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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's Social Action Committee provides members with a vehicle for working together as a community to try to help the lives of others. It is a very important Mitzvah that we should all participate in. To be a devoted Reform Jew is to make the world a better place. Social Action For over 150 years, Reform Judaism in America has placed emphasis on social justice, based on our ancient mandate of tzedek, tzedek tirdof - “justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley's Social Action Committee provides us with a vehicle for working together as a community to try to help the lives of at least a few people. Therefore, it is a very important Mitzvah that we should all participate in. We have been supporters of the Valley View Community Food Bank (VVCFB) in Sun City since it was founded in 2007. While donating food is always a necessity for the growing number of residents of the West Valley who are food insecure, we support the VVCFB in other ways as well. For a full year during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in each week of the month, a quarter of our members pledged to financially support the VVCFB due to the exceptionally higher demand for services from this invaluable social service agency. In 2022 and 2023, we have featured the “Item of the Month” program. Our members are asked to bring a specific item to Friday Shabbat services that changes every month. We bring canned fruit, pasta and rice, canned meats, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and – lest we forget that almost everyone needs a pet – we also bring pet food one month.

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. Ancient Biblical Interpretation “Ancient Biblical Interpretation” is a new weekly study group which will be led by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan meeting weekly from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays beginning Sept. 3. Using James Kugel’s “The Bible As it Was” as a text, the participants will discuss how the earliest interpreters of the scriptures radically transformed the Torah and made it into the document that has come down to us today. The course is designed for persons willing to make an on-going commitment to study. Using biblical stories we know well, we will ask how and why the writers of this formative age of interpretation – roughly 200 B.C.E. to 150 C.E. – assumed such a significant role. Mining their writings – including the Dead Sea Scrolls, works of Philo and Josephus and letters of the Apostle Paul, and writing of the Apostolic Fathers and the rabbinic Sages – we will read short selections from the actual texts that uncover this crucial interpretive process. Going over every detail in the Torah’s stories, prophecies, and laws, these interpreters let their own theological and imaginative inclinations radically transform the Bible’s very nature. Their sometimes surprising interpretations soon became the generally accepted meaning. These interpretations, and not the mere words of the text, became the Torah. New participants may join any time. Participants will need to provide a personal copy of Kugel’s book – “The Bible as it Was” and a copy of the Bible. The cost for the course is $20 per person per month for Temple members and $35 for non-members, or one coupon per month. Payment is required at the beginning of each month. Contact the Temple Office at 623.977.3240 or templebethshalomaz@gmail.com t o sign up for the course, purchase coupon books (if desired) and make payment before Sept. 3.

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.

All Posts Search Log in / Sign up Dana Evan Kaplan Jun 25, 2023 1 min The Museum of Antioquia The Museum of Antioquia is located in the center of Medellín on the Plaza Botero near the Berrío Park metro station. Visiting it was a... 1 view 0 comments Post not marked as liked tbsazwebhost Jun 24, 2023 1 min Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan's Blog Crossing Abandoned Railway Bridges from Palomas to Camilo C. Restrepo, Antioqia This cycling trip involved crossing 3 bridges that had... 1 view 0 comments Post not marked as liked