Secret Jewish History of Temple Beth Shalom
Image by montage: nikki casey
By Joanie Weiss March 3, 2015
Temple Beth Shalom is one of the most popular bridge playing destinations here in Boca Raton. But although many cruise past the edifice on Glade Road to get a nosh at Izzy’s Deli, few realize that there’s a taste of Yiddish in Temple Beth Shalom’s own bloodlines.
To name only a few connections:
— The site of Temple Beth Shalom was once the site of a chicken farm owned by Bob Marshall, known by his neighbors as “Bob the Jew” for his tendency to drive a hard bargain.
— Former board president Benny Herskovitz, a retired principal, was once described by one of his teachers as “a real Nazi.”
— Mayor Gene Smith, who spoke at Temple Beth Shalom’s dedication ceremony in 1974, has a Jewish daughter-in-law.
— It is a popular tradition for the b’nai mitzvah classes at TBS to sing “Adon Olam” to the tune of “The Hey Song,” properly known as “Rock and Roll (Part Two),” by Gary Glitter. Glitter, a convicted sex offender, has spoken about the great musical influence upon him of the Beatles, whose manager, Brian Epstein, was Jewish.
— If you reverse the first two words in the shul’s name, you get Beth Temple. We checked, and it turns out that Beth Temple, of nearby Boynton Beach, Florida, is in fact Jewish, although it also turns out that she doesn’t like to be phoned after 8 p.m.
Next week check out this space for the Secret Jewish History of the Gautama Buddha
Excerpts:
The Gautama first encountered the concept of meditation to attain transcendence while browsing through paperback copies of the vedas in sale bin of Mel Moskowitz’s second-hand bookstore in a back alley of Lumbini…
Though the Gautama himself renounced all worldly possessions, his monastic community did, in fact, maintain a careful budget, overseen by Ronald Blum, CPA.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
