Temple Beth Sholom (Miami Beach, Florida)

Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach is recognized as the city’s oldest and largest synagogue. It became a focal point of the area’s Jewish community, which expanded after 1949 when state restrictions on Jewish property ownership were lifted, a period during which Miami Beach was sometimes called the "Shtetl by the Sea." == Early history ==

Abraham Zinnamon and Benjamin Appel arranged the first founders' meeting of Beth Sholom Center that took place on April 6, 1942. Through the late 1940s, it grew further amid Miami Beach's post-WWII Jewish influx. Rabbi Leon Kronish was hired by Beth Sholom Jewish Center as its full-time rabbi in 1944. == Kronish legacy ==

Leon Kronish assumed leadership in October 1944, and developed the temple, alongside peers like Irving Lehrman, during Miami Beach's rise with 75+ Jewish organizations by 1955. In 1967, Temple Beth Sholom became a cultural center for the Miami Area, keeping with Kronish's thoughts on the Temple as a Jewish community center as well as for worship. A first-generation American Jew whose family emigrated from Poland, he initiated a bar mitzva school-trip to Israel that became a recurring program at the congregation. In 1983, he chaired the National Rabbinic Cabinet of Israel Bonds, leading a delegation conference on Mt. Herzl (Har HaZikaron) to honor soldiers killed in the Lebanon War. == Modern history ==

In January 2009, Temple Beth Sholom participated in the Library of Congress's Inauguration Sermons and Orations Project with a sermon delivered on January 16, for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. == Architecture ==

The Temple Beth Sholom congregation moved in 1953 to their current two-story house, the Chase Avenue Hotel, at 4141 Chase Avenue. In 1956, the temple sanctuary and banquet hall were designed in the Modernist style by Jewish American architect Percival Goodman, inspired by Erich Mendelsohn. The lighting was designed by Goodman, he called the concept "the stars above Abraham’s tent. Curvy arches pierce the dome, some with Stars of David. In 2000, the sanctuary and lobby were re‑organized to better serve the congregation. The formerly sloped floor was re‑graded, wheelchair‑accessible ramps were installed, This one-story project, built between existing structures, added more worship and congregation areas, a new temple, youth center, welcome center, and administrative offices while preserving mid-1940s elements of the original temple. == Senior rabbinate ==

Rabbi Gary A. Glickstein was Temple Beth Sholom's senior rabbi from 1985 to 2018. In Miami, he established the Woldenberg Center for Jewish Life, chaired the Greater Miami Jewish Federation's finance committee, and led the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami plus the American Friends of Hebrew University (Miami). Pomerantz’s promotion was widely reported in local media, including a CBS Miami segment highlighting her role as the first female rabbi to lead the congregation and as one of the largest synagogues on Miami Beach. == Programs and community engagement ==

Temple Beth Sholom hosts the annual Ruach Pride gathering for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies, listed in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s community calendar. It's organized with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, JCRC, and Keshet. The congregation states that it welcomes members of the LGBTQ+ community, interfaith couples, and interfaith families. The temple organises an annual Mitzvah Day, a community‑wide volunteer and service event held for about thirty years that includes a public soup contest. During Hanukkah 2023, amid the Israel–Hamas war, Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz highlighted the holiday’s theme of light overcoming darkness, and the temple hosted Miami Beach firefighters who had volunteered in Israel On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the synagogue hosted a memorial attended by about 1,100 people, including elected officials and holocaust survivors, with prayers and appeals for the release of hostages. In January 2026, Rabbi Loiben hosted a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ inclusion as a Jewish value in the temple’s chapel, in conversation with Keshet’s Tracey Labgold, ==See also==