Areivim Legacy Circle

Join the Beth Am Areivim Legacy Endowment Circle

Each of us is responsible for preserving the future of our Jewish Community.
Please answer the call.

Show your commitment to Beth Am’s future and a Jewish future for generations to come by making a provision in your will or by designating a portion of an IRA, an insurance policy or making other arrangements. Areivim means taking responsibility!

For more information, contact Areivim co-chairs Barbara Lincow at 215-851-0810 or Gail Raznov at 215-699-8405.

Why have we chosen to leave a legacy in our will to Beth Am?

We are simply returning the favor.  Beth Am has given our family a legacy which we treasure.

Our lives have been intertwined with Beth Am for almost twenty years.  When we step through its doors, the memories always fill us…Both of our daughters, Dana and Melanie, attended the Religious School and became a Bat Mitzvah in the Molish Sanctuary.  Mark can’t step into the Strick Auditorium without remembering how he literally sang the praises of each daughter at their celebrations.  (Nobody else who was there can forget it, either!) Suzan will always value the ten years that she taught at Beth Am, and the many, many wonderful students who passed through her room in the Waintrup Religious School. And now we see many of them married and starting their own families! Neither of us will ever forget the profound experience of bringing in Shabbat at a site overlooking the Western Wall when we traveled to Israel with our fellow congregants.  One of Mark’s most precious memories of that trip is of stuffing the notes that Suzan’s students had written into the Wall, with Rabbi Leib assisting by his side.  We both remember co-chairing the celebration for Rabbi Leib’s 50th birthday and 20th anniversary at Beth Am.  What a night it was!  And who knew that the Rabbi could blow out 50 candles on as many cupcakes?

You may recall the story of the old man planting an olive tree, who when asked why he would plant a tree that would never bear fruit in his lifetime, answered that he was doing it for future generations, just as the olives he ate were planted by his forebears. Our choosing to leave a legacy designated for Beth Am mirrors that sentiment.  We are hoping to fulfill the needs of a future Beth Am – one where future generations may enjoy and create the same precious legacy which we have been so privileged to receive. ~Suzan and Mark Lopatin

We were married at Old York Road Temple-Beth Am 20 years ago. Our two daughters were given their Jewish names and celebrated their B’not Mitzvah here. Our parents are longtime members as well. Since the Synagogue is such an important part of our lives, it was very easy to include The Old York Road Temple-Beth Am Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in our estate planning by simply allocating a portion of our life insurance coverage. We are proud to take responsibility that will help create a legacy for generations to come!  ~Ellen and Harris Fishman

“When we created our will and a plan for the future of our children and subsequent generations, it seemed natural to include Beth Am in those plans.  We grew up as synagogue members, had our Bar and Bat Mitzvah here, recited our wedding vows under the chuppah here, and now send our children to the School of Early Learning.  Beth Am has played an integral part in our upbringing as conscientious members of a Jewish community and has always encouraged us to recognize and celebrate our Jewish identity.  It is imperative that we take action, plan for the future of our synagogue and all of the future generations that will walk through its halls and cultivate the bond that unites us as Bethamnicks.  By becoming part of the legacy campaign, you can help to ensure that Old York Road Temple-Beth Am will have the necessary funding to remain a beacon for future generations of Bethamnicks.” ~Anonymous

Moses told me why 3300 years ago! “I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day.” Deuteronomy 29:13-14

Moses tells us that the Covenant is not only for those who were there that day, but also for all future generations. This concept is essential to the continuity of the Jewish people. The synagogue is the best institution that assures this continuity. It is the only institution that makes Jews; all other Jewish institutions are made by Jews. There is no greater legacy than to leave our children and grandchildren a Jewish future. This future begins now with Old York Road Temple – Beth Am. That is why I have pledged to provide for our Jewish future in my will. It is a legacy that Moses taught to all of us. ~Ilean Molish

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