On a quiet stretch of Gilman Drive in La Jolla, Congregation Beth El has opened its doors to the San Diego Jewish community for nearly seventy years. Its name comes from the Torah scenes in which the patriarch Jacob pauses at a place where he senses God's presence and declares, "Come, let us go up to Beth El." Members describe the synagogue the same way: a place to elevate sights, raise spirits, and celebrate lives through Jewish learning, prayer, and community. The congregation's mission is to create a home for every Jewish soul by offering a variety of experiences to nourish the mind, heart, and spirit while building a caring Jewish community.

From a Garage on Bannock Avenue to a 70-Year-Old Congregation

Congregation Beth El was established in Clairemont, San Diego in 1957, at a time when most of the city's Jewish population lived in the eastern neighborhoods. The arrival of engineers to work for Convair drew many Jewish families west, and a clever Mah Jongg advertisement in 1956 by several Jewish women uncovered a budding community. Their concern was for the children, so they started a religious school in a garage. About a dozen families then initiated the founding of Congregation Beth El, purchased a duplex on Bannock Avenue with donations from prominent supporters, and named Rabbi Irving Ganz as its spiritual leader. As the community grew, the synagogue eventually settled into its current home on Gilman Drive. In the new Jewish year 5787, Congregation Beth El turns seventy, and the community is marking the milestone under the banner "Seventy Faces of Torah" during Simhat Torah, reflecting on where the congregation has been and where it is going next.

A Conservative Synagogue Welcoming Every Jewish Soul

Congregation Beth El identifies itself as a Conservative synagogue. Its rabbinical leadership is rooted in Conservative Judaism's flagship institutions: Senior Rabbi Ron Shulman was ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York and holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the same institution. The synagogue's vision is to be known throughout San Diego as a place that welcomes all Jews and serves their spiritual, emotional, intellectual, cultural, life-cycle, and social needs while keeping a focus on ensuring Jewish meaning for future generations and emphasizing Tikkun Olam. Operations are guided by responsibility, transparency, and trustworthiness; interactions are characterized by respect, gratitude, joy, humility, optimism, and kindness. Members often describe three intertwined houses at the heart of the synagogue: the House of Prayer (Beit Tefillah), the House of Study (Beit Midrash), and the House of Assembly (Beit Knesset) where the community gathers.

A Week of Prayer: Daily Minyan and Shabbat

The rhythm of the week at Beth El begins early. Weekday morning minyan takes place at 7:30 AM in the Sam Jacobs Beit Midrash and is also available online via Zoom, making it possible for members to begin the day in prayer no matter where they are. On Friday evenings, Kabbalat Shabbat gathers at 6:15 PM in the Stone Family Sanctuary, with a warm and participatory service led by the rabbis, Ba'al Tefillah David Lipsitz, and members of the congregation. Once a month, that service becomes a music-infused Kabbalat Shabbat featuring the Vav adult band, Sulam teen band, and the Meshugganah Youth Choir.

Shabbat morning services begin at 9:30 AM in the Stone Family Sanctuary and are also broadcast through Beth El Livestream for those who cannot attend in person. The service includes Torah reading and study, with members and families often taking part in celebrating personal milestones such as B'nei Mitzvah. Services blend Hebrew prayer, song, and insights drawn from Jewish wisdom, and they are described as warm, participatory, and welcoming to those who are new. Holiday services move between the Stone Family Sanctuary, the Jacobs Family Community Hall, and the Sukkah on the Turk Family Plaza.

The High Holy Days at Beth El

The Days of Awe are the spiritual centerpiece of the year at Beth El. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are framed around the theme "Lekh Lekha! Go Forth!" - a journey through time and place, history and hope, the stories inherited and the lives still becoming. Rabbi Shulman's sermons for 5787 reflect on personal and communal Jewish journeys, including a Second Day Rosh HaShanah reflection on the 250th anniversary of American independence. Programming begins with a Selihot Service, Morning Minyan, and Study Brunch before Rosh HaShanah, and continues with a Rosh HaShanah Hike led by Dr. Bard Cosman on the Second Day morning, followed by Tashlikh at Kellogg Park in La Jolla Shores.

