Board of Directors Meeting - August 18, 2025
08/20/2025 09:51:05 AM
Here’s what happened at the August 18th Board meeting:
·Thanks to everyone who helped with Mitzvah Day to ready our facilities for the High Holy Days. The building and grounds look better than ever.
·The Fourth in Fredericksburg event earned about $7500 for the congregation. Thanks to Jessica Robertson...Read more...
Member Spotlight: Matt Jones Board of Directors Meeting - July 21, 2025
07/23/2025 02:30:20 PM
The Board of Directors met on Monday, July 21st, the first meeting of our new fiscal year.
Highlights of the meeting:
Reviewed the gaps in critical committees that are essential to our core purpose as a Jewish synagogue. Several critical committees lack a Chair and will not be active Reviewed processes for the coming year for updating our policy manual,...Read more...Longtime Member, Dick Haas Recognized in Free Lance Star for His Service to Our Country
11/12/2024 11:42:01 AM
Community Action
12/08/2023 12:00:00 PM
What would you do if you found a homeless person sleeping right outside your door one morning?
That’s exactly what happened one recent Sunday morning at Beth Sholom Temple. When folks started arriving for Religious School and Bagel Bar, they found a woman sleeping right outside our door on the Plantation Drive side.
Read more...
B'nai Mitzvah Projects
03/28/2023 03:46:46 PM
As part of Beth Sholom’s B. Mitzvah process, each student has to do a “Mitzvah Project”: some way to make the world a little better. In Jewish teaching, this is Tikkun Olam, or “Repairing the World”
So what have our students been doing? Let’s hear from them:
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Keeping the Mi Shebeirach List
01/06/2023 01:23:03 PM
At every service conducted at Beth Sholom Temple, we set aside time to pray for people in need of healing, inviting those present to say aloud the names of people they are thinking of. We sing “Mi Shebeirach”, asking the One who blessed our ancestors to please help our loved ones who are ailing. While our service leaders (lay and professional) approach this portion of the service in varied ways, the core intention is to allow...Read more...
Give Back with Amazon Smile
01/02/2023 11:57:46 PM
Looking for Other Ways to Give?
Think of how much you spend on Amazon. You probably don’t know, but for most of us it's far more than we’d guess. I was shocked at what my relatively non-consumerist household spent with Amazon in one year. Now, what if I told you there’s a way to raise a bit of money for Beth Sholom, that costs you nothing and requires no effort. The Amazon Smile feature donates 0.5% of many...Read more...
BST End of Year Annual Appeal
12/05/2022 01:49:57 PM
Dear Members and Friends of Beth Sholom,
It’s that time of year again – sometime between the High Holidays and Chanukah – when presidents, finance chairs, and fundraising committees reach out to congregants in an annual appeal for donations to help offset the costs of operating their temple. For some synagogues, it’s one of many efforts at outreach; for Beth Sholom, it’s the only time we make this request.
Next...Read more...
D’var Torah Vayeira - from Rosh Hashanah Day II
09/28/2022 11:03:11 AM
Shana Tova!
Cantor’s theme this year is “courage” and “bravery.” To avoid competing with (or contradicting) her, I decided to start with the opposite side: “fear;” or in this case, “fear of God.” The angel says to Abraham: “I know you are one who fears God, (y’rei Elohim) because you did not withhold your son whom you love.”
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Roadmap for Elul
08/29/2022 11:04:51 PM
A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY – 5783 (2022)
With Rabbi Paul Swerdlow
Elul – A time to complete unfinished business: August 28 – September 25
Our journey begins a month before Rosh Hashanah. We are about to close the page on another
year. Before we do, we have some unfinished business. Begin the month by listing everything
that we would like to accomplish...Read more...
Parsha Re-eh
08/29/2022 11:04:24 PM
(Adapted from D’var Torah 27Aug 2022 by Rob Jobrack)
Torah, and particularly the Book of D’varim (Deuternonomy) is full of references to Blessings and Curses, stating that those who fulfill mistzvot (commandments) will be blessed, and those who choose otherwise will suffer curses. Torah details the blessings and lists the curses that will ensue if we make the wrong choices. Is Torah really telling us that if...Read more...Listen, REALLY Listen!
08/26/2022 06:13:30 PM
Torah Study - Parshat Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25)
Let me be so bold as to suggest that the prayer SHEMA collectively contains the most important words in Judaism, but SHEMA is, for many reasons one of the least understood words in our liturgy. The two most famous occurrences of the word SHEMA are in last week's parsha Et’chanan: (Deut 6:4) "Hear O Israel שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, the Lord our God, the Lord...Read more...Thoughts on Ukraine and the Russian Invasion
03/10/2022 06:58:13 PM
How Should A Jew in Fredericksburg Feel About Events in Ukraine and the Russian Invasion?
As Americans, we should pay attention. Any rudimentary knowledge of history tells us two things:
- The U.S. cannot insulate itself from wars in Europe
- A military invasion of neighboring country by a large, powerful country does not end with just one...Read more...
Gift Card Scam
03/05/2022 11:02:19 AM
Please beware of unauthorized requests to purchase gift cards. At least one congregant has received such aRead more...
Wed, August 27 2025
3 Elul 5785
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