History
In February 1985, a nucleus of families left Congregation Beth David to form a new congregation, Bet Shira. The membership grew to 300 families in the weeks that followed. The name "Bet Shira" (House of Song) was selected to reflect the upbeat and dynamic character of the founders. In May 1988, the Letty Roth Synagogue Complex was dedicated as was the Arin Stacey Appplebaum Sanctuary.
In January 1990, Mark Kula, a graduate of the Cantor Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, became Bet Shira's new cantor. In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew badly damaged the synagogue.
As of 2005, the synagogue was serving 500 families. That year, Sam Rosen of Bet Shira Congregation was chosen as co-winner of the Jewish community's Teacher of the Year, Excellence in Teaching Award by The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education. In 2007, the synagogue acquired a Torah scroll that during World War II had been smuggled out of the Polish town of Tarnow, when it was invaded by Nazis and its Jewish population destroyed, and protected by monks in a monastery near Kiev until the Soviet Union collapsed.
Read more about this topic: Bet Shira Congregation
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