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ABOUT OUR CONGREGATION
Our Congregation is dedicated to providing a House of Worship that keeps with the best of Conservative values of innovation and change while maintaining a Traditional form for expression of those values. Additionally, we celebrate the timeless Jewish values of love for G-d, support for Israel, teaching our children, and openness to all who find Beth Meier their spiritual home, their "House of Light." We offer Friday night services at 8:00pm with Family Shabbat services at 7:30 the second Friday of the month and Saturday morning services are at 10am. Services on Fridays include lots of singing, the use of English, and even some dancing as we celebrate the coming of Shabbat and praise G-d together. Saturday mornings offer a more traditional style service with a flavor unique to Beth Meier. There is a kiddush reception after every Friday night service and lunch following Saturday morning services. If you would like to see more pictures of Beth Meier, or find out information about renting space from us for an event, visit our Venyooz page at: https://www.venyooz. OUR SPIRITUAL LEADER: RABBI RICHARD FLOM Rabbi Richard Flom will become spiritual leader of
Congregation Beth Meier in July 2013. He served as rabbi of Burbank Temple Emanu
El for ten years and at Congregation Agudath Achim in Taunton, Massachusetts for
two years before that. Ordained at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (University of Judaism, now American Jewish University) in Los Angeles in 2000, Rabbi Flom has a wealth of prior life experience outside the rabbinate. He was a practicing attorney in the field of intellectual property and general business law for more than 15 years. He has also served as a systems analyst and computer project coordinator in the federal government and as a management consultant in the field of planning and fund development for non-profit organizations. Before entering the Ziegler School, he was an Adjunct Lecturer in Ethics in the Lee College and MBA programs of the University of Judaism. In his rabbinate, Rabbi Flom particularly enjoys adult education and preparatory training of bar/bat mitzvah students. While in rabbinical school, he served as Director of Hillel at University of California, Riverside and research intern at the American Jewish Committee. In Taunton, he served as the Jewish chaplain at three local hospitals and numerous nursing facilities. He has been active in interfaith activities in both the Taunton and Burbank Ministerial Associations. In Los Angeles, Rabbi Flom serves as a dayan (rabbinic judge), overseeing conversions to Judaism and religious divorces in the Conservative movement. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly (the international association of Conservative rabbis) and serves on the Executive Board (past President and Treasurer) of the Pacific Southwest Region of the Rabbinical Assembly. In addition to rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Flom holds a Masters in Hebrew Letters (University of Judaism), J.D. (University of Pittsburgh School of Law) and A.B. (University of Chicago). Rabbi Flom has been married to Lynn Kronzek since 1980.
Their son, Robert, is entering college in September 2013. OUR FOUNDER: RABBI MEIER SCHIMMEL, ז״ל
During the Second World War he served as a Chaplain in the United States Army. The rabbi and his late wife, Rebbetzin Rochelle Schimmel, relocated to Los Angeles in the late 40's. Even before founding the synagogue, Rabbi Schimmel had already become known for his pioneering efforts to make kosher food more widely available in Los Angeles. To that end he opened the city's first kosher restaurant and bakery. In 1958, after starting with Friday night services in their home, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Schimmel, along with a handful of like-minded families, founded Congregation Beth Meier. Congregation Beth Meier is named his Rabbi Meier Baal HaNess, known as Master of the Miracle. His tireless dedication to the synagogue made him an inspiration to all who entered Beth Meier's doors. Rabbi Schimmel passed on at the age of 89 just before Rosh Hashanah in 2005. If you would like to help keep Rabbi Schimmel's dreams alive, please make a contribution to the Rabbi Meier Schimmel and Rebbetzen Rochelle Schimmel Memorial Fund. Please contact our office. Or make a donation on the donation page. You can order a copy of the video biography of Rabbi Schimmel, Believe Smile & Love: https://www.createspace.com/ |
Congregation Beth Meier has remained true to its mission to "reach out with love to others and share with them the wisdom of Torah." It has served the San Fernando Valley Jewish community since it was founded in 1958. The Congregation evolved from its early days of meeting in the founding rabbi's backyard to its present location. We are affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Our synagogue was founded by and carries on the mission of our first spiritual leader, Rabbi Meier Schimmel. That mission is encapsulated in the ancient saying, "have love for humanity and draw close to the teachings of Torah." Ordained in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, at the Hoffman Yeshiva, Rabbi Schimmel was a rabbi for seventy years. He came to the United States after having served in various rabbinic capacities in Europe. HOME | ABOUT US | PROGRAMS | MEMBERSHIP | FORMS & DONATIONS | CONTACT US
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