Specialties
Our Mission
Congregation Beth El is a Conservative synagogue whose mission is to create a home for every soul by offering a variety of Jewish experiences to nourish the mind, heart, and spirit, while being a caring Jewish community.
Our Vision
We welcome all Jews and fulfill their spiritual, emotional, intellectual, cultural, life-cycle, and social needs, while ensuring Jewish meaning for future generations and emphasizing Tikkun Olam.
Our Values
We strive to be a synagogue that is welcoming and inclusive, whose operations are guided by responsibility, transparency, and trustworthiness, and whose interactions are characterized by respect, gratitude, joy, humility, and optimism.
History
Established in 1957.
Congregation Beth El started in the Clairemont area in 1957. At that time, most of the Jewish population had settled in the eastern part of the city. With the influx of engineers, coming to work for Convair, many of them settled in the Clairemont area.
Early in 1976, led by our spiritual leader at that time, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, many of our Beth El members marched with the Torahs from Clairemont to our new location in La Jolla.
Our congregation has had the honor of having Rabbis such as Jack Riemer, author of many books and an excellent lecturer; Rabbi Arnold Kopikis, who came to us from Mexico, with a Spanish speaking congregation. Rabbi Moshe Levin, Emeritus, was with us for 15 years.
In 2002, Rabbi Philip Graubart joined us as our new Senior Rabbi and ended his tenure in June 2016. In 2004, Rabbi Avi Libman joined us as our Associate Rabbi and is now leading the synagogue until a new Senior Rabbi is named.
Meet the Manager: Rabbi Avi Libman P.
Rabbi Avi Libman
Warmly welcomed by Congregation Beth El, Rabbi Avi Libman joined the synagogue in 2004.
The son of a pulpit rabbi, Libman always knew he would one day follow in his father's footsteps, because he saw firsthand the influence a dedicated spiritual leader can have on people's lives.
Upon graduation from college he sojourned into the world of business, realizing that his ultimate goal was, indeed, the world of the rabbinate. "I reiterated my earlier hopes until the period when I would be ready to follow my dream," he said recently. "I always knew I'd come back to it, but I wanted to reach that point when I was completely ready to accept the challenge."