A House of the People on Kendall Drive
Temple Beth Am has stood in the Village of Pinecrest, in South Miami-Dade County, since 1955. Its Hebrew name, Beth Am, means "House of the People," and the congregation has lived up to that name for more than seventy years as a full-service Reform congregation whose members come from many places and whose collective memories span the globe. The campus sits at 5950 North Kendall Drive, with classrooms, a sanctuary, a chapel, day-school buildings, an arts venue, athletic facilities, and library rooms woven together into what the congregation calls "The Janet z"l and Richard Yulman Campus" - a Home for Our Heritage, connecting Jews to Judaism and each other for generations to come.
Open to all, Beth Am describes itself as a nurturing and caring Reform community committed to Jewish continuity, lifelong education, spiritual renewal, life-cycle transitions, and Shabbat and holy day celebrations. Religious, educational, cultural, social, and athletic programs meet the dynamic needs of families across every generation. Two schools anchor that work: Rambam Day School, with early childhood and elementary divisions, and the Youth Engagement Religious School, known as YERS, which runs from Pre-K through twelfth grade. The aim of the whole enterprise is to make Judaism accessible and joyful, both for those who grew up in the synagogue and for those just walking through the door.
Worship Filled with Music and Joy
Beth Am's worship services are described by the congregation as inviting, fulfilling, comforting, and filled with music. The clergy create Jewish experiences that embrace Jewish heritage while acknowledging the spiritual hunger and search for God in a modern, contemporary society. "Come pray with us. Add to the sound of our voices. Together, we will make a joyful noise" - that line from the congregation's own materials captures the spirit of the bimah.
Weekly Shabbat worship centers on Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday evenings at 6:00 PM in the Sanctuary of the Lewis Family Religious Life Complex. Saturday mornings bring a triple offering of learning and prayer: Torah Study at 9:00 AM in the Chapel, with coffee and bagels served and no prior Hebrew required; a traditional Saturday Morning Minyan at 10:30 AM, also in the Chapel and described as musical; and a Conservative Minyan Service at 10:00 AM in the Frankel Family Performing Arts Center at The Hub, led under the Conservative rubric for those who prefer that minhag. Many services are livestreamed, so members who are traveling or homebound can join in.
The High Holy Days unfold on a grand scale. Rosh HaShanah brings an Erev Rosh HaShanah Service, an Early Service, a Conservative Service, a Late Service, a Family Service, a Second Day Service with both Reform and Conservative options, and a Tashlich gathering at a nearby park. Yom Kippur follows the same rhythm with an Abbreviated Kol Nidre, a Conservative Kol Nidre, a full Kol Nidre, an Early Service, a Conservative Service, a Late Service, a Family Service, a Healing Circle Service, Yom Kippur Study, and the closing Mincha, Yizkor, and Neilah Services. Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Purim, and Passover all carry their own special services and programming, including a Tot Shabbat in the Sukkah and a First Grade Consecration tied to Simchat Torah. Each year the congregation also gathers for an October 7 Commemoration in the Sanctuary - an evening of remembrance, prayer, Israeli music, and community that honors the lives lost and reflects on the day that changed the Jewish world.
Clergy and Cantor
The clergy of Temple Beth Am form a k'hillah kedosha, a community of holy fellowship. Senior Rabbi Jeremy Barras, a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, leads the team. Rabbi Rachel G. Greengrass has been part of the Beth Am family since 2008 and teaches the popular Reading with the Rabbi book group. Rabbi Jaime K. Aklepi joined the clergy team in 2016 after more than twenty years of service in the Miami Jewish community and is a past president of the Greater Miami Rabbinic Association. Rabbi Jason Cook joined the team after spending three years as a congregant and day-school parent, and Rabbi Robyn Fisher came aboard in a meaningful homecoming to the community where she was raised and began her rabbinic journey.
Music at Beth Am is shaped by Interim Senior Cantor Michael Smolash, who co-leads Shabbat and holiday services and is the voice behind the recordings used by the Religious School's Prayer Mastery curriculum. Cantorial Intern Jessica Bass has served as a cantorial soloist since 2020 and brings more than a decade of experience to the bimah. Senior Cantor Emerita Rachelle F. Nelson, who served Beth Am for twenty-nine years, continues to be honored through her recordings of original settings of Mi Sheberach, Shehechiyanu, and Ba'al Tashchit. The founding spiritual leader of Temple Beth Am, Rabbi Emeritus Herbert M. Baumgard, of blessed memory, served the congregation from its inception in 1955 until his death in 2016. He was regarded as one of the leading interpreters of Liberal Judaism and also directed the Southern Florida Council of Reform Congregations.
