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Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley's Caring Committee team is personal, physical, spiritual and loving. We specialize in building connections with our congregants and their immediate family members during times of health crisis. We are available to all at-risk congregants at any time. Caring Committee Dr. Jack Pearlman and Phyllis Jacobs started our Caring Committee over 20 years ago. The Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley Caring Committee specializes in building connections with our congregants and their immediate family members during times of health crisis and beyond. Our congregants live in Arizona while most of our family members are scattered around the world. We do not wish any member to feel alone or afraid during any time of stress. Our professional Caring Committee Team is personal, physical, spiritual and loving. We have been dedicated for many, many years to our congregation. We reach out via telephone calls, visits and prayers. We are available to all at-risk congregants at any time of the day or night. Our Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan is also on OUR team. Prayers have marvelous healing powers. The close contact and gentle embraces we provide will help on your road to recovery.

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Some Sun City residents looking for a spiritual home started Temple Beth Shalom in 1968. Initially, the congregation met at the Fairway Center in Sun City before moving to the Sun Dial Center in 1975. Rabbi Albert Michels became the first permanent rabbi for the congregation. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley's History Arizona Jewish Historical Society photos A handful of Sun City residents looking for a spiritual home started Temple Beth Shalom in 1968 . In the beginning, the congregation would meet at the Fairway Center in Sun City before moving to the Sun Dial Center in 1975. Rabbi Albert Michels became the first permanent rabbi for the congregation, and was officially installed in 1972. In 1976, the congregation purchased land and began construction a year later. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Rabbi Michels said, “At last, we have a home. We no longer have to wander in the desert.” The congregation has seen tremendous growth in the West Valley and is still located on North 101st Avenue in Sun City. Since 1972, Temple Beth Shalom has had only five rabbis serving the congregation. Temple Beth Shalom Rabbis Rabbi Albert A Michels 1972-1982 Rabbi Bernard Kligfeld 1982-1997 Rabbi Arthur J Abrams 1997-2005 Rabbi Sheldon Moss 2005-2019 Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan 2019-Present

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley has a very small religious school, which allows us to provide individual attention. Our team of volunteer teachers from our community work with students under the guidance of the rabbi. Families of our religious school students are involved in the temple. Religious School Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley Religious School registration is now open Registration is open for Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley’s Religious School. Temple Beth Shalom reopened its religious school in 2023, as part of the congregation’s wish to create a multi-generational community. Students from the entire West Valley are welcome to join. There is no charge for kindergarten students. Temple Beth Shalom’s “Little Jewish Schoolhouse in the West Valley” provides both individualized and personalized instruction. There will be three grade levels: K-2, 3-6 and B’Nai Mitzvah through Confirmation held at the Temple. “We want to help each student to feel emotions related to the biblical stories and ritual acts they are learning about. Our educational experience is not just about learning facts but is centered on what those facts can and do mean for us as human beings,” said Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan. Volunteer teachers work with students under Rabbi Kaplan’s guidance. Parents will be encouraged to participate in learning with Rabbi Kaplan about the subject of the day at the same time the students are in class, creating an opportunity for family interactions regarding the material. “We provide an engaging and inspirational learning environment for our students,” said Sandra Sas, Religious School director. Families of religious school students are actively involved in the religious and social life of the Temple, including attending services on Friday nights. “Our Temple is committed to providing a warm and caring environment for all students to explore their spirituality. We hope to inspire each student to develop a love of Jewish learning and provide the opportunity for them to participate actively in Jewish ritual and holiday observances. Our curriculum also includes Jewish prayers, Hebrew, the Bible and contemporary Jewish life,”Rabbi Kaplan added. For further information, please contact the TBS office at 623.977.3240 or templebethshalomaz@gmail.com , or go to tbsaz.org .

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley celebrates Shabbat every Friday night with a joyous service at about 7 p.m. to about 8:15 p.m., led by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan and Cantor Baruch Koritan, followed by a Oneg. Most prayers are in English so a worshiper with minimal Hebrew can participate actively. Friday Night Shabbat Services Watch Friday Nov. 7th Shabbat Service Watch previous Friday Evening Shabbat services on Temple Beth Shalom's YouTube channel. Join us via Zoom or sign up to attend services at the Temple by calling 623.977.3240. We celebrate Shabbat every Friday night with a joyous service at about 7 p.m. which runs to about 8:15 p.m., followed by an Oneg. Our Shabbat services are led by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan and Cantor Baruch Koritan. Most of the prayers we read are in English so a worshiper with minimal Hebrew should be able to participate actively. Many of the prayers that are sung are in Hebrew and our prayer book provides transliterations of 100% of them. The services are snappy and upbeat. We want to pray to God with reverence and sincerity but we also want to mix in a little bit of levity and humor. We read the Torah every Friday night. Sometimes the rabbi reads a short excerpt and simultaneously translates it into English, while at other times he attempts to chant and summarizes the biblical story after finishing. We have a Torah processional preceding the reading and the rabbi likes to give one of our two smaller Torahs to children to carry around the sanctuary. The rabbi speaks extemporaneously from notes rather than reading from a prepared text. He likes to come down from the bimah to better communicate and interact with all of us in the pews. Sometimes he engages us extensively in discussion and other times he delivers remarks stressing a particular point about Judaism and connecting it to the contemporary world. We sing Debbie Friedman’s Misheberach song every Friday night as part of our regular prayers for healing. Some of us may believe God can heal us and others may believe that marshaling the combined spiritual power of many people can create miracles. Either way, we want to focus our thoughts and bring forth our emotions in a determined effort to bring healing and wholeness to our friends and family, our community and nation, and ourselves as well.

