A Decade of Change (1982 - 1991)
A glance of the following decade shows a period of transition, progress, and acquisitions. In May of 1983, the Board received Rabbi Steindel’s resignation from the pulpit, as he, Lisa, and their family journeyed to Hillcrest Jewish Center of Queens, New York. Beth El’s youth began to benefit from the talents of Susan Simons, the congregation’s first professional Youth Director. Sue, who holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, previously served as Youth Group Coordinator for United Hebrew Temple in St. Louis, Missouri.
Further changes ensued the following year when the Board of Trustees selected Rabbi Michael Gold to be the congregation’s new spiritual leader. Rabbi Gold, a 1979 graduate of JTS, previously served as rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Upper Nyack, New York. He received his Bachelors Degree from the University of California at San Diego and later became a doctoral student in Rabbinic Literature at JTS. August third and fourth, 1984 brought the first Shabbat Rabbi Gold towered on the bima.
Also in 1984, Reuven Robbins joined Beth El’s professional staff as Educational Director, replacing Moshe Betan, who left the previous year. Mr. Robbins was a doctoral candidate at Temple University and received his degree in 1988.
In addition to new spiritual and educational leadership, the Beth El office staff underwent changes in 1984. Bernice Silver, administrative secretary, resigned in October to return to her native Cleveland. Ann Haalman, the new administrator, came to Beth El holding Masters Degrees in Social Work and Jewish Studies. She possessed experience directing numerous programs for the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Pittsburgh and Greater Baltimore.
1984 saw the Amud program initiated at Beth El. Each participant in this fundraising enterprise becomes a “pillar” of the synagogue by contributing $250 or more over and above dues to support Beth El’s financial demands.
Beth El hosted an official welcoming reception for Rabbi Michael and Evelyn Gold on February 3, 1985. The rabbi revealed his considerable talents when he wrote a cantata named Akiba, which was performed by members of Ben Gurion USY (BGUSY).
That spring the congregation honored Avis Kotovsky, Beth El’s Nursery School Director of nearly fifteen years, with the attendance of many graduates at ESP (Early Sabbath Prayer) services on May third. Georgia Hernandez, who had been associated with the school for eleven years, assumed the directorship in 1985, a post she would hold until she retired in 2003.
The stability of leadership that began in 1986 offered the opportunity for Beth El to reflect on its past accomplishments. Appropriately, Barbara Ring presented This Is Your Life, Beth El at the Sisterhood meeting on November twelfth. This narrative warmly recounted Beth El’s history and featured members from the Beth El Off Broadway production, first performed in 1963.
1987 saw the recognition of the achievements of Beth El’s youth. Susan Simons and the youth she directed attained lofty goals of which to be proud. Ben Gurion USY won the title of Best Chapter in the Central Region. Furthermore, judges ranked Ben Gurion as the second best USY group in the nation at the International Convention in San Jose. Furthermore, Beth El’s USY and Kadima chapters received the 1987 Solomon Schechter Award for Excellence in Programming. Also in 1987, Rabbi Gold was elected Second Vice President of SHIM.
Two new Beth El traditions also began in 1987. The first Annual Passover Congregational Seder was hosted on April fourteenth, chaired by Yetta Rosenberg. The second event was the initiation of the Beth El Lucky Calendar by Cheryl Snyder, a prosperous fundraiser for Sisterhood with proceeds also benefitting the congregation. The year drew to a close with the rededication of the David Stahl Memorial Library on December sixteenth, chaired by Dorothy Bernknopf, Carol Leaman, and Shiela Schmeltz.
Further changes and accomplishments occurred in 1988. Rabbi Gold published the well-received book, And Hannah Wept: Infertility, Adoption, and the Jewish Couple. On June twelfth, Judy Sufrin was installed as the first woman president in Beth El’s history. Cantor Herman Weisberg retired in 1988 and moved to California, and Reuven Robbins departed Beth El to assume a position in Wisconsin. Ann Haalman would temporarily serve as Acting School Adminstrator, in addition to her regular duties. Ben Gurion USY once again was named Chapter of the Year for 1987-88, and their Torah Corps won the Outstanding Programming Award. In the fall of 1988, the Solomon Schechter school relocated to the Community Day School in Squirrel Hill. On November 19,1988 Beth El formally welcomed David Presler, formerly of the Malverne Jewish Center in Long Island, as the new Cantor.
