Welcome to Beth Shalom!
Serving Southern Saratoga County for the last 50 years, we are so excited to welcome you into our building, services, and synagogue family. While our unique membership comes from all branches of Judaism, we lean towards liberal Conservative practices and embrace interfaith, LGBTQA, and all our diverse friends and families. Have a question? Our Board and members are here to help. Poke around our website to learn more about us and contact us today so we can learn more about you! We are so glad you are here and can’t wait to greet you in person! We have several different membership options and one may be perfect for you. Please contact our Membership VP for additional information.
A Message from Rabbi Shara Siegfeld
There is a quiet sweetness to Elul. It arrives without the grandeur of Rosh Hashanah or the intensity of Yom Kippur. There are no apples and honey yet, no long hours in synagogue, no festive meals to prepare. Elul simply slips onto the Jewish calendar and whispers: The New Year is getting closer. How is your heart?
Perhaps that is why I love the beautiful teaching hidden within its name. The Hebrew letters of Elul, אלול, are understood as an acronym for the words from Song of Songs: Ani l’dodi v’dodi li, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
What an unexpectedly tender way to approach the High Holy Days.
Before we stand before God and ask ourselves what we might change, Elul reminds us that we stand within a relationship of love. We are not being summoned into the principal’s office! We are being invited home.
And maybe that changes the questions we ask. Not simply, What did I do wrong this year? but Whom do I want to draw closer to? What relationships need a little more attention? Where can I bring more kindness, patience, gratitude, or love?
Elul gives us the gift of beginning gently.
Ani l’dodi v’dodi li. As the New Year approaches, may we find ourselves drawing closer, to God, to one another, and to the people we most hope to be.
Shabbat Shalom, With love, Rabbi Shara
Don’t forget, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we’ll quite literally sweeten the New Year together with a Rosh Hashanah dessert potluck following services. Everyone is invited to bring something delicious to share!
Donate
If you would like to make a donation to Beth Shalom, please click on the “Donate” button at the top of this page. We have several categories available: General Congregational Fund, Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund, Cemetery Fund, High Holiday Appeal, Reyut, or Security.
After you select the category and the amount, you can write a specific note. For example, if you donate to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund in memory of a loved one, you can include a note which will say, “In memory of _____________.”
If you would like to purchase a lovely Tree of Life Plaque or a Yahrzeit Plague, please click on the links below, complete the appropriate form and mail to or drop off at the Synagogue office with your remittance:
Kabbalat Shabbat - Fridays at 7:00 pm
Weekly, in-person and over Zoom. Oneg will follow.
Please see the Beth Shalom weekly email announcements for all worship details including Zoom information. Please note that the service schedule is subject to change. Check Thursday’s Beth Shalom email announcements for the most current information.
Beth Shalom Hadassah Book Club
Mitzvah Opportunities
We have a chance for volunteers to participate in a mitzvah by helping a refugee family who have settled in our area. Rabbi Beverly Magidson has forwarded this request to us.
The United States Committee on Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is looking for volunteers to assist with a small Afghan refugee family located in Ballston Spa. The family consists of two older adults and two adult children. Most of what they need is daytime transportation to doctor appointments. They are living with family; their English is pretty good. USCRI would like to run background checks for volunteers (at their expense) but will not require it in this case.
Please contact Margaret Slotnick at mslotnick@uscri-albany.org
