I went to Beth Sholom for Yom Kippur services last year. I found the congregation extremely friendly and welcoming, and the service was excellent. The congregation is multi-ethnic, which is important to me because I come from a mixed family. The service was traditional - lots of people reciting hebrew at different places, and at one point the children's service got out early so there were kids running around. That's what a jewish holiday service should be - the focus was on the religion and our moral code, not on formalities or formalisms. read more

My wife and I became members of Beth Sholom in 2010. I was drawn to the shul because of Rabbi Micah Hyman's energy and enthusiasm, and my wife, raised in a Reform congregation, was impressed by the haimish-ness of the community. Both of us were delighted that the liturgy was in Hebrew and the services were led without instruments. (I suppose we're old school that way...but there are musical services available for folks who are into that sort of thing which, unfortunately for my wife and me, seems to be most people!) In 2012, Rabbi Hyman presided over our marriage, and many of our friends and family still talk about Rabbi Hyman being one of the best officiants they'd had the pleasure of meeting/experiencing. We're biased....but we agree! :) As a Jew who strongly identifies with the thoughtful philosophy of the Conservative movement, I'm proud of the fact that Beth Sholom has been a trailblazing congregation within the stream (e.g., setting a particularly fine example with respect to gender and sexuality considerations). And although I generally prefer to daven at home, I'm also proud that Beth Sholom provides daily shacharit and mincha minyanim. When I do attend a weekday mincha service, I often see out-of-towners who have landed at Beth Sholom to say kaddish. That's no small thing...klal Yisrael, so to speak. With a terrific new rabbi leading the congregation and a new Executive Director at the institutional helm, I feel Beth Sholom's future is bright. read more

I belong to this synagogue not so much by choice but by hereditary. I don't think that I would choose to belong to a conservative synagogue as I do not consider myself a conservative Jew. As a kid I went to Sunday school here and it really turned me off from Judaism because the teachers were sadly no good. I think this was the case for many of my classmates as well, seeing as though only 2 or 3 still go to high holiday services (I know that others still live in SF, many defected to Emanu-el post bar or bat mitzvah). I would assume that the Sunday school program has improved over time. This was the early to mid '90s. The new building is alright. From the outside I think that the main sanctuary looks like a skate park, which is pretty cool (albeit a little silly). The inside of the main sanctuary is nice, but I think that there is a design flaw in the stairs. The stairs are not uniform in size and some are oddly long which causes people to trip. Since the design of the room has seats on one side facing those on the other with the bimah in the center of the room (at the bottom of the U), it leaves congregants to watch others trip up the stairs throughout the entire service. I am sure that some people find this distracting. I enjoy the entertainment. If you are looking for a conservative congregation to join, I do think that Beth Sholom could be for you. The congregants are very friendly and the rabbi does a good enough job (he has certainly improved in the last few years). I did find myself chuckling at his sermon and not just people tripping at Rosh Hashannah a few years ago. The building is very nice, and I think that there is a lot of it that I haven't seen since I only come by once a year to please my mother. read more

First of all let me say that I rarely give 5 stars, and I think 4 stars is a very good score. I think the Shabbat morning songs with Jonathan Bayer are energizing and fun. I don't have much to say about the service, because I haven't been to one yet. However there is a new Rabbi named Rabbi Glazer now. I haven't yet had a chance to meet him. I'm just shy and haven't introduced myself yet but perhaps he will introduce himself to me someday. It seems like a decent place to send children to Religious School and I feel like my kids are both learning a lot. We used to be members at Ner Tamid, where the food was deliciously prepared and so yummy and homemade with a variety of dishes. They'd even have chicken and fish and all kinds of salads. So if the Kiddush at CBS had a nicer spread I would have given it 5 stars. It's very plain and boring at times and not such a feast as we had every Shabbat at Ner Tamid . There was even extra wine, cognac, etc at Ner Tamid, but CBS seems to run out of coffee and hot water by the time I make my way over. They often run out of food for the amount of people they get. I think they need to spend more $$ on food and do it up Right! Shabbat Shalom. read more

