New senior rabbis of two Bay Area synagogues Rabbi Lisa Kingston at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, and Rabbi Josh Weisman at Temple Beth Sholom in San Leandro promise to bring fresh enthusiasm to their posts starting July 1.
In 2017, Julie Rubenstein walked into a community-wide meeting at Temple Beth Sholom in San Leandro. Although she had been a member for only one year, she could see clearly that “the synagogue was in big trouble.” The entire eight-member board had resigned recently, the financial situation was bleak and membership was in steady decline.
Julie Rubenstein
“They needed to make some big changes very quickly if they were going to survive,” Rubenstein recalled.
Less than four years later, Beth Sholom has made a comeback. Through the diligence of a new set of synagogue leaders, membership is slowly growing again, finances have been diversified and new programs are being introduced.