It’s safe to say that every house of worship, no matter what the faith, has a rather daunting task when it comes to starting a congregation from scratch. Finding a spiritual leader, space for services, classrooms for religious school; places to store Bibles, hymn books, folding chairs, and perhaps the most important part of any new religious organization, a good coffee urn are just parts of the challenge. Not to mention raising money. Founding members often find that they have two full time jobs. Their regular job they get up in the morning to do, and then the countless hours spent putting a congregation together.
Temple Bat Yam (Daughter of the Sea) had a wonderful reason to celebrate last Sunday at the Embers Restaurant. The Berlin area congregation started out as six founding families. They include: Andy and Nancy Benjamin, Bob and Harriet Fine, Jerry and Dot Kaufman, Bruce and Cynthia Leiner, Jerry and Patti Selig and Jay and Cheryl Taustin.
These were the people who shlepped Sunday school books and materials around; these were the ones who found worship space at the Ocean City Art League and the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. It all started in 1989. A few years later in 1997, Bat Yam built its Berlin home, becoming the first Jewish congregation to build a synagogue on Delmarva in some 40 years.
The temple now seats 200 Sabbath worshipers and over 400 for High Holidays. Membership is over 130 strong.
Last Sunday, over 120 people heard the speeches, the moving stories of how this congregation came together and moved forward.
“Once it was formed, we advertised ours services in the newspaper, and there were a lot of local people who spread the word about Bat Yam among their friends,” remembered Andrew Benjamin, who along with wife Nancy was among the honorees.
Executive vice president Candy Gusst and past president Stu Eisenman co-chaired the event. Rabbi Susan Warshaw, Bat Yam’s spiritual leader, offered an opening prayer; Jeff Thaler introduced the master of ceremonies Jerry Selig. Both are past temple presidents.
“The honorees told great stories,” said Eisenman. “They told of how the first meeting was held in a stock rom of Benjamin’s Clothing Store. Those six families affected families from all over the Eastern Shore. Now we’re 1390 families strong.”
Rabbi Richard Sternberger was remembered in a fitting tribute as the congregation’s founding rabbi.
Each honoree wrote and presented a bio. It was, according to Eisenman, a great personal journey to do that.
“Each couple had specific stories to share,” said Eisenman, a 22-year area resident. “If anything surprised me, it was how dear the founding members are to the current congregation, and how nicely they are connected.”
“This is a great area,” he continued. “You look back at the history of Bay Yam and you see so much was made possible because of organizations like the Ocean City Arts League, the Lions Club, Francis Scott Key Motel and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and other places that gave us space.”
What has remained the same over the years, according to Eisenman is the number of unaffiliated Jewish families who are out there, but just not connected. Most Jewish communities share in this dilemma.
“You have to give people a reason to affiliate,” he said. “Bat Yam has done that. We’re a full-service synagogue with a religious school.”
Andrew grew up attending Beth Israel in Salisbury, the synagogue his grandfather founded.
“Bat Yam happened because there was a great deal of synergy and energy from the founding families,” he said. “We did it for the children. You don’t get many opportunities in life to create something that will be there when you are gone.”
“Among the distinctions that make our congregation strong and vibrant is our policy of inclusiveness,” according to its website. “We respect the realities and integrity of interfaith marriages and interfaith families. It is our stated desire to invite and encourage participation by all family members, spouses and partners, in our congregational life, despite religious diversity within a household. We believe the spiritual interests of both our congregation and those of our interfaith couples and families are better served by inclusion within the nurturing community of Temple Bat Yam.”
Building Bat Yam was “a labor of love,” said Benjamin.
One that will be there for the generations.
Temple Bat Yam (Daughter of the Sea) had a wonderful reason to celebrate last Sunday at the Embers Restaurant. The Berlin area congregation started out as six founding families. They include: Andy and Nancy Benjamin, Bob and Harriet Fine, Jerry and Dot Kaufman, Bruce and Cynthia Leiner, Jerry and Patti Selig and Jay and Cheryl Taustin.
These were the people who shlepped Sunday school books and materials around; these were the ones who found worship space at the Ocean City Art League and the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. It all started in 1989. A few years later in 1997, Bat Yam built its Berlin home, becoming the first Jewish congregation to build a synagogue on Delmarva in some 40 years.
The temple now seats 200 Sabbath worshipers and over 400 for High Holidays. Membership is over 130 strong.
Last Sunday, over 120 people heard the speeches, the moving stories of how this congregation came together and moved forward.
“Once it was formed, we advertised ours services in the newspaper, and there were a lot of local people who spread the word about Bat Yam among their friends,” remembered Andrew Benjamin, who along with wife Nancy was among the honorees.
Executive vice president Candy Gusst and past president Stu Eisenman co-chaired the event. Rabbi Susan Warshaw, Bat Yam’s spiritual leader, offered an opening prayer; Jeff Thaler introduced the master of ceremonies Jerry Selig. Both are past temple presidents.
“The honorees told great stories,” said Eisenman. “They told of how the first meeting was held in a stock rom of Benjamin’s Clothing Store. Those six families affected families from all over the Eastern Shore. Now we’re 1390 families strong.”
Rabbi Richard Sternberger was remembered in a fitting tribute as the congregation’s founding rabbi.
Each honoree wrote and presented a bio. It was, according to Eisenman, a great personal journey to do that.
“Each couple had specific stories to share,” said Eisenman, a 22-year area resident. “If anything surprised me, it was how dear the founding members are to the current congregation, and how nicely they are connected.”
“This is a great area,” he continued. “You look back at the history of Bay Yam and you see so much was made possible because of organizations like the Ocean City Arts League, the Lions Club, Francis Scott Key Motel and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and other places that gave us space.”
What has remained the same over the years, according to Eisenman is the number of unaffiliated Jewish families who are out there, but just not connected. Most Jewish communities share in this dilemma.
“You have to give people a reason to affiliate,” he said. “Bat Yam has done that. We’re a full-service synagogue with a religious school.”
Andrew grew up attending Beth Israel in Salisbury, the synagogue his grandfather founded.
“Bat Yam happened because there was a great deal of synergy and energy from the founding families,” he said. “We did it for the children. You don’t get many opportunities in life to create something that will be there when you are gone.”
“Among the distinctions that make our congregation strong and vibrant is our policy of inclusiveness,” according to its website. “We respect the realities and integrity of interfaith marriages and interfaith families. It is our stated desire to invite and encourage participation by all family members, spouses and partners, in our congregational life, despite religious diversity within a household. We believe the spiritual interests of both our congregation and those of our interfaith couples and families are better served by inclusion within the nurturing community of Temple Bat Yam.”
Building Bat Yam was “a labor of love,” said Benjamin.
One that will be there for the generations.