Through Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley's donation portal, you can make a donation in honor of a Yahrzeit, an anniversary, birthday or another special occasion. Your support is greatly appreciated. Donations A donation to Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley is a wonderful way to celebrate a special event; to honor the life of a loved one; or simply to express appreciation for the benefits Temple Beth Shalom brings to your life. Temple Beth Shalom is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and donations are 100% deductible. How to Donate Pay by check Donations can be made by mailing a check to Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City, AZ 85351. Pay online You can make donations to Temple Beth Shalom online by using the Temple's Zeffy account and fill out the online form . You can use your credit card or make a direct debit (ACH) from a bank account. The Temple receives 100% of the Zeffy donation transactions. Zeffy is free to nonprofit groups, thanks to voluntary donations. When you fill out a Zeffy form, you’ll see a suggested voluntary donation amount to Zeffy for the convenience of making donations online. You can change the amount by choosing "other" then type in an amount, including $0 if you'd rather not make a voluntary contribution. View this how-to video to learn more . Thank you for your support of Temple Beth Shalom.

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley offers many educational opportunities for all ages, including adult education, Torah study, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, Religious School and Scholars-in-Residence. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley offers many educational opportunities for all ages, including: Adult Education : We offer a variety of educational opportunities, such as a series about Judaism and humor. Torah Studies : During weekly Torah study sessions on Zoom, participants have a lively study of the weekly portion of the Torah. Religious School: We have a very small school which allows us to provide individual attention. Bar or Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation : We have a multi-year program for children to learn about Judaism, our prayers and basic Hebrew. Scholar-in Residence : Our Scholar-in-Residence have included Rabbi David Frankel from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. Jewish education is the teaching and transmission of the knowledge, ideas, practices, and character traits of the Jewish religion and has been valued since the birth of Judaism. In the Hebrew Bible, Abraham is lauded for instructing his offspring in God's ways. The act of study can serve as a transformative experience for us, changing the ways that we understand and interact with the world. On the third day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, God descended in a cloud upon Mount Sinai in view of the entire Children of Israel. According to The Book of Exodus chapter 19, God began speaking directly to the people, uttering the first two of the Ten Commandments. This marked the beginning of God’s giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. The word “Torah” means the Five Books of Moses but in a broader sense it symbolizes all of the efforts of Jewish education. Torah is a framework and tradition that helps us make sense of our lives and build our own individual system of faith that can make our lives laden with spiritual significance. But for any of this to make sense and therefore provide personal as well as communal meaning, we need to study it in order to understand Torah and then be able to integrate it into our lives and absorb it into our very essence — our souls. Education

At Temple Beth Shalom, we celebrate Jewish religious holidays like Passover with meaningful rituals. We also commemorate national holidays like Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Thanksgiving. On Christmas Eve, we sometimes go out to a Chinese restaurant in Jewish fashion. How to Make Braided Challah Challah in a Bag Recipe 1 cup warm water 1 TBS Instant Dry Yeast 1/3 cup sugar 3 TBS vegetable oil 1 egg 1 tsp salt 3 cups flour plus another 1/2 cup as needed Glaze with 1 beaten egg (you can add honey and vanilla 1 tsp each) Beat the egg, add water, oil and mix well. Then add sugar and salt and mix again. Add the yeast to the flour in the bag, and mix it. Pour liquid mixture into the gallon bag with the flour and yeast. Seal the bag, mix and knead it until well combined. Add extra flour if needed. Knead for 5 – 8 minutes. Place bag on flat surface, let rise until doubled in size – should take 1-2 hours. To quick rise, place a cup of hot water in a microwave along with the dough in the bag (DO NOT TURN ON THE MICROWAVE.) Punch down the dough. Empty the dough onto a floured surface and knead again, adding more flour as needed (adding raisins if desired), dough will be soft, divide into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch thick, about 8 – 10 inches long. Braid the dough, tucking ends under, then place on a parchment lined or well-greased baking sheet. Allow to sit for 15 - 30 minutes to rise again. Dough is ready when you push your finger into dough and a divot remains. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat egg (add honey and/or vanilla if desired) and brush over all surfaces of braided loaf. Sprinkle toppings on the dough, suggestions: poppyseeds, everything but bagel mix, za’atar, sesame seeds. Bake in 350 F oven for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Internal temp when done is 190 - 200 F.

