Who We Are
Welcome to Our Community!
Temple Beth El is rooted in tradition and open to all who seek meaningful Jewish life. Our clergy, staff, and lay leaders bring a wide range of experience, spiritual depth, and community vision to Jewish life in Portland and other communities in southern Maine. We are proud to lead with values of inclusion, lifelong learning, and
tikkun olam (social justice).
Our Mission
Our mission is to be an embracing, supportive and vibrant community. We observe Conservative Judaism and are committed to perpetuating Jewish values, culture, and tradition. Temple Beth El honors the diversity of its members and is committed to their spiritual, intellectual, and religious growth.
Core Values
- Judaism is a journey that we walk together, wherever we may be on the path.
- Every person is of infinite value, and we welcome all with no judgment.
- We take seriously our responsibility as Jews to make a positive impact on the world by engaging in tikkun olam.
- We believe in the centrality of lifelong learning to the Jewish experience.
- The Jewish people are one family who are all connected to and responsible for one another.
History
On a warm July evening in 1947, more than 100 people gathered at the Jewish Community Center in Portland, Maine, to address the feasibility of organizing a Conservative congregation. Portland's Jewish community, established after the Civil War, had flourished until 1920, then experienced a gradual decline until the 1940s. The desire to establish the first Conservative congregation in a city and state with a strong Orthodox orientation was powerful. The group that met that evening was eager to act. They decided to hold High Holiday services that fall, seek a temporary home, and name the new congregation Beth El, House of God. In a borrowed hall, with a visiting rabbi, Congregation Beth El became a reality on Rosh Hashanah, September 14, 1947.
More than seventy years later, Temple Beth El has become a major regional center of Conservative Judaism north of Boston. A pioneer on issues ranging from social action to the equal participation of women, Temple Beth El made its mark under the leadership of Rabbi Harry Sky and the iconic Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt with its engagement in human and civil rights issues, and with early adoption of women in leadership both in the role of president and rabbi.
With the hiring of Rabbi Carolyn Braun in 1995, Temple Beth El became the largest Conservative synagogue in the nation to be led by a woman. Today Temple Beth El remains in the forefront of Conservative Judaism. A 2007 amendment to our temple's constitution broke barriers by including all members of interfaith families as equal synagogue members. In 2009, we were proud to have Rabbi Braun active among the statewide coalition of clergy who stood together in support of equal marriage rights.
Temple Beth El is a member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism of America and the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts.