From Birth to B'nai Mitzvah: Life Cycles
Jewish life at Beth Am is punctuated by the rhythm of life-cycle moments. The clergy guide families through Hebrew naming, brit milah, simchat bat, pidyon haben, b'nai mitzvah, weddings and commitment ceremonies, chanukat bayit housewarmings with mezuzot, and, when needed, divorce and conversion. Bar and Bat Mitzvah training and tutoring are coordinated by the Shabbat and Life Cycle Event Coordinator. Couples marrying at Beth Am receive premarital counseling and may use the Temple as their venue. Conversion classes are offered in both English and Spanish, with one of the rabbis serving as mentor; the process, which usually takes about a year, includes study, worship, holiday celebration, and culminates in a Bet Din meeting, a mikvah visit, and a welcoming ceremony that can be private or part of the Shabbat worship experience.
When death comes, the clergy are available for funeral services, minyan, counseling, and unveiling, and the community gathers to sit shiva. Yahrzeit observance is supported through a published Yahrzeit List, both online and in the monthly Commentator bulletin, and through tzedakah contributions in memory of loved ones. Beth Am also maintains a special section at Lakeside Cemetery, and a digital Memorial Wall project called Memoriz+ is adding photographs, recorded statements, and obituaries to the traditional plaques so that future visitors will see not just a name but a life in full.
Rambam Day School and the YERS Religious School
Rambam Day School and the Youth Engagement Religious School share the Pinecrest campus and share a single purpose: to inspire minds and shape leaders where academic excellence meets Jewish values. Rambam offers an Early Childhood program and an Elementary School, each grounded in general and Judaic curricula that the congregation calls "cutting edge." The day school is led by Nora Anderson as Head of School, with Kim McWilliams as Elementary School Director and Liora Vogel as Early Childhood Associate Director. Judaic Studies are shepherded by Dr. Lenore C. Kipper, the Judaic Studies Director Emerita. Families can also enroll children in Blue J's After School and the Blue J's Summer Camp, both administered out of Rambam.
YERS, the Youth Engagement Religious School, was established more than sixty years ago alongside the congregation itself and serves students from Pre-K through twelfth grade. It is led by Tamara Donnenfeld as Director of Lifelong Learning. The Sunday morning Religious School runs from 9:30 AM to noon for Pre-K through fifth grade and from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM for sixth grade; Religious School Hebrew for grades three through five meets on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45 to 5:30 PM. Monday Night CHAI gathers the older students on Monday evenings, with sixth and seventh graders meeting from 5:00 to 7:15 PM, eighth through twelfth graders from 5:45 to 8:00 PM, and the eleventh and twelfth grade Halacha College Course meeting from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Dinner is part of the Monday night rhythm.
The Religious School's curriculum is built around the four pillars of Torah, God, Israel, and Tikkun Olam, with the aspiration of keeping tradition alive "l'dor v'dor." Tzedakah is collected at every Sunday class session, and classes decide together which charitable organizations will receive their contributions. Hebrew prayer mastery is supported by a full library of audio recordings led by the cantor, covering the central prayers of the Shabbat evening and morning services, the Chanukah blessings, Ma Nishtanah, Havdalah, the Mourner's Kaddish, and Hatikvah.
From Tot Shabbat to Confirmation: Growing Up Beth Am
The journey through Jewish adolescence at Beth Am has its own landmarks. Tot Shabbat in the Sukkah, for the youngest families, is a joyful Saturday morning gathering of song, prayers, and celebration of the festival. The First Grade Consecration marks the beginning of formal Hebrew learning and is tied each year to the Erev Simchat Torah Service, followed by a Taste of Torah dessert cafe where families engage in big questions and discover that every voice has a place in the story of Torah.
