Membership
We invite you to attend our services and other programs and to meet our rabbi and members of the congregation. We hope you will consider becoming part of the Temple Beth El family and helping us create a vibrant Jewish Community in the Salinas Valley.

Membership provides 70% of Temple Beth El's budget and is integral to the financial health of the Temple. Membership dues are due annually and run from July 1st. through June 30th. Those individuals or families with extenuating financial circumstances are asked to contribute relative to their means. No interested members will ever be turned away due to the inability to contribute full membership dues.

Worship Services
Worship services are held each Shabbat and on all major Jewish festivals during the year. Shabbat services are Friday evening at 7:30 PM.  A Family Service designed for young children and their families, and is usually on the second Shabbat of the month at 7:30 PM also held once a month from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. in addition to the regular service. 
Click here to view the current monthly calendar.

Shabbat morning services are scheduled for B'nai Mitzvah observances and other occasions. Members of the synagogue provide an Oneg Shabbat after each Friday evening service. A Havdalah service is also held one Saturday night each month.

Each Jewish holiday is celebrated in the appropriate manner. Highlights of our festival observances include two days of Rosh Hashanah, Sukkah in our courtyard, a Chanukah dinner, a Purim carnival, and a Congregational Seder held on the second night of Pesach. For worship, we use the Gates of Prayer for Shabbat and Festival and The New Mahzor for the High Holy Days. All of our services reflect an appreciation for our traditions combined with an awareness of contemporary sensitivities.

Administration
Temple Beth El is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the general membership. Board meetings are open to all members. A general membership meeting is held every May.

Sisterhood
Temple Beth El Sisterhood plays a vital role in the functioning of the Congregation. The Annual Kosher-Style Luncheon serves more than 5000 lunches to members of the community and raises funds to support education of our children. Sisterhood sponsors a rummage sale and Donor as well as other programs. Special funds for a variety of purposes including Campership, Cultural and Education, Prayer books, and Library, are also administered by Sisterhood.
 
Religious School and Hebrew School
Temple Beth El offers Religious School classes for pre-schoolers through tenth graders. Through traditional study and creative activities, students learn about holidays, rituals, history, beliefs and values, while building a positive Jewish identity. Our teachers use a variety of creative approaches in presenting the materiel. Each class participates in leading a Shabbat service during the year. Religious school is held on Sunday mornings from
9:30 AM to noon, September through May.

Hebrew instruction is offered Tuesday afternoons from 4:15 - 5:45 p.m. beginning in third grade, and is required for those students planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Students in the Hebrew program learn basic vocabulary of the language, while becoming familiar with the prayers.

Youth Activities
Salinas Temple Youth (SALTY) offers programs for 9th - 12th graders. SALTY members are eligible to participate in regional youth activities in the San Francisco Bay Area and national programs through the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

A variety of programs is also planned for those in grades 3-8 following Religious school. Students are encouraged to attend winter weekends and summer sessions at Camp Swig in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the new Camp Newman near Santa Rosa.

Adult Education
Temple Beth El has adult education classes and programs throughout the year. Courses include Shabbat morning Torah study, Interfaith Bible Study, Introduction to Judaism, and Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah instruction. Guest speakers, panel discussion, and film presentations are also held.

Community Service
Temple Beth El has always played an important role in the community. Members of our Temple together with members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church serve a hot lunch to homeless individuals on the second Sunday of each month at Dorothy's Place at the Green Gold Inn. Sandwiches are also provided to the homeless on a monthly basis. Temple Beth El also participates in the I-HELP program which houses homeless men in Salinas congregations. An on-going Food Drive collects non-perishable food for the Monterey County Food Bank. Temple members also do bell ringing for the Salvation Army each year on December 24th, and have collected the most donations of any organization for several years.
Library and Gift Shop
Our library consists of a variety of Jewish fiction and non-fiction for adults, teens, and children.

Temple Beth El has a small gift shop that sells a variety of ritual objects and gifts. The Gift Shop also has a number of catalogues through which special orders can be made. The Gift Shop is normally open after services on Fridays, on Sunday mornings when Religious school is in session, or by appointment.

Cemetery
Temple Beth El has a section of Garden of Memories Cemetery on Romie Lane and Abbott Street in Salinas. Plots may be purchased through the synagogue.  For additional information, please contact the synagogue at (831) 424-9151.




Contact Us

1212 Riker St.
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 424-9151
(831) 424-9327
betheloffice@redshift.com