synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Beth Chaim Reform Congregation
Beth Chaim Reform Congregation
Continues to Grow
I n 1992, “a handful” of Jewish
families in Chester County were
looking for a spiritual “home,”
according to the history section on
Beth Chaim Reform Congregation’s
website. So, they put an ad in the news-
paper about an event they would hold
for other like-minded families — and
60 people showed up.

On that day, Beth Chaim Reform
Congregation was born, and people
kept showing up. For 15 years, they
spent their Shabbats in the Church of
the Loving Shepherd in West Chester.

Beth Chaim Rabbi Michelle Pearlman
explained that congregants would
“bring the Torah in” on Friday nights,
as the church did not need its barn
sanctuary until Sunday.

In 2007, the growing congrega-
tion moved into its current home on
Conestoga Road in Malvern. Over the
next 15 years, despite membership
declines at many synagogues and the
impact of COVID-19, Beth Chaim con-
tinued to grow by about 2-3% per year,
according to President Alex Scherer.

Today the membership base includes
around 220 households.

Scherer said the congregation has
two major advantages.

“One is that we’re the only Reform
synagogue in Chester County,” he
explained. “No. 2, we have the luxury
of having the best rabbi on Earth.”
Beth Chaim may attract people by
serving as the only Reform option in
the Philadelphia area’s westernmost
county, but it keeps them coming back
with the members already there.

When Beth Chaim congregants used
to gather in the church barn, diff erent
people had to “schlep stuff in and out,”
Pearlman said.

“Th ey had to work hard to create a
community. Th at’s the DNA. Th at con-
tinues now,” she added.

Th e other day, according to Pearlman,
a member just picked up a vacuum
cleaner and started cleaning the fl oor.

On the Friday before Rosh Hashanah
24 this year, the rabbi discovered that the
stairs leading down to the creek behind
the synagogue building were rotted.

Th ere would be no way to hold the
Tashlich service on the water.

But over that weekend, a congregant
bought wood, drove to the temple and
fi xed the stairs. He fi nished the project
15 minutes before Beth Chaim’s Rosh
Hashanah under the stars service on
the holiday’s fi rst night. Th ey would be
ready for Tashlich the next day.

“You lead by example,” Scherer said.

“Families help each other out.”
About a dozen founding families
remain in Beth Chaim’s congregation,
according to Scherer. But the rest of the
membership base is younger.

When Pearlman joined the syna-
gogue in 2014, she added adult edu-
cation classes and organized trips to
Israel and Eastern Europe. Th e new
activities attracted “folks who have had
their families and want to be part of
their community,” she said.

“Th ey join for the opportunity for
friendship and spiritual nourishment
and adult education,” she added.

But families with younger children
have also joined. Th ey like the religious
school, according to Pearlman, which
has 70 students and a project-based
approach to learning.

Beth Chaim’s congregation is bal-
anced across age brackets, according to
Scherer. Robin Resnick, the executive
administrator, is like Scherer in that
she credits Pearlman for that.

“Everybody loves Rabbi Pearlman,”
Resnick said. “She is a big attraction.”
Pearlman is, as synagogue leaders
like to say, “warm and welcoming”
in meetings with prospective congre-
gants and dynamic on stage. As Scherer
explained, “Every time someone meets
with us and sits for a service and hears
her, they want to join.”
Th e rabbi brushed off this praise and
tried to give herself little, if any, credit.

She said that she just tries to keep
the fun going at synagogue — like on
Yom Kippur this year when the temple
brought in goats. Th e idea was that it
was hard to admit that you were wrong,
NOVEMBER 10, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Rabbi Michelle Pearlman started at Beth Chaim Reform Congregation in
Malvern in 2014.

Beth Chaim Reform Congregation in Malvern brought in goats this year for
a Yom Kippur activity.

but that it would be easier to whisper it
into the ear of a goat.

Or on Chanukah during COVID
when Beth Chaim transformed the hol-
iday into an outdoor festival of lights.

Kids made papier-mache lanterns and
hung them around the premises. And
each night for every new candle, the
community built a bonfi re to keep
warm. It’s a tradition that continues today.

“Th e community loved it,” Resnick
said. Scherer joined Beth Chaim the same
year that Pearlman started, in 2014. He
was invited by a neighbor who himself
had joined the previous year. When
Scherer arrived at his fi rst event, a
Sukkot picnic on the synagogue lawn,
he felt “very, very comfortable,” he
recalled. Days later, the Scherer family
attended their fi rst service. Th eir three
young kids, naturally, were talking
and carrying on, but nobody “shushed
them,” the father said.

“I learned that the rabbi had insti-
tuted a no-shushing role,” he added. JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Photo by Evan Gordon
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER



calendar
NOVEMBER 11–NOVEMBER 16
GENEALOGY LECTURE
FRIDAY, NOV. 1 1
JRA FOOD PACKING
Dmytro / AdobeStock
Volunteers will assist with Jewish
Relief Agency’s predistribution
preparation. During this time, volun-
teers will tape boxes, pack toiletries
and assemble family-friendly food
bags. For more information about
JRA’s volunteer schedule, visit
jewishrelief.org/calendar. 10980 Dutton Road, Philadelphia.

