Overview
Congregation Beth Israel is a very special place. It is a community
of 1,100 families who come to participate in worship, Jewish education
and social and spiritual rejuvenation. It’s a center of comfort,
warmth, activity and volunteerism, where you’ll always find familiar,
smiling faces — from the clergy to the office and custodial staff
to the congregants.
Facility
We maintain an architecturally commanding building
with its Byzantine dome and truly awesome sanctuary.
Our Generations Capital Campaign has
raised money to restore the sanctuary to its
original glory. To see photos of our sanctuary, and to read essays about it by Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, click here.
We also maintain
cemeteries in Hartford
and Avon.
Read our
Cemetery Regulations.
Connecting to Our Community
Our large congregation offers many opportunities for
congregants to be active members of our congregation.
Community Coffee
On Sunday mornings when Religious School is in session, all adults are welcome
to partake of fresh bagels, homemade baked pastries, and coffee and tea for
the nominal price of $1 per item! Sit around and talk to old friends, make new
friends,
read
the newspaper, attend our Adult Education program, visit our Library, see what's
going
on
in
the
school!
Organizations
We work together as a community through our many organizations.
A list is located on our Organizations
page.
Besides those listed, we also have an active Caring
Committee, which reaches out to congregants who live
in nursing homes or are homebound; a Ritual Committee which
partners with our clergy to enrich our worship services;
an Adult
Education Committee which plans
lifelong learning programs for adults; and a Taskforce
on Interreligious Understanding, which seeks to enhance
understanding among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. For
more information about these committees, contact our office, 860-233-8215.
History
Established in 1843, Congregation Beth Israel is
Connecticut’s
oldest Jewish congregation. Our first synagogue was
built in Hartford in 1876 and lives on today as the Charter Oak Cultural
Center. We moved
from that location to our present home in West Hartford
in 1936.
Committed to the advancement of Judaism and the Reform movement, Congregation
Beth Israel was among the founding members of the Union of American Hebrew
Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) in 1877.
Today, we are one of the largest Reform congregations in the Northeast,
serving approximately 3,000 members of diverse backgrounds.
Beth Israel bridges
the past with the present — and the future — by striving
to remain a meaningful and inspiring force in the lives of its members.
Lay Leadership
2007-2008
| Contact: |
|
| Phone: |
860-233-8215 |
| Fax: |
860-523-0223 |
| Trustees: |
|
| Robert Berman |
Gail Mangs |
| Margaret Cohen |
David Miller |
| Joseph Dix |
Bennett
Pearl |
| JoAnn Eicher |
Sue Piccone |
| Norma Green |
Eric Schneider |
| Dr. Barbara
Honor |
Dr.
Gerard Selzer |
| Dr. Jeffrey Kagan |
Dan Schaefer |
| Eric Lessne |
Jeffrey Winnick |
| Elaine Lowengard |
Chet Zaslow |
| |
|
| S.A.G.E. Representative: |
|
| Lenore Blank |
|
Clergy
Rabbi Stephen Fuchs
Rabbi Fuchs's sermons and community efforts are located on our Archives
page.
Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Fuchs has been our Senior Rabbi since 1997. He came to us from The Temple
Congregation Ohabai Sholom in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was Senior Rabbi
for 11 years. Prior to that, he was the first full-time spiritual leader
at Temple Isaiah in Columbia, Maryland, for 13 years.
Rabbi Fuchs has written and lectured extensively, publishing more than 90 articles,
essays and book chapters on subjects pertaining to Jewish life and Jewish/Christian
relations. The Rabbi is a past chair of the Central Conference of American
Rabbis Committee on inter-religious affairs. Each year, he leads our congregation
in joint worship services with area churches to promote interfaith understanding
and partnership within our communities.
Rabbi Fuchs participated in the historic meeting of Pope John Paul II with
Jewish leaders in Miami, Florida, in 1987. He was also among 90 leaders invited
to the White House for breakfast with President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President
and Mrs. Gore in 1993 and 1997.
Within our community, Rabbi Fuchs serves on the Board of Directors and as a
member of the Medical Affairs Committee of Saint Francis Hospital. He was elected
by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve on the National Commission
on Social Action of Reform Judaism. He has also served on the Board of Directors
of Foodshare,
the regional food bank for Hartford and Tolland counties; the Hartford
Rotary; and the Hartford
Seminary.
He is an adjunct faculty member at the Hartford Seminary and Saint
Joseph College.
In the Spring of 2004, Rabbi Fuchs received the first annual Judaic Heritage
award from the Charter
Oak Cultural Center. In October 2006 he was awarded the “Legion
of Honor” award by the
Chapel of Four
Chaplains. This is a national non-profit
organization which gives this prestigious honor to those who exhibit outstanding
volunteer service to one’s
community and fellow human beings without regard for faith or race.
Within
Congregation Beth Israel, Rabbi Fuchs is particularly proud of the Yom Kippur
Food Drive, which raises more and more food each year to help the needy. This
past Yom Kippur, the Rabbi challenged the congregation to fill a second trailer
truck with non-perishables - twice our usual collection. Beth Israelites met
the challenge and donated an unprecedented 15 tons - 30,000 pounds - of food
for distribution by Foodshare. Rabbi Fuchs works hard to convey that the essence
of Jewish values are found in gemilut hasadim - concrete acts of caring and
kindness that make a difference in the lives of others.
Another of the Rabbi's top priorities is to inspire
the congregation to make lifelong Jewish learning a vital component of
each member's Jewish identity. "My
fondest hope," Rabbi Fuchs has said, "is that our congregation will offer
all of our members - from our toddlers to our senior citizens - meaningful
and exciting opportunities to learn about Jewish values and ideals and
to integrate those values and ideals into their daily lives."
