Beth El Temple of West Hartford is a dynamic, diverse, egalitarian religious community committed to Conservative Judaism. We strive to provide excellence in the quality and breadth in the scope of our education and programming.
Beth El was established in 1953 and currently has over 950 member households. We are proud to provide a spiritual home for individuals and families with Jewish and interfaith backgrounds throughout the Farmington Valley and beyond. Our members include families from West Hartford, Avon, Simsbury, Farmington, Canton, Hartford, Storrs and surrounding towns in the Greater Hartford Area.
A place of meaning, a place of meeting. It seems to me that if a synagogue stands for anything these days, it should be a sanctuary. Not just a very beautiful room with impressive art, an ark, Torah scrolls, prayer books and comfortable seats where worship takes place -- I mean a sanctuary from the ordinary world where we can find enough shelter from the ordinary to think about “the real stuff” of living. I meet people all the time who have so many different kinds of questions about life, Judaism and their place in both. People have conflicts, memories, and a desire to deeply experience life. To find real ways of celebrating and holding onto the joy. To find a cushion when things are tough. And above all try to figure out what it all means.
The other hunger I see is for real community. A place that is inviting, hopeful and helpful. A place where you find acceptance, but also the right kind of challenge. The challenge to create something when you are with others. A place where you have a chance to sing your heart out and not be embarrassed by it. A place where you join hands because you realize you are occupying space on earth and you really ought to be helping other people in some serious way.
The personal, the communal - they really do come together when things work right. I would like to think that is what Beth El is all about. It certainly is how I see my life’s work. It is how I see this special nature of Jewish tradition. A personal statement: like most rabbis I know, I did not grow up in a fully observant home. My own Jewish education as a child had serious gaps. I’ve come to see that Judaism gave me an address in the world, a challenge to see every moment as potentially meaningful. It taught me that no question is out of bounds, that intellectual freedom and inquiry is a cherished value, and that every deed can be sacred. It also has taught me that my interior life matters as deeply as relationships, Israel, a yearning for God, and trying to build something special with other human beings.
We all move in different ways through life. Sometimes we coast but often - at least during special moments - we realize there could be more. More to what we are experiencing, more to what we can do and be. I would like to think that Beth El Temple is here to nurture the more in people’s lives. And to suggest that Judaism is the poetry with a backbone that can change who we are and bring us together to create a very special family.
I invite you to come and taste the many different programs we have and hopefully to become deeply engaged. I invite you to come speak with me or any member of our staff about your thoughts, dilemmas, and concerns about being Jewish or about life as a whole.