Families with children have their own layered schedule throughout the High Holy Days. On the First Day of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, families gather at 10:15 AM in the Stone Family Sanctuary for prayer, songs, and story, then divide into age-appropriate groups: Pre-K and K with Craig Parks and Katie Oberman; Grades 1-3 with Mark Lazar in the Sollender Children's Shul; Grades 4-6 with Rabbi Avi Libman and Levi Weider; and Grades 7-12 invited to join adult services or step out to the Youth Lounge for discussion with Michelle Gurr-Barbour. Afternoon activities include a Nosh, art experiences in Makom, and creative activities and stories. Yom Kippur afternoon features Modern Martyrology with Dr. Sara Brown, a rabbi panel with Rabbis Shulman, Libman, Phil Graubart, and Yael Ridberg, an "Ask the Rabbi" discussion, and a Family Neilah Experience at 6:45 PM.

Logistics for the High Holy Days are carefully planned. Members receive tickets by mail ten days before Rosh HaShanah. On Erev Rosh HaShanah, Second Day Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur afternoon, all parking is on campus; on First Day Rosh HaShanah, Kol Nidre, and Yom Kippur morning, off-site parking is at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Executive Drive with shuttle service to the synagogue. Honor Roll members enjoy on-site parking privileges on a first-come, first-served basis. Security screening at the entrance may include walk-through metal detectors, bag checks, wanding, and ID checks. Free transportation assistance is available through Jewish Family Service for those 60 and older.

Throughout the High Holy Days, the synagogue also runs a food drive. Empty bags are distributed on Rosh HaShanah for members to fill with non-perishable items, which are returned on Yom Kippur and distributed to local families in need through the Hand Up Food Pantry at Jewish Family Service.

Sukkot, Simhat Torah, and the Holiday Calendar

Sukkot is celebrated as a time of thanksgiving, hospitality, environmental awareness, and gratitude to God. The synagogue sets up a sukkah on the Turk Family Plaza and gathers for Sukkot Shabbat Dinner, Sukkot Festival Morning Services on Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 AM, a Chai Sukkot Harvest Lab for adults in their 20s and 30s, and a Beth El NEXT Taste of Sukkot hands-on cooking class for adults in their 50s, 60s, and 70s led by Chef Val. Lulav and Etrog sets can be purchased through the synagogue office for $47.

The Sukkot season closes with Shemini Atzeret Festival Morning Services, Yizkor Memorial Prayers, and a holiday luncheon in the Jacobs Family Community Hall. Simhat Torah that evening is a major community celebration. Families gather at 5:30 PM for songs, stories, and family fun while adults study with Rabbi Shulman; the whole community then reconvenes for a Festival Seuda Shlishit dinner, the Simhat Torah Service with Hakafot (Torah processions), and an outdoor Oneg with pies, cider, and hot chocolate on the Turk Family Plaza. CBE's Vav band with Craig Parks on guitar leads the celebration. The year 5787 marks the congregation's seventieth year, and members are invited to be "one of the seventy faces" of Torah present at the celebration.

Other holidays carry their own programming. Passover is observed with Festival Morning Services, a "Seder Service" with teaching interspersed into prayer in the Sam Jacobs Beit Midrash, and a BEIT Passover Prep Class. Rabbi Shulman has written a "Haggadah Hineni" and a "Haggadah Handbook" to help families lead more participatory Seders at home. The synagogue runs a Passover Food Drive together with Jewish Family Service to provide traditional foods to homebound seniors and families in need, and supports Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Members may sell their Hametz through Beth El.

