Where is Beth Israel Judea?
About BIJ Index
Beth Israel Judea Sanctuary
The light from many stained glass windows is reflected throughout the BIJ sanctuary.
Rooted in over 150 years of Tradition and Evolution.
The existence of our synagogue, as well as our congregation, is an embodiment of the timeless words we repeat each week, “l’dor v’dor,” from generation to generation. Congregation Beth Israel, founded in 1860 and then the oldest Conservative congregation west of the Mississippi, survived the Civil War, the 1906 Earthquake, the Great Depression and many other events, historical and mundane, always determined to push forward and embrace the challenges and needs of its community.
Almost 50 years ago, Beth Israel merged with the Reform Temple Judea, a young and growing Jewish community. The joined community endeavored to create a unique synthesis of traditional ritual and contemporary Jewish practice, which still survives in our shul today, represented in a variety of ways. We have embraced the new with Reform services on Friday evenings that are bold and test innovative methods of worship; on Saturday mornings, our services remain Conservative leaning, yet are also and always filled with music, having both ancient and new roots, giving us the comfort of tradition, yet a taste of the modern. In all cases, we treasure the beauty of music, prayer, and individual contributions and ideas that connect us and give us great flexibility in accommodating trends of our modern era such as interfaith marriage, and unique family and partnership paradigms of all kinds.
Our synagogue is located at the very southwest corner of San Francisco, close to Highways 280 and 101. It is a part of a rare triangle of Jewish life that includes the Brotherhood Way JCC and Brandeis Hillel Day School. Our sanctuary is simple, but beautiful with stained glass panes in multiple colors that stream through the room on sunny mornings, and cheer us on even cloudy days. We sometimes hold services in a more intimate sanctuary called the “Fireside Room,” which is also used as a library, for our board meetings, for study and other programs.
Recently, we also renovated our social hall which includes a stage and is attached to a fully equipped kitchen often used for special meals, simchas, special presentations and entertainment, and other occasions we share with our own community as well as our neighbors.
For our youth and Sunday school program, the congregation uses newly-built classrooms at Brandeis Hillel Day School, just across the parking lot. Indeed, in constructing the new building, Brandeis purposely integrated attributes in several of its classrooms in order to enable a seamless sharing of its space with BIJ's youth program; for example, the white boards in the classes rotate, with materials for Brandeis on one side and BIJ on the other.
The synagogue's location provides convenient freeway access for members in the City, Pacifica coastside and North Peninsula areas. Visitors enjoy a large, free parking lot, unique in San Francisco.