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With
the advent of the 21st century and a Temple membership of over
800 families, a Sanctuary Beautification Project was begun.
Arthur Sarlin, a professional artist and member of the Temple,
created four sets of stained glass windows depicting Creation,
Exodus, Revelation and Redemption. He also designed five hand
woven tapestries, each depicting one of the five books of the
Torah. These were completed and dedicated on December 22, 2000.
This celebration once again brought Temple Beth Sholom into
the limelight in Sarasota. |
In
the year 2001, the city of Sarasota had over 51,000 permanent
residents, and is a community that is considered a cultural
retreat. However, the congregation of Temple Beth Sholom continues
to add to its ongoing history, a history representing 75 years
of continuous service to the Jewish Community of Sarasota,
Florida.
Now, after
75 years, our congregation has grown to over 800 family members
and enjoys the reputation of having a Religious School, a
Day School, a kosher kitchen that caters professional Onegs
and Kiddush Luncheons, a complete Sisterhood Judaica Shop
managed by the women of Sisterhood, the Men's Club sponsored
Judaica Museum of works of art and a serene Holocaust Garden
sponsored by the Men's Club, a year-round daily minyan, a
Judaic Library manned by Temple volunteers, an ever-growing
list of Adult Education Classes, and a beautiful cemetery,
created out of need many years ago, for our members. We are
now a complete and full-service congregation dedicated to
promoting intellectual and spiritual guidance to the Jewish
community of Sarasota.
Temple
Beth Sholom could not have reached this pinnacle of success
without our outstanding professional staff, our dedicated
lay leaders and assemblage of committed volunteers, both men
and women too numerous to list, who have given so much of
their time and energy to promote the continued growth and
development of our Temple. From
the Roaring 20's, 75 years ago, when Sarasota was just a small
fishing village and our congregation was a social organization
of 20 people with a vision of the future, to the Information
Superhighway era of the 21st Century, Temple Beth Sholom,
now with its own Internet website, www.templebeth.org, continues
our communication, commitment and dedication which always
have been, and hopefully always will be, the |
watchwords
for Temple Beth Sholom.
With the
tremendous growth both in terms of membership and the new
Goldie Feldman Academy, the Temple recognized the need for
additional clergy. In 2000, the Temple hired Rabbi Michele
Goldsmith as its first Assistant Rabbi. In 2004, Rabbi Goldsmith
was promoted to Associate. Two new professionals joined Temple
Beth Sholom in June 2003. Sid Krupkin replaced Michele Jenkins
as Director of the Martin and Mildred Paver Religious School.
Gerald Ronkin was hired as Executive Director to replace Joni
Mandel. |
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