BAFTY - the Beth Am Federation of Temple Youth - is the high school youth group for grades nine through twelve. It meets during the first hour of Monday Night CHAI and is run by a board of teen leaders. BAFTY K2, BAFTY 34, BAFTY 5 and 6, and BAFTY 7 and 8 carry younger students along the same trajectory. The teen years also bring a Ninth Grade Pre-Confirmation track, which meets twice a month and includes a weekend trip to Memphis, Tennessee, the cradle of the Civil Rights movement, where students tour historic sites and meet community and religious leaders. Tenth Grade Confirmation, a life-cycle service developed by leaders of the Reform Movement more than a hundred years ago, allows students to reaffirm their Jewish identity and commitment to Judaic study in front of the congregation. Madrichim - the Religious School Counselors' Program - lets ninth through twelfth graders serve as role models for K-6 students and develop leadership skills.
Two Fellowships deepen the high school experience. The Social Justice Teen Fellowship, open to eleventh and twelfth graders, is an action-oriented program that empowers Fellows to tackle significant social, economic, and environmental issues within and beyond the Jewish community. The Torah Scholar Fellowship with Rabbi Barras is limited to two students per year in grades nine through eleven and offers weekly study in Rabbi Barras's study, deepening students' identity with the Jewish people, the Land of Israel, text, and Torah. Each year, BAFTY members raise money to send underprivileged children to Camp Jenny, an inner-city Atlanta camp experience staffed by teen counselors; Beth Am is consistently among the top fundraisers for the program.
Israel, Travel, and College Connection
Connection to Israel is woven through Beth Am at every age. Kehilat Har-El in Jerusalem, the founding congregation of the Reform Movement in Israel, is the congregation's sister congregation. For high school students, the Religious School partners with NFTY in Israel, the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and the Leon Martin March of the Living, all of which send teens to study, hike, climb, and bear witness. The Gift of Israel Savings Program, formerly Passport to Israel and supported by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, allows Beth Am families to begin saving for their child's Israel experience as early as kindergarten; the Temple and Federation each match annual family contributions, building a fund that grows over the years until the teen is ready to travel.
College Connection keeps students connected after they leave home. Three times a year, Beth Am sends care packages stuffed with Jewish goodies, gifts, and helpful resources to enrolled college students. The program also points students toward Hillel on Campus, Taglit-Birthright Israel, JELF interest-free loans, and MASA's long-term Israel programs. The YERS Holocaust and Heritage Fund subsidizes multigenerational trips to Poland so that every engaged Beth Am teen has the opportunity to experience that pilgrimage firsthand.
The Hub: A Stage for the Arts
The Hub is Beth Am's home for music, theater, learning, and community engagement - a place "where culture, community and creativity come to life." Within the Hub sits the Frankel Family Performing Arts Center, the Adult Reading Room of the Congregational Library, the Top Nosh Café, and a multi-purpose room used for community dinners and meetings. Programming ranges from stand-up comedy to chef's-table conversations, Israeli music to author talks, and touring speakers. Friends of The Hub is the giving circle that keeps the arts programming alive, supporting performances, educational programming, and cultural experiences for the wider community. The Hub is also available for outside facility rentals, with its own box office for ticketed performances.
Adult Learning and Beth Am University
Lifelong learning is taken literally at Beth Am. Beth Am University is the umbrella for adult study, with courses that range from informal text study to multi-session seminars. Reading with the Rabbi with Rabbi Greengrass gathers adults at midday on Tuesdays in Meeting Room 3 of the Admin Building to read a chapter at a time, weaving modern research with timeless Jewish wisdom on joy, play, community, and meaningful living. Lunch 'n Learn with Rabbi Barras meets monthly in the Chapel for adult study over lunch. Torah Study on Saturday mornings, with its triennial reading schedule of weekly parshiyot, is the congregation's flagship adult text study and requires no prior experience or Hebrew.
The Congregational Library, led by Senior Congregational Librarian Etta D. Gold, is divided into three locations across campus: the Adult Reading Room at The Hub holds fiction, community, history, and geography; Meeting Room 2 holds borrowing fiction; and the Clergy Satellite Library houses religious study books on Torah, Talmud, observances, education, and languages. Sunday Salon is a monthly program of lectures and conversations hosted in the Adult Reading Room, frequently partnered with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami. The Jewish Genealogy Workshop meets every Thursday morning in the Adult Reading Room, inviting members to share family stories, learn research techniques, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Mitzvah Makers and Tikkun o Yum Potluck are recurring hands-on volunteer and food-centered gatherings.