Purim is a festival of humor and challenge remembering Queen Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews of Shushan. The community gathers for hamentaschen baking in the Beth El kitchen, an arcade-themed Purim Celebration with inflatables, a community dinner, Megillah reading in the Stone Family Sanctuary, and an evening of music with DJ Jonah. Mishloach Manot packages of holiday treats are delivered to Beth El seniors. Hanukkah features a community celebration with candle lighting, latkes and sufganyot, and a laser light show. Shavuot is observed with a Tikkun Leil Shavuot evening of study around the theme of "Taking Down the Fences," a Festival Morning Minyan with Torah study, and Yizkor Memorial Prayers on the second day.

Viterbi Torah School and the Education of Children

Viterbi Torah School, known as VTS, is Beth El's Jewish experiential education program for students in kindergarten through seventh grade. The school emphasizes religious character, ethical awareness, a love of Judaism, and the application of Jewish values to everyday life. Hebrew language instruction is built around practical skills: by fifth grade, students proficiently read and decode Siddur and Biblical Hebrew, and they learn key Shoresh concepts such as Kadosh, Shalom, and Barukh at grade-appropriate levels. "Heblish" - a blend of Hebrew and English - is the working language in the school, reinforced through Tefillah, music, signage, and conversation.

The VTS curriculum covers Hebrew, liturgy and prayer, the Jewish Story (including Jewish history, peoplehood, identity, Holocaust education, Israel, American Jewish identity, and comparative religion), Jewish ethics and values, and the Jewish calendar and holidays. Holiday celebrations are designed to engage all the senses - food, music, art, dialogue, dance, and games - and Tikkun projects help students experience their power to make a positive difference. Monthly joyful Shabbat gatherings and dinners bring VTS families together. Registration fees for the 2026-2027 school year are $1,025 for K-1 and $1,400 for grades 2-7; the school emphasizes that finances should not be a barrier, and families in need can reach out to Rabbi Avi Libman.

Beyond VTS, Beth El also offers a preschool, Beth Montessori Preschool, that feeds into the religious school. For older students, the Thursday Night Teens (TNT) program serves seventh grade and up with relevant discussion, educational and social programming, and Madrichim opportunities, all designed to prepare Jewish teens to be confident and thoughtful Jewish adults.

BEIT: Adult Jewish Learning on Thursday Nights

Adult learning at Beth El is organized under the banner BEIT - "Beth El Is Torah" - and meets on two Thursday evenings each month from October through March. Rabbi Shulman leads each evening, which begins with a communal dinner in the BEIT Café at 6:15 PM. The first session begins at 6:30 PM and the second at 7:30 PM, with coffee and dessert served between them. The 2026-2027 BEIT cycle is structured around "The Jewish Conversation for Our Time," with each evening pairing a foundational belief study with a contemporary conversation. Topics include conceiving of one God and why prayer matters; receiving Torah and why mitzvah matters; the Jewish people, covenant, and purpose; the dynamics of antisemitism and Jewish identity in 2026; the dynamics of Zionism in 2026; and the dynamics of political and social difference within Jewish community.

BEIT also presents quarterly community gatherings with notable guest speakers. Recent and upcoming programs include an evening with Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Israel's Channel 12 News and Israel Hayom, on the political and social forces shaping Israel, and an evening with Yonit Levi, longtime anchor of Channel 12's primetime news. A ten-week Melton course, "We the People: the American Jewish Experience," taught by Professor Joellyn Zollman together with Rabbi Shulman on Tuesday evenings beginning in January 2027, takes a multi-layered look at the relationship between American Jews and the United States, timed to America's 250th anniversary.

Becoming B'nei Mitzvah at Beth El

Beth El's B'nei Mitzvah program is built around the idea that becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah marks a transition from the learning and joys of childhood into the moral consciousness, religious privileges, and responsibilities of maturing Jews. Each student works to develop a positive connection to Judaism, the Jewish people, the Jewish community, and the synagogue; to study prayer, Jewish rituals, and synagogue skills; and to take part in shared social, Tikkun, Hesed, ritual, and learning opportunities as a family.

