Our congregation was “born” in 1978. At that time we occupied the facilities of St. David’s in the Pines Episcopal Church. A congregation consisting of only 59 families purchased the present site on Big Blue Trace.
Rabbi Edward Cohn officiated at the presentation of a Sefer Torah. Affiliation with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, quickly followed and Cantor Nicholas Fenakel joined the staff. By 1982, ground was broken for the Temple structure. Membership was at 126 families, there were 70 children in the religious school and Rabbi Steven Westman became the spiritual leader.
In 1986, consecration of the Ark, lighting of the Eternal Light, procession of the Torah Scrolls and affixing of the mezuzah took place. Amid tears of joy, pride and remembrance, Temple Beth Torah was home.
In 1987 the Religious School building was dedicated. Through the next decade, Temple membership and the religious school population grew. In 1996 Rabbi Stephen Pinsky joined the congregation as our spiritual leader.
A successful capital campaign was launched in 2002 that resulted in the addition of over 6,500 square feet and the modernization and beautification of the entire facility, grounds and parking areas. In January 2005 the Temple Beth Torah facility was rededicated at a special worship service attend by scores of members, representatives of many religious denominations as well as civic leaders from the community. Rabbi Pinsky became our Emeritus in 2013. Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz was chosen to lead our congregation and began his rabbinate on August 1, 2014.
We are justly proud of our senior professional staff who lead our worship and music as well as our youth and adult learning programs:
- Andrew Rosenkranz, MAHL – our Rabbi since 2014
- Stephen H. Pinsky, MHL, DD – our Rabbi Emeritus
- Cantor Rachel Slusky – our Cantor since 2021
- Meredith Hirschberg, BA – our Administrative Assistant
- Sandra Wilensky, RN – our Leonie Arguetty Preschool Director since 2009
- Robyn Fleming, BS – our TiBToFTY (NFTY Chapter) Youth Advisor since 2015.
We honor our lay leaders and volunteers who work in partnership with our professionals to fulfill the Temple’s mission. Our past presidents have led and future presidents will continue to lead us toward the achievement of our goals and dreams:
- Saul Goldman – March 1983 – April 1984
- Harold Dembrow (z’l) – June 1987 – May 1991
- Seymour Moritz (z’l) – June 1991 – May 1993
- Selma Goldman – June 1993 – May 1995
- Marshall Yasuna (z’l) – June 1995 – December 1996
- Dr. Alan Herzlin – January 1997 – December 2000 URJ Board of Trustees 2000-2014; URJ Trustees Committee 2014-Present
- Stacy Chertock – January 2001 – December 2005
- Eric Bakerman – January 2006 – June 2009 Current Member, URJ Board of Trustees
- Louise Marks – July 2009 – June 2011
- Sara Marcus – July 2011 – June 2015
- Cheryl Cordes – July 2015
As a Reform congregation we are mindful of our tradition and special responsibility of welcoming inter-religious married couples and their children, single parent families, and gay and lesbian individuals, couples and their children.
Temple Beth Torah has evolved into a center for the practice, perpetuation and advancement of Reform Judaism in the Western Communities of Palm Beach County as result of our worship, education and cultural opportunities. If you are seeking a Jewish spiritual, educational or communal home we welcome you to attend a worship service, call us or email us for information.
