Recently I was taking a tour around Temple Beth-El with my good friend Ron Froehlich. Ron, being the House Committee chair, wanted to show me all the beautiful renovations and work done to our building. He mentioned something very interesting. The Temple Beth-El building was turning 90 years old this year. I was familiar with the Centennial Celebration, but I did not realize the age of our building. This made me think about all the wonderful memories that I have experienced in the last 40 years.
The 90th birthday celebration of this building will give our Temple Beth-El family an opportunity to share our favorite memories. Along with sharing your favorite memory, we are asking for a small donation that will support the four cornerstones of Temple Beth-El: Religious School, Sisterhood, Men’s Club, and General Operating Fund.
-Steven Sikora
Temple Beth-El Board of Directors, Treasurer
*The box to share your memory will appear after you complete your donation. All memories will appear on the “donor” tab of the homepage. If you have questions about making a donation, contact tbebirmingham@gmail.com. To send in a special photographic memory email tbebirmingham@gmail.com. Thank you for helping us celebrate 90 years of Temple Beth-El memories!
Rabbi Mesch at the pulpit (in front of the whole membership) pointing his finger at me (as a child) and saying very sternly “OLSHAN!” as if it were the voice of God in correcting my behavior. I must have been 10 or so.
-Melvin Olshan
In memory and in honor of my family and friends at Temple Beth-El.
-Margy Rosenbaum
Working with Jerry Cherner to raise the funds for the new Cultural Center was a great challenge. Having the input and wisdom from Sidney Ziff in keeping the Temple Beth-El family together is sorely missed.
-Ron and Shirley Froehlich
Some 17 years ago our children, Michelle and Seth Wolnek, brought us a big, fat, sweet Russian baby named Meyer. A short time later he had a conversion and congregational party in the social hall. I had the honor of bringing him from the mikvah to the party. When I raised him up so all could see the room was filled with ‘mazel tovs’. It was like one big happy family celebrating together.
-Howard and Suzanne Bearman
Larry and I have many fond and happy memories of Temple Beth-El! MY grandparents and parents were both long time members of Temple Beth-El and we have followed in their tradition.
Larry and I were married in the Beth-El sanctuary and our four children attended Sunday school, Hebrew school and were confirmed there.
Two of our daughters were Bat Mitzvahed in Beth-El. Karen’s Bat Mitzvah took place under unusual circumstances! It had to be delayed because of a terrible snow storm in Birmingham that week in January 1982. Sever of our women, including Sybil, who were cooking in the kitchen had to hurriedly depart in order not to be stranded in the snow! Her Bat Mitzvah was finally held in our Temple several weeks later! This was the first time we had ever heard of a Bat or Bar Mitzvah being delayed due to weather!
Karen was also married in the Beth-El sanctuary. Her reception was the first social event to be held in our new Temple Cultural Center.
Temple Beth-El will always have a very special place in our hearts!
Love,
Sybil Michalove
We remember good times with family and our children at the Shul.
-Paula and Joe Levy
I loved the sanctuary the minute I stepped into it. Max and Cecil Herzl used to pick me up every Saturday for services.
-Dorothy Marks
Our Wedding
-Allen and Shea Halpern
I remember when I was honored at services and a Kiddush lunch on January 5, 2008 upon my retirement as Office Manager and Bookkeeper of TBE of 25 years.
-Natalie Sikora
Our wedding – Bat Mitzvah and Bar Mitzvah for our children – Our daughter’s wedding
-Sherry & Jerry Cherner
Spring of 1998 – singing in concert with Cantor Brian Miller, z”l. How I loved him and how I miss him every day.
-Jacquie Marx
When I wore my first tallit…
-Anthony Alann Johnson
I also remember being a substitute teacher one Sunday with the Kindergarten class. There was a carnival in the parking lot. A bomb went off somewhere in Birmingham. Didn’t know who was in our class and who was not since it was a one-day gig. Fortunately, everybody got home to their rightful parents!
-Ilene Rosenfeld Johnson
Going to shul on Friday nights with dear friends.
-John Allen Bankston
When I lost my Dad I attended to give me a sense of stability !
-Denise Harris
Beth-El is a wonderful community of lovely and engaged people who add so much that is good to the fabric of our city.
-Judy Jones
Aunt Sarah Erdberg held assemblies for the Sunday School. She would lead everyone in song. What a treasure Sarah was.
-Ilene Rosenfeld Johnson
Mrs. Bertha, Aunt Bertha, Sugar. Kept kids for 20 years in Kindergarten. How about those memories?
-Marc Luks
The list of Jewish educators…from Sarah Erdberg, Bertha Luks, Mrs. Mendelson, Lynn Raviv, Saul Rabin, Mark Levy and many others…Some were there for years some only a short time…some of Our Cantors Ostrovsky, Wolkenstein, Margolis, Miller, Gale… gorgeous voices that echo in that building… some of Our Rabbis, Elovitz, Wasserman, Glazer, Glusman, Konigsburg… all part of our thriving history. May we continue to go from strength to strength, building on our past and growing in our future …
-Honi Mazer Gottlieb
We almost lost this building in 1957 when 50 sticks of dynamite
were planted outside. Luckily it rained that night. I was 11 and remember being sent home from Hebrew school and my mother telling me.
-Michael Friedman
I so loved growing up in the Five Points South area. I always have stood in awe of all the beautiful churches and synagogues. It warms my heart to live close enough by all of them to take those routes when I’m coming home to Homewood.
-Dawn Lindsey Gibson
I attended a concert there a while back. it is a lovely building both inside and out. The reception hall is stunningly gorgeous and quite modern.
-Theresa Veasey
My brother, our friends, and I used to play cards in the balcony during regular Saturday services when the balcony was empty. We would always get to loud, and the whole congregation would hear us. We always got caught.
– Levi Fingerman
My wife and I actually had two memories that were quite special. The first was the baby naming of our first daughter, Mallie. It was held during Shabbat services and officiated by Rabbi Glusman. The second was a Men’s Club program before the summer Olympics of 2008. Ron Froehlich spoke about the women’s gymnastics team and included a video presentation to get everyone excited about the Olympics. There were about 150-200 people in attendance and Herc Levine carried the Olympic torch into the cultural center to kick-off the program.