At 1:30 p.m., Galacia historian
Andrew Zalewski presents “The
Path to Modernity: The Jews of
Galicia” at the Jewish Genealogical
and Archival Society of Greater
Philadelphia’s meeting. For more
information, call 215-833-3781 or
visit jgasgp.org. 410 Montgomery
Ave., Wynnewood.

TIKVAH PERFORMANCE
Join Michael Solomon and cast as
they present a play based on his
book about his experiences with
mental illness at this Tikvah AJMI
event, starting at 4 p.m.

45 Haverford Road,
Wynnewood. TU E SDAY, N OV. 1 5
HOARDING SUPPORT GROUP
FRI DAY, N OV. 11
SATUR DAY, N OV. 1 2
The Brotherhood at Old York Road
Temple-Beth Am will buy food for at
least 100 families in our area who would
not otherwise enjoy the Thanksgiving
holiday. All donations must be received
by Nov. 11. Make checks payable to
Brotherhood Old York Road Temple-
Beth Am. For additional information,
contact Arthur Davis at 215-205-3027
or Stuart Greenberg at 215-300-4150.

971 Old York Road, Abington.

The Philadelphia Jewish Film
Festival, presented by Philadelphia
Jewish Film and Media, presents
the best in Jewish international
cinema from Nov. 12-19, including
seven international feature films,
one shorts program, an in-depth
discussion of Hollywood’s Jewish
New Wave of the ’60s and ’70s,
and an exclusive brunch screening
of “Funny Girl.” More information
and tickets available at
phillyjfm.org. FEEDING THE HUNGRY
KLEZMER MUSIC SHABBAT
Join Beth Sholom Congregation’s
Rabbi David Glanzberg-Krainin,
Cantor Jacob Agar and the band at 6
p.m. for a musical Kabbalat Shabbat
service featuring klezmer music. The
community is welcome to attend.

Call 215-887-1342 for information.

8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park.

VETERANS SHABBAT DINNER
Join us at the Congregations of
Shaare Shamayim for a Shabbat
dinner honoring our veterans.

Dinner will be served at 6:15 p.m.

Shabbat services start at 7:45 p.m.

The cost is $25 per person. All vet-
erans are encouraged to wear their
military caps. Call the synagogue
office at 215-677-1600 for more
details and to make a reservation.

9768 Verree Road,
Philadelphia. JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
HAMEC ANNIVERSARY GALA
The Holocaust Awareness Museum
and Education Center is hosting
its 61st Annual Anniversary Gala
Dinner and Silent Auction from 6-10
p.m. HAMEC is honoring Jacqueline
Cherepinsky and Dr. Adam G.

Denish. For reservations, contact
info@hamec.org or 215-464-4701.

2400 Old Lincoln Highway,
Trevose. SUNDAY, N OV. 13
JRA FOOD DISTRIBUTION
Join Jewish Relief Agency from 9
a.m.-2 p.m. for junior and all ages
food packing, as well as food
delivery. Additional delivery oppor-
tunities are available on Monday
through Wednesday. For more
information about JRA’s volunteer
schedule, visit jewishrelief.org/
calendar. 10980 Dutton Road,
Philadelphia. AUTHOR EVENT
Having celebrated his bar mizvah
at Folkshul in 2001, author Isaac
Blum returns for Folkshul’s Fall
Author Event for a reading, Q&A
and signing of his debut novel
“The Life and Crimes of Hoodie
Rosen” at 11 a.m. Register at tinyurl.

com/5YN4S7WV. 8000 Cherokee
St., Philadelphia.

SHALOM CHAVERIM BRUNCH
At 11 a.m., join the Chaverim of
Congregations of Shaare Shamayim
for brunch and a musical program
featuring keyboard soloist Jeff
Dershin. The cost is $20. Call the
synagogue office at 215-677-1600
for more details and to make a
reservation. 9768 Verree Road,
Philadelphia. BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
BRUNCH The Philadelphia and Delaware
Chapters of Americans for Ben-
Gurion University are sponsor-
ing their annual tribute event as
a hybrid event, starting at 11:30
a.m. In-person will be at Har Zion
Temple, and the one-hour program
will be livestreamed. 1500 Hagys
Ford Road, Penn Valley.

Join Jewish Family and Children’s
Service and participants who have
completed a prior hoarding support
group program from 4-5 p.m., in a
supportive community. To register
or for more information on
sliding-scale options, contact
Rivka Goldman at 267-256-2250
or rgoldman@jfcsphilly.org.

W E D N E SDAY, N OV. 1 6
RUMMAGE SALE
The Temple Judea Rummage Sale
is back from 4-8 p.m. with more
than 3,000 square feet of great
items, including clothing, accesso-
ries, shoes, purses, jewelry, toys,
games, art, household items and
more. Sale continues Nov. 17
from 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Contact
templejudearummagesale@ gmail.com with questions.

38 Rogers Road,
Furlong. INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
Introduction to Judaism at
Congregation Kol Ami is an engag-
ing multi-session course for anyone
who wants to gain a deeper under-
standing of Jewish life, continuing
from Nov. 2. No charge for congre-
gants. $180 per device for non-
congregants. For more information,
contact Ruth Scott, director of
community engagement:
ruth@kolaminj.org. 1101 Springdale
Road, Cherry Hill, N.J. JE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 25