A Reform Jewish Synagogue in Anchorage Alaska
7525 E. Northern Lights Blvd Anchorage, AK 99504
Phone:(907) 338-1836 Fax:(907) 337-4013 sholomalaska@gmail.com
7525 E. Northern Lights Blvd Anchorage, AK 99504
Phone:(907) 338-1836 Fax:(907) 337-4013 sholomalaska@gmail.com
Welcome to the largest Jewish Congregation in Alaska. All visitors who wish to worship with us are welcome. Though our Congregation is very committed to Reform Judaism, people from diverse Jewish backgrounds have found our liturgy appealing. Our facilities are beautifully located in a natural setting which enhances the worship experience. Please feel welcome to attend online.
If you are in need of assistance please reach out to Rabbi Avram.
Phone: 907-338-1800 Email: ravavram907@gmail.com If you would like to volunteer to help those in need please contact Elizabeth Ellis-Steinzeig. Email: sille@gci.net |
Fill out my online form. |
A message from Rabbi Abram Goodstein
Dear members and friends of Congregation Beth Sholom. It has been a difficult a month. But it is not without its triumphs. Traditionally in times of crisis our community is our salve and fortress that helps us endure these hardships. But that sense of community feels undermined by our need to distance ourselves from each other to help flatten the curve of COVID-19. However, I believe that Judaism is a religion full of creativity and brimming with possibilities. So, we have moved our congregation online. We now offer Friday night services at 7:30 pm which streams from my house to yours with Facebook live at
https://www.facebook.com/BethSholomAlaska/
We study the portion of the week on Saturday mornings at 10:30 am and we offer a Wednesday morning minyan at 8 am through zoom. We have had learned about COVID-19 with Dr. Demain over Zoom and have celebrated Havdalah together with Facebook.
Nisan is the first month of Jewish calendar and it is also the month of miracles and redemption. But we do not have to rely on any supernatural power to bring these things into being; we can take it upon ourselves. I want to do more, I want our community to do more. We have purchased Zoom not just for me, but for our congregation, and I would like to see our congregation make use of it. I’m calling for members to help us get through this crisis by presenting their hobbies and teaching us their skills. For example do you like to knit? Then let’s schedule a knitter’s group via our Zoom account and teach other knitting skills. Do you have specialized knowledge or know about something interesting? Then let’s set up a presentation where you can offer to show and teach us. We need each other more than ever, and the best way to fill this need is for us to learn from each other. So please be in contact with me at
ravavram907@gmail.com so we can set something up.
We are moving our Community Passover Seder online! It will be on Thursday April 9th starting at 6:30 pm. We will stream from our Facebook page. I am looking for members to help by making a video performing a Passover blessing, like the Shechienu or the blessing over the wine, and sending it to me. If the quality is good enough, I will play it during the live stream.
Finally, as many of you know, CBS has an early education center called the Joy Greisen JEC. The JEC has been asked to stay open by both the city and the state to help serve families who are healthcare workers or considered essential. We have been able to stay open, but we need your help to continue to do so. Many of these essential families are struggling to pay for their care and they need assistance for just a month or two. Offering these families assistance would guarantee they can stay on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and will also help keep our teachers employed. So if you wish to be a funder please contact us at sholomalaska@gmail.com or go to our website at frozenchosen.org.
Thank you and remember to wash your hands and to wash your groceries.
Take care and I wish you a meaningful Passover.
B’Sholom
Rabbi Abram Goodstein
Dear members and friends of Congregation Beth Sholom. It has been a difficult a month. But it is not without its triumphs. Traditionally in times of crisis our community is our salve and fortress that helps us endure these hardships. But that sense of community feels undermined by our need to distance ourselves from each other to help flatten the curve of COVID-19. However, I believe that Judaism is a religion full of creativity and brimming with possibilities. So, we have moved our congregation online. We now offer Friday night services at 7:30 pm which streams from my house to yours with Facebook live at
https://www.facebook.com/BethSholomAlaska/
We study the portion of the week on Saturday mornings at 10:30 am and we offer a Wednesday morning minyan at 8 am through zoom. We have had learned about COVID-19 with Dr. Demain over Zoom and have celebrated Havdalah together with Facebook.