Numerous transformations also occurred in 1989. Casey Neuman was responsible for the leadership for the rededication of the refurbished Melman Social Hall in March, which also provided the context in which to honor Beth El members who originally belonged to the Beechview Hebrew Congregation. Also in March, Lucille Rubenstein retired as the secretary to the rabbi. She went beyond her expert secretarial skills since she demonstrated the rare ability to unite each member with Beth El in times of personal joy and sorrow. A special oneg on June sixteenth celebrated Lucille’s twenty five years of selfless dedication to Beth El. Also in 1989, Harriet Sufrin was commended for her leadership role in the weekly Bingo games. This mammoth fundraiser, originated by Martha Kuber and Alex Silverman, netted between $20,000 and $25,000 annually toward budgetary needs and continues to the present.
In August of 1989, Beth El welcomed Judy Choucroun, former Educational Director of the Community Religious School in her native Kansas City, as the new Educational Director.
In September, Marc Shulman, a former music student at Duquesne University and a soloist in Cantor Taube’s choir, was welcomed as the new cantor. Finally, 1989 marked the dedication of the Beth El Gardens in the separate Jewish section of Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, after the cemetery management agreed to observe all halachah ritual requirements for Jewish burial.
Bette Balk was installed as Beth El President on June 10, 1990. She and her Executive Board would guide the congregation in its seventy fifth anniversary season of celebrations. In July of 1990, Rabbi Gold left Beth El for Temple Beth Torah in Tamarac, Florida. The encouragement of traditional, yet participatory services, the welcoming of children in the sanctuary, and the formation of havurot were among a few of the successes accomplished during his tenure.
Beth El would not be without a rabbi for long. Kenneth Stern, formerly of the Park Synagogue in Cleveland, Ohio, was welcomed at Selichot services on September 15, 1990. Rabbi Stern graduated from JTS in 1981 and possessed various Bachelors and Masters degrees in Judaic and political studies from JTS and Columbia University. Rabbi Stern was quickly recognized for his superior scholarship and excellent rapport with children and teenagers.
In 1990 the hallways near the then entrance to the Sufrin Family Sanctuary and the Sisterhood Room were dedicated as the Hall of Memories. This area contained plaques from earlier giving campaigns, a portion of Harvey Lantzmen’s tree, and the sculpture from the original Ahavas Zedeck Chapel. In addition there was a collection of portraits of the Past Presidents and Rabbis of Beth El, which now hang outside the wall of the new sanctuary. This photography project was begun in 1980 by Leonard Schugar, a renowned professional photographer, who donated his time and talent to Beth El. After his untimely death, member Losi Sakolsky and her partner Joan Ramsey continued the tradition.
Beth El Sisterhood presented a collection of exceptional hand-stitched Torah mantles and binders to the congregation on Sisterhood Shabbat, January 18 and 19,1991. Joan Weinberger initiated this project during her Sisterhood presidency in 1987, by contacting local ecclesiastical designer Barbara Trellis. This creative artist utilized color, symbolism, and design to depict life cycle, annual cycle, fellowship, and Shabbat. It should be noted that the first four of these themes are identical to those of the four stained glass windows developed by Rabbi Bromberg. Rhondda Averbach chaired the creative handicrafts committee of ten needlepoint stitchers. Their labor of love bore fruit during the Sisterhood presidency of Lenore Adler. Sisterhood Shabbat, 1991, also marked the dedication of the newly renovated Aron Hakodesh, designed and constructed by member Ron Orenstein.
A singular and emotional event occurred on July 10,1991 when Beth El Members Sam and Hannah Balk arrived in Pittsburgh with a precious and sacred gift transported from England. Beth El acquired a Sefer Torah on permanent loan from the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust, with funds raised by the newly revitalized Men’s Club. During World War II, the Nazis confiscated this scroll and over 1,000 others belonging to the Prague Jewish community, with the ultimate intent of displaying them as remnants of a nonexistent culture. The scrolls eventually came under control of the Czech state authorities, until the Westminster Synagogue in London, England became their trustee, with the goal of placing them in Jewish institutions throughout the world. Beth El Congregation gratefully acknowledged this opportunity to immortalize the Jews of Vlasim, the town from which this particular Holocaust Torah Number 658 originated.
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