Families celebrating a B'nei Mitzvah at Beth El can host their event in the Jacobs Family Community Hall and outside on the Turk Family Plaza, with member priority access to these spaces for Friday night dinners, Shabbat kiddush and lunch, afternoon or evening receptions, and Sunday events. The B'nei Mitzvah Celebration Guide, B'nei Mitzvah Manual, and Aliyot and Honors Form are available to help families plan. The Director of Member Services & Operations, Katharine Kasinak, supports each family through the process.

Music as the Soul of Prayer

Music is a defining part of Beth El's identity. The synagogue's music program is led by Ba'al Tefillah David Lipsitz, whose path to the bimah came through involvement in numerous singing groups and who has led services in more than 100 synagogues around the world, and by Craig Parks, Assistant Director of Experiential Learning and Music, who brings thirty years of experience in Jewish experiential education and a passion for music, drum circles, and Jewish meditation.

The musical life of the synagogue centers on three ensembles. Vav is the adult band, rehearsing weekly on Thursday evenings and helping to lead Erev Shabbat services, concerts (including summer Plaza Prayer concerts), and recordings. Sulam is the teen band for post-B'nei Mitzvah students who already play an instrument; it rehearses every Tuesday during the academic year from 4:30 to 6 PM and leads teen-only Teen Shabbat Groove Friday night services. The Meshugganah Youth Choir, led by Craig Parks, is open to all second through seventh graders and rehearses every Sunday after VTS from 12 to 1:15 PM. Music-infused Kabbalat Shabbat services happen monthly and bring together all three groups.

Jewish meditation, led by Craig Parks, is offered every Tuesday at 2 PM as a hybrid of silent and musical meditation. Throughout the year, the community gathers for drum circles and concerts, and the music of Paul Simon has been a recent concert focus.

Hesed: Caring for One Another

The Hesed Committee - Hebrew for lovingkindness - organizes the congregation's care for one another. Every member is described as a "Hesed Haver," a Fellow in Loving Kindness, ready to celebrate, support, and comfort each other. Practical expressions of Hesed include Bikkur Holim visits to those who are ill, recovering from surgery, or homebound; meal trains organized through mealtrain.com and a separate program to welcome new babies with a Shabbat mitzvah meal; a communal list maintained for prayer for healing; bereavement support, including officiation of funeral services and unveilings, guidance on Shiva observances, and presence with grieving families; and rabbinic counseling appointments for spiritual guidance, comfort, or healing. The Hesed Committee also connects members to outside resources including Jewish Family Service crisis support, Sharsheret for Jewish women facing breast or ovarian cancer, the Jewish Employment Network, and On the Go transportation for older adults.

Tikkun: Social Action in the Wider Community

The Tikkun Social Action Committee organizes small and large volunteer projects throughout the year to help those in need - sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, and providing for the underprivileged. Each month, Tikkun volunteers provide dinner for residents at Rachel's Women's Shelter downtown and deliver a hot meal from a well-loved restaurant to StandUp for Kids, an organization serving homeless youth in San Diego. The committee also runs the Holiday Toy Drive and collaborates with Jewish Family Service on the Embrace-A-Family program during the holidays and on the Passover Food Drive. Beth El supports Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

Peace of Mind: Hosting Israeli Veterans

Each year, Beth El hosts a unit of Israeli combat veterans through Peace of Mind, a therapeutic program of the Metiv Israel Psychotrauma Center in Jerusalem. Peace of Mind gives IDF combat veterans the time, space, and professional support to process their military experiences and strengthen their emotional and mental well-being as they transition to civilian life, working with veterans from the same combat units so they can reflect and heal together. The week hosted at Beth El gives the veterans distance from the daily pressures of life in Israel, surrounds them with the warmth and gratitude of a Jewish community abroad, and helps connect them with families. Past and upcoming host weeks have been arranged by Susan Levin, the POM Chair, with support from Beth El families who open their homes.