Rabbi Fuchs and his wife Vickie, a public school teacher, have three children,
Leo, Sarah, and Benjamin.
Rabbi Michael Pincus
Assistant Rabbi
Rabbi Michael Pincus joined Congregation Beth Israel in 2004. He is a graduate
of the Hebrew Union College (HUC), New York campus, where he was ordained
on May 23, 2004. His studies at HUC followed those at the University of Virginia,
where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history and a Master's Degree in
elementary education and secondary social studies.
During his years at HUC, Rabbi Pincus served as a student rabbi in Fredericksburg,
Virginia, in River Edge, New Jersey, in Newton, Massachusetts and in Brooklyn,
New York. He also has experience as a family educator. At the Reform Temple
of Forest Hills, New York, he designed and implemented family B'nai Mitzvah
Workshops and an enrichment program for students and parents in the sixth and
seventh grades. Michael also pursues outside interests in hiking, camping,
cooking and travel, and is now learning how to play the guitar.
Rabbi Pincus is married to Randi, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
and NYU Law School. They have two sons, Jonathan and Ari.
Cantor Pamela Siskin
Cantor/Director of Lifelong Learning 
Cantor Siskin's voice has been heard all over the world - from herscholarship
studies in Rome to her singing contract with the Royal Opera House in London,
to the Israel National Opera, to the QE2 cruise ship, to being chosen as
a finalist in an international vocalist competition held in Bulgaria. Yearning
for more spiritual fulfillment, she decided to become a cantor and moved
to the UnitedStates in 1985 to enroll at the Hebrew Union College.
Upon graduation, Cantor Siskin became the cantor and educator for Temple Ner
Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where she served until coming to Congregation
Beth Israel in 1998.
Cantor Siskin's enthusiastic personality and passion for Judaism are wonderfully
evident - and contagious. Always looking for innovative ways to energize the
congregation, the Cantor spearheads two of our unique education programs -
our Youth Education Program (YEP) and La'Atid - Learning for Life.
Of her dedication to Judaism and music, Cantor Siskin
firmly believes, "Through
creative and imaginative education - using the power
of words and music - we can teach our children not
just to be Jewish but to love being Jewish. This is
the motivation of my commitment to imparting our heritage
to others through teaching and through music."
Cantor Siskin and her husband Jerry, an immigration attorney, have two children,
Eve-Alice and Joel.
Rabbi Emeritus Dr. Harold
S. Silver
Dr.
Harold S. Silver was Senior Rabbi of Congregation
Beth Israel from 1968 to 1993. He succeeded Rabbi
Abraham J. Feldman. Before coming to West Hartford,
Silver was Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1968.
Rabbi Silver was ordained in 1951 at the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in New
York City. Silver began his rabbinical career as Assistant Rabbi to Solomon
B. Freehof at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh where he served for four
years. Silver represents the sixth generation of Rabbis in his family. He is
the son of Rabbi Maxwell Silver of New York (HUC Class of 1916), the nephew
of Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver of Cleveland, Ohio (HUC Class of 1915), and the
grandson of Rabbi Moses Silver of Jerusalem. On the 25th anniversary of his
ordination in June 1976, he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Honoris
Causa) from Hebrew Union College for his rabbinical service to Reform Judaism,
the Jewish people and the community at large.
In Hartford, Rabbi Silver organized the first Greater Hartford Rabbinical Board
of Rabbis, an area-wide board of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Rabbis.
Among Silver's many Hartford community boards are: The Endowment Committee
of Hartford Jewish Federation, the Russian-Jewish Absorption Committee, the
Hartford Jewish Community Center, and the boards of Mt. Sinai, Hartford Hospital
and St. Francis Hospital. Silver was selected by Governor William O'Neill to
serve on the Governor's Task Force Against Racism. Over the years, Silver was
particularly active in Catholic-Protestant-Jewish dialogue groups and has preached
from the pulpit of many area churches. He has offered a variety of courses
in Basic Judaism at the Greater Hartford Community College, at St. Joseph's
College and at the University of Hartford.
Rabbi Silver has served as national officer of the Central Conference of American
Rabbis. For many years, Silver served on the National Executive Committee of
the Zionist Organization of America.
Rabbi Silver has written a book published by KTAV Publishing House titled I
Will Not Let You Go Until You Bless Me - Memoirs of a Reform Rabbi. In these
memoir essays, he evaluates provocatively what is essentially wrong, right
and unique about modern Reform Judaism in the last half-century of American
Jewish life and where it is heading in the future.
Rabbi Silver and his wife Ruth Lee, an award winning and widely exhibited Connecticut
Collage artist and former newspaper columnist with the West Hartford News,
have five children.
Staff
| Staff Members: |
Extention |
Email |
Alfonso, Amanda |
x233 |
cbiyep@cbict.org |
| Religious School Coordinator |
| Allen, Rudy |
x245 |
|
| Building Superintendent |
| Beck, Sarah |
x223 |
sbeck@cbict.org |
| Office Administrator |
| Beider, Lily |
|
lbeider@cbict.ortg |
| Member Services Coordinator |
| Fine, Aliha |
x227 |
afine@cbict.org |
| Accounting Manager |
| Finkle, Susan |
x238 |
noahsark23@cbict.org |
| Director, Noah's Ark |
| Goldberg, Cheryl |
x224 |
cgoldberg@cbict.org |
| Executive Assistant to Rabbis |
| Mayou, Abby |
x225 |
akmayou@cbict.org |
| Temple Administrator |
| Stordy, Danielle |
x230 |
libraryassistant@cbict.org |
| Learning Center Assistant |
| Ulyanovsky, Natasha |
|
Call main number |
| Organist |
| Zande, Jane |
x230 |
jzande@cbict.org |
| Associate Director of Lifelong Learning |
