THE FIRST 70 YEARS:  A Congregational History

Peninsula Temple Beth El was founded in 1950. Construction for our Temple began in July of 1951 with the first worship service in our own facility in February of 1952. Rabbi Sanford Rosen became our founding rabbi in 1951. The congregation was growing so rapidly we outgrew our original site by 1955 and our current site was purchased, ground was broken, and a time capsule (or two or three) was buried behind the cornerstone. By January 1956, membership was up to 410 families. 

Temple members have always taken heed of the sacred text from the Talmud relating to our obligation to be a partner in repairing the world. In 1960, Rabbi Rosen was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown to be a delegate to the White House Conference on Children and Youth. In 1963, he was one of the organizers of the Peninsula Conference on Race, Religion, and Social Concern. In 1965, he participated in the Selma to Montgomery Civil rights march. The congregation voted to uphold the grape boycott in support of the United Farm Workers under Cesar Chavez. The spirit of innovation that was the hallmark of those pioneers has flourished through the years.

In 1982, after thirty years of service, Rabbi Sanford Rosen retired. A congregation which had only one rabbi began the search for a successor. Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein of Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York, succeeded Rabbi Rosen in 1982. Rabbi Rubinstein led a group to the Soviet Union to highlight the plight of Soviet Jews. Under his leadership, the congregation began their close connection to Samaritan House, and to other organizations to aid the homeless.

Rabbi Elka Abrahamson became Peninsula Temple Beth El's first Assistant Rabbi in 1985. Under her guidance, the Religious School grew and thrived as she led the school into its modern era, including a strong emphasis on family education.  Seeing the need for quality day care, under Rabbi Abrahamson's tutelage, the congregation instituted the Ganon Early Childhood Education Center. Ganon comes from the Hebrew word "Gan" which means garden. Our Infant, Toddler, and Preschool programs were established to provide a nurturing, secure, dependable environment for our youngest congregants.

Ellen Schwab became Cantor in 1986. In the years that Cantor Schwab served, our musical program was filled with beauty and reflected the diverse styles of Jewish music. Cantor Schwab inspired a generation of B'nai Mitzvah students. 

In 1992, Rabbi Alan Berg came to Peninsula Temple Beth El and moved to San Mateo with his dynamic and committed wife, Bonnie, and their three children. With Bonnie's enthusiasm, the Berg family and home quickly became a part of the temple.  Rabbi Berg was charged with the mission of rebuilding the temple sanctuary for a new generation and after two years of careful design and construction, the Service of Rededication was held on January 18, 2002.

In 2003 Rabbi Karen Citrin joined as our associate Rabbi and we were soon joined by her husband Rabbi Micah Citrin on our clergy staff as well.  The Citrins spearheaded new education programs providing options and choices along the kindergartener to B’nai Mitzvah path, a renewed focus on how children learn differently, and a deeper family engagement in the journey in the Gesher program.  Their programming also recognized the social shift of our families’ “over-scheduled” lives and made strong and successful strides in meeting the needs of our young family communities at PTBE.

In 2006 Rabbi Berg announced his retirement and Rabbi Dennis Eisner was hired in 2007. Rabbi Eisner deepened our engagement with the community.  Strategic Planning advanced with a series of community surveys and parlor meetings with the goal of engaging the community’s wants, needs, and desires, establishing a hierarchy of priorities and the beginnings of exploring philanthropic capacity for what could be a large undertaking. Our Finance Committee worked on our fiscal health and sustainability and we moved our endowment fund into a new and more profitable management structure.  

Elana Jagoda Kaye joined the staff of Peninsula Temple Beth El in 2004 and has served as the full-time Cantorial Soloist since 2007. Elana, along with her husband Saul, enrich PTBE with their spirituality and musical approach. Elana has released multiple albums which reflect her creative fusion of musical styles that elegantly speaks to kids and adults alike and include beautiful collections of Shabbat and holiday melodies produced for the Beth El community. We said goodbye to the Rabbis Citrin and welcomed Rabbis Callie Shulman (2013-2016), Sara Mason-Barkin (2013-2017) and Lisa Kingston (2013-present).

We have continued to see sustained growth due to our rabbinic leadership, our cantorial soloist and the overall music program, and our innovative educational programs, with an emphasis on families and individualized learning. 

During the mid to latter part of the decade, the Bonim B’Ychad capital campaign was a dominant focus of both leadership and community life.  By early 2018, we had successfully raised the largest sum in the temple's history and we were able to begin a major construction project.

With construction underway, temple leadership pivoted to major community initiatives including:   

●        Creating and adopting a five-year strategic plan;

●        Embarking on our Executive Director search and hiring Kate Lauzar;

●        Creating a First Engagement task force; and

●        Completing a governance redesign resulting in updated Bylaws and a new Board structure.

With great plans for the future in our refreshed facilities, March 2020 brought us the COVID pandemic significantly changing our PTBE life.  Our now beautifully renovated temple stood empty.  Services, B’nai Mitzvah, and all other aspects of temple life swiftly pivoted to Zoom.   We had a highly successful COVID appeal which allowed us to fund the many extraordinary expenses we faced.  

Rabbi Eisner announced his retirement in 2020 and the search for an Interim Rabbi concluded with Rabbi Crystal joining our PTBE family in July 2021.  Our Senior Rabbi search has moved into full swing in the summer of 2021.