from the JCC in 2017, giving us an opportunity to directly meet the needs of community members with young children. At the end of 2017, we closed our Nachshon campaign that raised more than $1 million to pay down part of our mortgage and put the congregation on a path to a more financially sustainable future.
Under Rabbi Ruth’s leadership, we adopted our first mission statement: “We deepen relationships to Judaism and our community by engaging the soul, heart, and mind.”) We have worked hard to become a mission-driven organization. This focus on connection and relationships was key to nurturing our community first through COVID and now through the strain and dislocation of the year since October 7.
Longtime member Howard Droker interviews founding member Charles Kaplan, z”l, touching on Charles’ early life and the beginnings of Temple Beth Am. In the Oral History Collection of the Washington State Jewish Archives, 1982.
Charles Kaplan interview audio cassette 1A
Charles Kaplan interview audio cassette 1B
Charles Kaplan interview audio cassette 2A
Charles Kaplan interview audio cassette 2B
Click here to read the transcript.
Jeanette Lowen, z”l, speaks about co-founding Temple Beth Am. Oral History Collections of the Washington State Jewish Archives, 2001.
Jeanette Lowen Interview audio cassette 1A
Jeanette Lowen Interview audio cassette 1B
Click here to read the transcript.
Founding member and Seattle-born Gerald Cone, z”l, shares about Jewish life in Seattle in Port Angeles in the 1920 and 1930s and his efforts to create a vibrant community. Oral History Collection of the Washington State Jewish Archives, 1995.
Gerald Cone interview audio cassette 1A
Gerald Cone interview audio cassette 1B
Gerald Cone interview audio cassette 2A
Click here to read the transcript.
Our story begins in the 1950s and 60s with a group of families in North Seattle, searching for Jewish connection close to their homes and to have their voices heard in their practice of Judaism. In January 1956, Beth Am held its first Friday night Shabbat service at Hillel UW. 170 people attended this first service!
Beth Am’s first rabbis came to the temple in 1956 and 1957 as the temple was searching for space, hosting services at various churches and schools in the area as the religious school quickly grew to over 100 children. By 1958 the community had its own Torah, donated by Charles and Lillian Kaplan, z”l.
Temple Beth Am’s first board, Seattle, Washington, approximately 1956-1958, led by Board President Ludwig Lobe.
Temple Beth Am nursery school teacher Edith Patashnik (left) with children in class, Seattle, Washington, approximately 1959-1960 at View Ridge School.
Temple Beth Am confirmation class ceremony, Seattle, Washington, May 25, 1958. Confirmands include: Jacquelyn Barish, Paul Hecker, Tom Lobe, Nancy Mano, Larry Michaelson, Fredrica Pocher, Meyer Rashkov, Franklin Reifler, Joyce Segelbaum, Barbara Unkeles. Photographed by Bill Stephens.
Temple Beth Am confirmation class, Seattle, Washington, June 7, 1959. Carol Bolotin, Sherry Cohen, Robert (Bob) Kaplan, Barbara Katz, Marsha Klinger, Eileen Michele Levitin, Howard Lowen, Bobbie Jean Presender, Stephanie Shaffer, Paul Weiss and Steven Weiss. Photographed by Bill Stephens. Seattle Jewish Archives Collection JEW1113 UW25754z University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Temple Beth Am Photograph Collection.
The community purchased farmland (at the time) for its current location in 1960, two years before our first long-term rabbi, Norman Hirsch, started. He was deeply engaged with social justice, a founding principle of this congregation.
In September 1964, services were held for the first time in the new building. Over the next several years, many updates were made to the building, including classrooms for religious school. The close of this period in Beth Am’s history in the 50s and 60s is marked by another milestone: the arrival of the Czech Sefer Torah in August 1969.
The torah being held by Rabbi Norman Hirsch is a restored Holocaust Sefer Torah. He personally brought it back from London, England where it had been restored. Subsequent to it being put on display, the finials (called rimmonim) were purchased in honor of Albert and Jeanette Schrieber’s 40th wedding anniversary by their children.
Seattle Jewish Archives Collection JEW1360 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Temple Beth Am photograph collection. PH Coll 1089.
Join us in marking this special milestone by purchasing a custom name badge. This fundraiser helps support Temple Beth Am’s essential operations while also giving you a meaningful way to connect with both old and new friends in our community.
Your badge can be stored at Temple Beth Am for easy access at services and events, or you may choose to take it home with you. Each badge will feature the special 70th anniversary logo, available this year only.
To personalize your name tag, Pride Beth Am stickers and pronoun labels will be available in the office.
Order yours here!
Dine Through the Decades: Throughout the year, we will gather for a series of eight Congregational Dinners, each one highlighting memories, milestones, and moments from a different decade of Temple Beth Am’s history. These evenings will bring our story to life, weaving together the experiences of past and present generations as we look ahead to the future.
Together, these projects and gatherings honor our past, celebrate our present, and strengthen our vision for the next 70 years.
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