Dear Prospective Member,
I pray every time, every place you encounter the community of Beth El will be one in which you fall in love with the Jewish people. The great Harvard biologist, Lewis Thomas once observed that in nature, there is no such thing as “an ant.” Ants come in families, colonies, communities – never alone. Jews are much the same way. We Jews need one another. We need community to share life, a circle of friends for support and celebration, a congregation to share our prayers and dreams, rabbis and teachers to help us grow. Membership at Beth El isn’t utilitarian (“fee-for-service”) – it’s relational, a loving commitment with the Jewish people.
By becoming a member of Beth El you are entering into a sacred relationship with me, our staff, and all of the extraordinary people who are drawn to our community. We are eager to discover the gifts that each person can offer; our community is truly determined by the love, talent, and involvement of each of its members.
I am proud of our congregation’s diversity. Beth El is home to an egalitarian Conservative congregation alongside an Orthodox Kehillah. We are proud to include Jews of Ashkenazic and Sephardic heritage, Jews from Israel and around the world, Jews-by-Birth, Jews-By-Choice and LGBTQ Jews. Beth El reaches out to those in interfaith relationships, mixed families and those who are interested in returning to their Jewish roots. We engage in ongoing Jewish learning of ancient texts and modern Hebrew. We are dedicated to the support of the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, to reaching out to Jewish communities around the world, and we practice the principle of Tikkun Olam, which seeks to make the world whole through social, economic and political action.
Our membership committee has gone to great lengths to describe and illuminate much of what lies at the heart of the Beth El community. Visit our website: www.betheldurham.org. Call our synagogue office, 919-682-1238 to speak with one of our staff to learn more about us. Best of all: Come meet our community! Nothing takes the place of experience, after all. Let us know you’re coming, and we’ll have someone ready to show you around.
בברכת שלום,
(With blessings of peace),
Rabbi Daniel Greyber
P.S. At Beth El, we are committed to the principle that anyone who wants to be part of our community can join, regardless of their personal financial circumstances. Membership should be accessible and irresistible. For a confidential and dignified conversation about reduced rates or in-kind donations, please contact our office.