Tikkun Olam, unBIASed, and Social Action
Tikkun Olam - the repair of the world - is one of the four pillars of Beth Am's educational philosophy, and the congregation's social action work is organized under the same name. Recent projects have included postcard-writing parties in partnership with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to engage members in nonpartisan voter participation, with mahjongg, poker, and refreshments on hand. Voter education programming is reinforced by nonpartisan civic presentations led by partners such as the League of Women Voters of Florida.
unBIASed is the congregation's initiative dedicated to thoughtful, nonpartisan engagement with issues of bias and discrimination in civic life. It hosts regular programs that bring the community into conversation about how Jewish values call members to act in the public square. Reverse Tashlich, an annual environmental program held at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, combines the High Holy Days ritual of casting away sins with a beach cleanup, and Kever Avot offers a gravesite visitation for members to honor their loved ones.
Latin Connection and Beth Am en Español
Beth Am en Español, also known as Latin Connection, is dedicated to organizing cultural, religious, educational, and social activities for the Latin Jewish community of Greater Miami. Its stated goals are to promote a deeper connection with Latin families in the congregation and to elevate the profile of Temple Beth Am as a spiritual and cultural center for the Latin Jewish community. The flagship program is Shabat en Español, a series of bilingual Kabbalat Shabbat services that combine Hebrew and Spanish in prayer, music, and community warmth, led by Rabbi Claudio Kogan in the Chapel, with each service followed by an Oneg Shabbat.
Every year, Latin Connection organizes the annual decoration of the Temple's sukkah, inviting adults and children to participate in a fun and creative cultural activity. Suca Latina brings the entire congregation to a special Oneg before the Friday night service of Sukkot, featuring Latin-themed flavors, music, and the opportunity to participate in the mitzvah of the lulav and etrog with the rabbis. Spanish-language conversion classes are also part of Beth Am's offerings for adults exploring Judaism.
Miami Jews 22-39, Brotherhood, and Sisterhood
Miami Jews 22-39 is the congregation's young-adult community, a network of programs and social gatherings for Jewish twenty- and thirty-somethings in South Florida. Miami Jews hosts sushi nights in the sukkah, after-the-Brisket receptions following the High Holy Days, Kol Nidre services for young professionals, and recurring happy hours and learning sessions.
Brotherhood brings together the men of the congregation, and Sisterhood the women, with volunteer leadership, programming, and fundraising for the synagogue's mission. Sisterhood organizes the annual Mah Jongg card sales in support of Temple programs, with a portion of every purchase returned to the Sisterhood by the National Mah Jongg League. Beth Am Basketball hosts a recreational league for members and their friends, and TBAM Tours organizes travel experiences for adults - from Broadway trips to multigenerational journeys through Poland.
Tzedakah, Tributes, and the Way to Give
The Keren Yaldi Religious School Fund, established in 1998 by a group of Religious School parents, is the only Beth Am fund that supports Religious School scholarships - no student is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay tuition. The Marilyn Herskowitz Jewish Education Fund supports Jewish summer camp scholarships, Israel teen program scholarships, and other Jewish educational programs outside of school. The YERS Holocaust and Heritage Fund subsidizes Poland trips for Beth Am teens. Annual giving, recurring donations, appreciated securities, donor-advised fund grants, and tribute gifts in honor or memory of loved ones are all part of the development program led by the Development Director.
The Commentator, the congregation's monthly bulletin, is published eleven times a year, with a combined June/July issue. It carries community announcements, clergy columns, the President's Message, and the Mazel Tov section that celebrates engagements, weddings, newborns, and other simchas. The bulletin is available in print and as a digital edition, with back issues archived for members. The congregation also maintains a tradition of named awards that honor service, education, family leadership, professional excellence, and extraordinary women whose work has shaped Beth Am across generations.
Getting to the Yulman Campus
The Janet z"l and Richard Yulman Campus is located in the Village of Pinecrest, just inside the Miami-Dade County line. From the north, drivers can take SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway) south to the North Kendall Drive / SW 88th Street exit and travel east about 2.4 miles. From the south, US 1 north leads to North Kendall Drive, then east about 1.2 miles. Alternative routes include Interstate 95 south to US 1 and Red Road, or SW 67th Avenue (Ludlam Road) north to Kendall Drive. The main phone line is (305) 667-6667, and Beth Am maintains a presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Vimeo, with services available to watch live online.