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley is a Reform Jewish congregation serving the West Valley, all the Sun Cities, and Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Surprise and Tolleson, Tonopah, Waddell and Youngtown. Everyone is invited to join our congregation. 2025 Kavod Award Winners Congratulations to Meredith Weisman-Amaral and Gloria Bold, who both were honored with Kavod Awards in appreciation of their exemplary service to the congregation of Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley. They received their awards on March 7, 2025 during a special potluck dinner. Meredith volunteers to help the TBS Sisterhood in the kitchen for Oneg following Friday night services and during special events. “Volunteering at the Temple over the past 6 1/2 years has brought me joy and has provided a deep sense of connection to my faith. The Temple is a place of peace and helping people has always been of great importance to me whether I am fixing a phone app, preparing the challah for the oneg or making sure someone has a second cup of coffee just the way they like it,” she said. Gloria began volunteering at the Temple by helping with Onegs during summer months and assisting with the golf tournament. She currently is a TBS board member and chairs the Programs Committee. “My goal is to come up with several events throughout the year to increase member participation. The first Klezmer Band concert was held outdoors with a packed audience,” she said. She went from having two major events a year to having one event per month, with some programs being fundraisers and others just to socialize with other members. This year has had a higher participation rate than previously, including the Welcome Back Ice Cream Social, Fall Hoe-Down, Mahjong Tournament, Klezmer Concert, Hanukkah dinner, Nicole Pesce piano concert and the TBS Passover Seder. Recently, Gloria added the “Festival of Parties,” which kicked off in February with members taking turns hosting parties to raise money for the Temple. “I love to see people interact with one another and have fun while doing it,” Gloria said.

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley offers something for everyone, including the weekly study of Torah with Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, a four-week class on Kabbalah, or an interfaith study open to Jewish and non-Jewish members of the West Valley, or a Scholar-in-residence speaker on the Holocaust. Jewish Humor course in December In our last series on Jewish humor, Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan played clips of various Jewish comedians, which covered a fairly broad time frame and presented Jewish humor from a historic perspective. By far, the most popular was a young comedian that none of us had ever heard of. He goes by the name of MODI. His comedic inspirations are Don Rickles, Jackie Mason, George Carlin and Louis CK. He attributes his comedic timing to Alan King. In this new three-part adult education series, we will listen to more MODI and analyze both his style and content. We invite all who are interested in good Jewish humor to join Rabbi Kaplan from 10-11:30 a.m. Mondays, Dec. 1, 8 and 15, for this entertaining series. Modi Rosenfeld, short for Mordechai, known professionally as Modi — stylized as MODI — is an Israeli-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his Jewish humor and has created a niche within the Jewish community, performing for Orthodox, Reform and other non-Orthodox audiences around the world. MODI studied cantorial music at Yeshiva University’s Belz School of Music and continues to sing as a hobby at the Orthodox synagogue where he prays. He is gay and legally married his partner, Leo Veiga, in 2020. Veiga, who is MODI’s manager, was raised Catholic. MODI was a Wall Street international banker for Merrill Lynch before entering comedy. The cost is $20 for Temple Beth Shalom members and $35 for non-members. Deadline for registration is noon Monday, Nov. 24. Register and pay by calling the Temple office at 623-977-3240.

Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley is a Reform Jewish congregation serving the West Valley, all the Sun Cities, and Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Surprise and Tolleson, Tonopah, Waddell and Youngtown. Everyone is invited to join our congregation. Become a Member Fill Out TBS New Member Application We invite EVERYONE – Individuals, couples, and families – to be a part of our congregation. At Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, we celebrate Shabbat together, study Torah together, volunteer for social action projects together, and connect to Israel through food, wine, and folklore. We are a Reform Jewish congregation serving the entire West Valley, all the Sun Cities, and Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Surprise and Tolleson, Tonopah, Waddell and Youngtown. Whether you are single or partnered, were born Jewish, are a Jew-by-Choice, in an interfaith family or are thinking about or interested in Judaism … there is a place for you to join our temple family. Worship with our rabbi and our cantor as we celebrate Shabbat with inspiring Friday night services at 7 p.m. Following services, we flock to the social hall for an Oneg. Join us for our monthly Saturday morning informal Shabbat with guitar service and a potluck brunch in a member’s home. With great joy we celebrate the holidays of the Jewish calendar from Sukkot to Chanukah and Purim to Passover. Come and visit … and stay! We’d love to hear from you! There’s a place here that only you can fill. Join Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan and Temple volunteers for the weekly Torah Study on Zoom. Contact the Temple office at 623.977.3240 for more information. Watch videos of F riday Evening Shabbat s ervices on Temple Beth Shalom's YouTube channel .