Nisan is the first month of Jewish calendar and it is also the month of miracles and redemption. But we do not have to rely on any supernatural power to bring these things into being; we can take it upon ourselves. I want to do more, I want our community to do more. We have purchased Zoom not just for me, but for our congregation, and I would like to see our congregation make use of it. I’m calling for members to help us get through this crisis by presenting their hobbies and teaching us their skills. For example do you like to knit? Then let’s schedule a knitter’s group via our Zoom account and teach other knitting skills. Do you have specialized knowledge or know about something interesting? Then let’s set up a presentation where you can offer to show and teach us. We need each other more than ever, and the best way to fill this need is for us to learn from each other. So please be in contact with me at
ravavram907@gmail.com so we can set something up.
We are moving our Community Passover Seder online! It will be on Thursday April 9th starting at 6:30 pm. We will stream from our Facebook page. I am looking for members to help by making a video performing a Passover blessing, like the Shechienu or the blessing over the wine, and sending it to me. If the quality is good enough, I will play it during the live stream.
Finally, as many of you know, CBS has an early education center called the Joy Greisen JEC. The JEC has been asked to stay open by both the city and the state to help serve families who are healthcare workers or considered essential. We have been able to stay open, but we need your help to continue to do so. Many of these essential families are struggling to pay for their care and they need assistance for just a month or two. Offering these families assistance would guarantee they can stay on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and will also help keep our teachers employed. So if you wish to be a funder please contact us at sholomalaska@gmail.com or go to our website at frozenchosen.org.
Thank you and remember to wash your hands and to wash your groceries.
Take care and I wish you a meaningful Passover.
B’Sholom
Rabbi Abram Goodstein
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Do Not Stand Idly By: A Jewish Community
Pledge to Save Lives |
CBS Board of Trustees Statement on Israel & Anti-Semitism
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Congregation Beth Sholom has joined 8664 individuals and organizations in the following pledge to battle homophobic bullying:
"As members of a tradition that sees each person as created in the divine image, we respond with anguish and outrage at the spate of suicides brought on by homophobic bullying and intolerance. We hereby commit to ending homophobic bullying or harassment of any kind in our synagogues, schools, organizations, and communities. As a signatory, I pledge to speak out when I witness anyone being demeaned for their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. I commit myself to do whatever I can to ensure that each and every person in my community is treated with dignity and respect." SIGN THE PLEDGE NOW! For more information go to: Keshet Online |
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, former president of the Union for Reform Judaism, recently pointed out inReform Judaism Magazine, the need for “a civil conversation about Israel” among North American Jews. Rabbi Yoffie warned that “Israel—the very subject that once brought Jews of divergent perspectives together as a community—has now become a catalyst for divisiveness.”
Mindful of both Rabbi Yoffie’s warning about divisiveness and the need for a “civil conversation,” the Board of Trustees of Congregation Beth Sholom declares these principles: 1. We support Israel's right to exist and to defend itself against terrorism. All nations have the right to self-defense, a principle asserted September 18, 2014 to a joint session of the Congress of the United States, by the President of the Ukraine, who cited Israel as an example of a nation exercising its right to defend its territorial integrity. 2. We agree with Rabbi Yoffie’s wise distinction between “unconditional support” from “uncritical support,” when he explained: “Zionism brought Israel into existence and bestowed upon Jews everywhere a role in determining the character of the Jewish state.” We believe that those who agree, automatically, with every decision of the State of Israel may do a disservice to the people of Israel – a people whose vigorous debates and engagements with public policy issues are now, always have been, and should always remain, vigorous and robust. 3. We have witnessed with sadness, but also with resolve, a rise in anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe. It is clear that Israel’s enemies are employing anti-Semitic language as part of their attacks upon Israel as a nation. We all must challenge any and all expressions of anti-Semitism. History teaches that to be silent is to risk allowing those with extreme and hateful views to erode the laws that protect the rights of Jews and non-Jews alike. In that spirit, we oppose also expressions, by actions or words, of hatred against people of other faiths, and we pledge to challenge those expressions wherever and whenever they are encountered. |