To begin: San Francisco has a small Jewish community that I hope continues to grow. I converted to Judaism 2 years ago with Beth Sholom. When I was "shul shopping" I felt comfortable when I first visited. But it seemed when I finally converted I, got like this cold feeling each time I attend shul. So of course being a new Jew and a paying member, I got discouraged and just ended up leaving. It seemed like trying to join different programs within the shul were very difficult. They do not have a young person program or community. I know you shouldn't let people take away from your worship, but you want a sense of community AT your place of worship. Plus you want to be Jewish with people your own age while you learn from the older Jewish people. I'm not saying you can't relate to older people but it's nice to be able to relate to people your own age. I guess I'm speaking a bit bitter since the older community at Beth Sholom was very cold and curt towards me. I've been attending different shul's.....I will continue to do so until I find one that suits a young, single professional in her 30's who lives in San Francisco such as myself. read more

Please note that my review is only for the preschool. Going through the preschool application and admission process in San Francisco is not fun for a parent. The waiting period is long - it's like applying and interviewing for a job and having to wait months and even years to find out if you "got the job." I applied to several school. Beth Sholom is the ONLY school that I had a negetive experience with at every level. When I initially made the call to gather some application process information, Sarah never returned my call and I had to actually stop by to talk to her. She said I missed the cut off for applying and suggested that I call back next year. Several months later, I called and called and called. After several messages, Sarah finally called back to try to schedule a tour. During all this time I missed most of the tour appointment. After many more phone tags, she was able to set up a private tour with Fern, the director. Fern seemed nice, but spaced out and losing her train of thought and asked me several times "now, what was I saying?" At the end of the tour Fern took my husband and I to her office. It was one of the messiest office I have seen - full of supplies for her jewelry making. No explanations. Feb/March rolls around and I'm getting letters/calls from all the preschool that I applied to with acceptances (!), except no word from Beth Sholom. Not even a regret letter or a no thank you postcard. So I call Sarah and Fern. No response. read more

This is very hard for me to say, but I just cannot get into Beth Shalom as is it is these days. I have been going here since the early 1990s, but I have never been a paid member, as I could never afford to be one. Therefore my perspective is that of a non-member. If I was a paying member, my experience would probably be very different. I used to be the only woman that would daven at the shacharit minyan...for a number of years. The minyan experience was always very good. Everyone was very welcoming, and the older men that are there are always very warm and nurturing. I left when Rabbi Lew left...and the place has never felt the same for me. Part of this might be the "new" building, which I find to be ugly and cold. The main sanctuary is extremely inconvenient when crowded with its very narrow aisles and precarious seating. The smaller spiritual space has non of the coziness of the old room, and the seating of hard wooden benches is really uncomfortable. These spaces just don't inspire kavanah, sorry! I have been for a good number of Shabbats & events and always go to their High Holy Day Services. I find Rabbi Micah a very entertaining leader,and I think he did an excellent job on Rabbi Lew's funeral, which was a pretty devastating event for the community here. However, that said, his High Holy Day sermons have left me feeling very confused. As someone with family in Israel, who is a supporter of Israel, I have had a difficult time with some of his sermons. As a result, every time I think of attending regularly again, I an not inspired to do so. I wish I could say that the congregants are warm...some,like Kenny, Marilyn, and the shacharit crew make the place worth going to. Others make you feel like you are not good enough to be in their presence. It's a bit of downer, I gotta say. The combination of wonky sermons, uninviting congregants, and cold spiritual space makes me hesitant to participate fully. I think if you have a young family with kids, and/or a lot of money, it might be a good place to hang out. If you want a deeper spiritual experience, this may not be the place for you. And if you have any suggestions, please let me know! Sadly, there are few options for Conservative Jews living in the Richmond. read more

