community

Our Benefactors Fund supports significant Jewish artistic, musical, cultural and intellectual events.  Established in 1980 in honor of the synagogue’s 125th anniversary, the Benefactors Fund has sponsored evenings with such preeminent leaders as Henry Kissinger, former secretary of state; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, esteemed author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel; Madam Sadat, the widow of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat; and Stephen Breyer, supreme court justice of the United States.  An eclectic array of musical performers, including Theodore Bikel, Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch and Mary Travers, has delighted audiences.  Temple Beth-El is proud of the collection of fine art and Judaica that it has been able to purchase and preserve, all through financial donations or gifts of art.  These pieces of art enhance the beauty of Temple Beth-El. The synagogue has commissioned original pieces of art from such local, yet nationally recognized, artists as Walter Feldman, Daniel Clayman and Howard Ben Tre, and has purchased other pieces of art, including Torah covers made by Ina Golub and Adina Gatt, all through the generosity of our donors. On occasion, artists whose work we own are invited to speak to the congregation about their work.