Author: Congregation Beth El

The Complicated Legacy of Anne Frank

April 17, 2025

For millions around the globe, the face of Anne Frank – bright, sensitive, and all-too-young – is instantly recognizable.  For many, she represents the six million Jews, including 1.5 million …

Vote for Your Vision of Israel

April 4, 2025

At the first World Zionist Congress in November 1897, Theodor Herzl proclaimed his vision for the reestablishment of the State of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. Fifty …

Food Torah – Vayikra

April 2, 2025

Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 24 parshiot down, 30 more to go! …

Freedom to Vote

April 1, 2025

By Rabbi Deborah Megdal.  If you ask our youngest Religious School students “Why do we celebrate Passover?” they might start by singing the refrain: “frogs here, frogs there, frogs are …

Meet David Speer, Executive Director at the Maryland/Israel Development Center

March 24, 2025

David Speer recently spoke to Beth El members at an event hosted by Beth El’s Men’s Club and sponsored by the Am Yisrael Chai committee to share insights on the …

Food Torah – Vayakhel

March 19, 2025

Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 22 parshiot down, 32 more to go! …

Art and Adventure in a Time of War

March 10, 2025

By Robin Jacobson.  Perched majestically on a rocky hilltop, the Abbey of Montecassino has kept vigil over Italy’s Liri Valley for nearly two thousand years. During the Second World War, …

Secrets and Lies

March 3, 2025

By Robin Jacobson.  After Sasha Vasilyuk’s grandfather died in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2007, her grandmother made a shocking discovery. In an old briefcase stashed under a bed, she found a …

Holding “Terror States” to Account: Seeking Justice in U.S. Courts

February 26, 2025

By Aryeh Portnoy.  The terror attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the murder of roughly 1,200 people, the kidnapping of more than 250, and the destruction …

Greetings from Your Board of Directors!

February 26, 2025

By Sara Gordon.  Hello, Beth El! I am excited to share highlights regarding the work your Board is busy doing as well as some of the new initiatives we are …