Women's Connection, Chai, and Affinity Groups

Women's Connection creates opportunities for women to build lifelong friendships and strengthen social, intellectual, and spiritual connections. The group hosts a monthly Rosh Chodesh Gathering celebrating the New Moon with welcomes, blessings, a program, and a shofar blast. Women's Connection Shabbat takes place on a Saturday morning each season, and the group offers membership levels - Standard Chai ($36), Anniversary ($70), and Diamond ($144). Karen Bohrer coordinates the program.

Chai is the young professionals group for adults in their 20s and 30s, hosting events such as the Sukkot Harvest Lab, a Passover "Chametz and Chill" gathering at BJ's in La Jolla, and other social and networking evenings. Beth El NEXT is the parallel offering for adults in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Other affinity groups bring members together around shared interests. Women Talking with Women offers space for Jewish women to share experiences; Short Stories is a literary discussion group; Wise Aging offers guidance and connection for older adults; and the Jewish Meditation Cohort meets regularly for a hybrid of meditation, silence, and music. Shalom Squad is the Welcoming & Campus Safety Team - volunteers trained in partnership with the synagogue's security team to greet, guide, and assist guests throughout the year and especially during the High Holy Days.

The Campus, the People, and a Shared Commitment to Membership

The synagogue is located at 8660 Gilman Drive in La Jolla. Members gather for prayer in the Stone Family Sanctuary, study in the Sam Jacobs Beit Midrash, and celebrate in the Jacobs Family Community Hall and on the Turk Family Plaza. The Sollender Children's Shul, Makom, and the Youth Lounge serve younger members and families. The Stone Family Sanctuary and Jacobs Family Community Hall are air-conditioned for the High Holy Days.

Beth El's leadership includes a Board of Directors, Synagogue Officers, and the Beth El Endowment Foundation Board. For the 2026-2027 year, Daniel Kaplan serves as President, Roberta Winston as Vice President At Large, Tal Almog as Secretary, David Kobrinetz as Treasurer, and Cliff Boro as Immediate Past President. The Beth El Endowment Foundation is led by Alan Viterbi as President and includes Jeff Elden, Jeremy Pearl, Lawrence Sherman, Rodney Stone, Graeme Gabriel, Michael Weiner, Daniel Kaplan, and CFO Eli Landau.

Rabbi Ron Shulman, who joined Beth El as Senior Rabbi in August 2017, was ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the same institution, and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the American Jewish University, where he served as Lecturer in Professional Rabbinic Studies. A Brandeis University graduate, he holds a Fellow certificate from the Kellogg School of Management for Jewish Leaders at Northwestern University and is a Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow at the University of Maryland. He serves on the San Diego Jewish Academy Board of Directors and is a past president of the Baltimore Jewish Community Relations Council. Rabbi Avi Libman has served Beth El for more than twenty years; before that, he served as a Chaplain in the Naval Chaplaincy Corps. David Lipsitz, the Ba'al Tefillah, brings a deep background in music to the congregation.

Membership is offered on a Shared Commitment model, in which each member contributes a Membership Commitment that is meaningful and appropriate for their household. The Sustaining Membership Amount for 2026-2027 is $4,144, reflecting the per-household cost of operating the synagogue. Honor Roll Membership, beginning at $4,757, includes additional benefits such as on-campus parking for the High Holy Days, two additional complimentary High Holy Day tickets, invitations to special events, and meet-and-greet opportunities with notable guests and speakers, with levels rising through Mitzvah, Koach, Ruach, Ahava, Gabai, G'vir, and Maccabee. A separate $360 security contribution is encouraged to help meet rising security costs. Beth El also hosts the Jewish Community Relations Council and offers resources such as the Jewish Family Service Hand Up Food Pantry and the Jewish Employment Network.

Congregation Beth El's doors on Gilman Drive stay open each day of the year for daily minyan, Shabbat, holidays, learning, music, caring, and the simple work of being a Jewish community together.