Practices and Beliefs

Our particular religious practices were formulated from several sources by our late
Honorable Chief Rabbi Wentworth A. Matthew. He was one of the progenitors of our faith,
formally called "Black Jews." Many congregations throughout the United States and the
western hemisphere trace their origin to his teachings and to those of his students.

Beth Shalom is a family synagogue. The synagogue exists as a place of worship for
all people of the Hebrew-Israelite faith. True to our founding principles, the family unit
remains the model upon which all spiritual and secular activities take place. We believe
that our way of life promotes strong families and encourages the individuals of those
families to be responsible, respected, and productive members of society.

Today, many of us prefer the terms "Hebrew" or "Israelite" for the following reasons:

a) These are the terms used in the Torah (Holy Scroll) to refer to the "children of Israel",

b) these terms do not wrongly associate Jewishness with whiteness

[which is the prevalent misconception of the term],

c) they avoid the changing nomenclatures of terms like Negro, Black, and now African-American.

Although some credible scholars have attempted to determine the racial classification
of the ancient Israelites, we believe they were people of African descent. We also believe
that G-D is a spirit and those that worship Him "must worship Him in spirit' instead of pigmentation.

There are approximately 5.4 million white Jews in America today and an
estimated 150,000 Black Jews or Hebrew Israelites. As a large community, we have
theological, philosophical, and political differences that divide us into distinct groups.
We here at Beth Shalom are proud of our uniqueness and hope that you will also appreciate
and enjoy it.

Our way of life is practiced essentially as Rabbi Matthew and Rabbi Reuben established it.
Though the standard classification of "Jews" along Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform
lines are an extremely ambiguous set of minhagim (customs), our way of life closely
resemble those of the modern orthodox with clear conservative and African-American
influences. For instance, a lay person would notice that we maintain separate seating
for men and women in our sanctuary, but believe in the complete equality of women. We
allow travel on the Shabbat (Sabbath) for worship services, and follow a biblical definition
of kosher foods that prohibits the eating of pork and certain kinds of sea food but does not
require the separation of milk and meat products. However, we do have members who are
strictly kosher according to the Halakah.

We observe all high holy days such as Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur.
We recognize holidays such as Hanukkah, Tu-Be-Savat and Purim. We have also instituted
days of celebration to honor the mothers, fathers, and children of the congregation.

We have established special Shabtot when our young people, woman, and children lead and

conduct our worship services. We also have a special Shabbat service when we honor Senior Rabbi Abihu ben Rueben and other leaders of the community.

Beth Shalom has a choir which is led by Sar Nashone Ben Yehudah, an accomplished
musician. We have a staff of shamuses (ushers) headed by Rabbi Avraham Ben Isarel.
We have classes for beginners and advanced students, as well as Torah study for all
members. Beth Shalom is supported by its auxiliaries, Nashe 0r, our Sisterhood and
Anshay Chayil, our Brotherhood. We also have a Youth Director who organizes young
people in activities that are enjoyable to them. Since life is a learning process, the more
we learn the better we should be able to live. This concept is reflected in the schools we
operate and in the activities of the temple and auxiliaries.

These principles are nurtured in our children, molded and encouraged by our members,

and supported by the congregation.

A love of learning should extend from religious to secular topics and from learning about others to learning about ourselves. Membership in Beth Shalom is achieved only after the successful  completion of a probationary period, and following the other rules in the congregational by-laws.

However, membership is not necessary for regular worship with us; therefore, all are welcome to visit as often as they would like to do so. All rites of the faith (marriages, Bar/Baht Mitzvahs, funerals, counseling letters of reference, etc..) are reserved for members of the congregation exclusively.