Again, going to visit the shul of my childhood. It is so sad to see a synagogue which was the premier synagogue in San Francisco (even more than Emanuel) become a senior citizens minyan. Beth Sholom used to have the largest Friday night service in town (hundreds of people!), a great and welcoming conversion program and a compassionate rabbi who touched many people lives. The shul tried to trick people to come on shabbath by having the Hebrew school on Saturday, that of course did not work out because many kids have extracurricular activities on Saturday which cannot be moved to Sundays, so they did not gain any new congregants and the Hebrew School lost kids who could not come on Saturday Rabbi Hyman continues to cancel or to take over many programs which were created by rabbi Lew. The mediation program Makor Or is now controlled by rabbi Hyman and its focus changed. Rabbi Hyman also doing is best to reject new congregants. In addition to the Asian girl he refused to convert because of her english, he told a couple who wanted to become members not to drive there. It was not because of the Shabbath, it was because he wanted to the shul to be green!. The couple live far from the synagogue and taking public transportation was not practical for them. Maybe he read my previous review because now rabbi Hyman stays after kiddush and talks to congregants. There are still very friendly people in Betth Sholom, but many defected to Emanuel and Chevra Thilim. Maybe my impression that the shul is friendly is because I know the people there for years, but new members might find the shul and its rabbi unwelcoming as other yelpers experienced . I do not see much future to this shul, I am on email list of many shuls in the bay area and usually I get mix of lifecycle events emails such as births and deaths. From Beth Sholom I get mostly death notices. I think every shul state depends on its rabbi and the sorry state of a former great synagogue like Beth Sholom is directly related to its rabbi. Rabbi Zarchi took a dying shul and rejuvenate it, rabbi Hyman did the opposite. read more

I have not been to every synagogue in San Francisco but for a conservative synagogue in sf I don't think cbs can be beat. cbs does a great job of balancing tradition and the needs of modern life. If you want Hebrew in your services and true spirituality from your rabbi but still want some English or the ability to drive to synagogue on Shabbat you should take a look at cbs read more

My husband and i found Beth Sholom 15 years ago when we were looking for a Rabbi to marry us. We met Rabbi Lew who was known as 'the Zen Rabbi." We loved him! We joined and have been there ever since. Rabbi Lew passed away 6 years ago, but we've continued on as members. We've built a lovely community there. And, we love the new Rabbi , Aubrey Glazer. Highly recommend. read more

I am a long-time member who just stumbled upon the fact that there is a Yelp review for my synagogue. I have no idea why anyone would review a synagogue or any other house of worship as of course such a thing is intensely personal, and consequently to learn of one person's views would inform you of exactly one person's views (and not reflect anything of a broader useful nature). That being said, I am writing this review to counter the (personal) negative reviews, to note that the negative reviews seem badly out of date and could not reflect what is presently happening at CBS, and to suggest that you will need to check things out for yourself. read more

Beth Sholom is my childhood synagogue that I attend now as an adult with a family of my own. I love it there and feel blessed to be part of a warm and loving community. read more

Brand new building under construction which will be open in January 2008. Rabbi Micah Hyman is bursting with energy and enthusiasm in hopes of revitalizing this conservative congregation. Lots of new programming to appeal to varied ages and interests. Take a look at www.bethsholomsf.org read more

I came on a class assignment for philosophy of comparative religions. I had researched reformed synagogues and Beth Sholom came up on the list among others in the area. My wife accompanied me on my visit. I read some of the complaints of the old reviews and wanted to give updated comment on this congregation, though I'm speaking as an outsider. First, the community here is very inviting and warm. From the entrance all the way to our seats, we were warmly greeted and cared for. Upon entering the entrance to the sanctuary, I identified myself and the purpose for my visit. The woman was very enthusiastic and explained the service was in Hebrew, but she had different books and a Torah that had explanations in English we could follow. During the service, we were greeted by different members who aided us in understanding the service. Many took the time to help us find the pages we should be on to follow along and explained what the different parts of the service. Rabbi Ain was equally welcoming and introduced himself to me during the service. I could not stay for the meal after and can not rate that, but I can say I think some of the other reviews are dated compared to what is happening there now. As an outsider, I was more than welcomed there. I can only imagine it gets better as a member. read more

I'm not sure how to review a synagogue. I've been a member since the early 90's, and it's a wonderful place. A very welcoming congregation, a young & energetic rabbi, and great programs & facilities. Check it out, and you'll know if it's a fit. read more

Big changes with new Rabbi and executive director. Much improved social programs. Services much more meaningful and enjoyable. Definitely worth a relook if you have not been in awhile read more