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Congregation Beth El is a Conservative synagogue that brings innovation and creativity to Jewish traditions. Beth El provides multiple pathways for its members to enjoy a sense of community, engage with Judaism, and transform their lives through Torah, worship (avodah), and acts of loving kindness (gemilut chasadim). We aspire to be a synagogue whose members—guided by Judaism—pray, learn, celebrate, and find comfort together as a community, discover meaning and purpose in their lives, and improve the world.
Beth El is…
INCLUSIVE: Beth El is an open-minded, non-judgmental community that offers a place of worship, study, social interaction, and personal growth for individuals and couples and children and families, across ages and stages of life, and pathways to Jewish identity.
WELCOMING: Beth El is a community that fosters genuine connections. New members and longtime congregants alike find their connections to Beth El through friends and friendly faces, clergy and lay leaders, comfortable traditions and new approaches to Jewish life. Community members act as hosts to one another in every interaction so everyone can feel that the Beth El community is an extended family.
CONNECTED: More than a synagogue building, Beth El is a large, diverse community of approachable, interconnected smaller communities. We gather together not only at Beth El, but also in public spaces, one another’s homes, and online. At Beth El children form lifelong friendships, families mark lifecycle moments together, and true connections are formed through every interaction. We know that a community is only as strong as the individual connections within it.
RELEVANT: Each member of the Beth El community has their own curiosity and needs. In a constantly changing world, and an era of evolving Jewish practices, we seek to create opportunities for connection, spirituality, and support for all members – across stages of life, relationships with Judaism, and connections to Beth El. We constantly evolve our programming and approaches to meet the changing needs of our community and to continue to make Jewish life relevant for modern living, current events, and evolving perspectives from the Conservative movement.
Bimah circa 1962-63
Since its founding in 1951, Congregation Beth El has contributed to the vitality of Jewish life in Montgomery County, Maryland. Starting with just 17 families and the dedication and determination of Rabbi Samuel Scolnic z”l, Beth El has now grown to be home to 1,100 families, a robust Religious School, and a thriving cooperative Preschool.
Beth El’s growth reflects the strengths of the Conservative Jewish Movement. We see a need for change and continuity to coexist, fostering innovation and creativity while adhering to the essence of our tradition. One central tenet is inclusion and we have welcomed full participation and leadership by women in all facets of religious observance and synagogue governance. Our older members stay with us, and the “buzz” around Beth El helps attract new members. We welcome intermarried couples and are committed to supporting members with physical or mental health challenges.
We have expanded our facilities to accommodate our membership, highlighted by the addition of our beautiful, Jerusalem stone and stain glass chapel and adjacent social hall in 2004 and the refurbishing and modernization of our sanctuary in the summer of 2014.
Over the years, our Religious School has grown to over 500 students, from kindergarten through high school. We also have a renowned cooperative preschool (the only Jewish co-op in the Washington area) with over 100 children from two to four years of age.
The increased size of our congregation and the amazing wealth of activities offered by our different auxiliaries, committees, and interest groups resulted in the need to enlarge our facility. In 2006, we completed a major addition to our building that provides us with new worship, learning, and meeting spaces.
We are an innovative, egalitarian, very participatory synagogue and we approach all of Jewish life with creativity. Long ago we established a tradition of egalitarianism, in advance of much of the Conservative movement. We see the value of maximum participation in all aspects of our worship and governance.
Our support of Israel is strong and have worked to provide support, especially in times of crisis. Twice we led campaigns raising more than $1 million each time.
Our commitment to building community is evident in our many engaging activities including the annual Purim Megillah Madness, one of the most engaging events of the year. These and many other Beth El activities bring together, in their planning and implementation, the talents, creativity, and commitment of a myriad of members from across the community. Each captures the thread of what we are, and we continue to build on that as we move forward.
