Congregation Beth Jacob
Conservative Egalitarian Synagogue on Galveston Island
Peggy Green, Vice President
CBJ Board of Trustees
2021
Worship Services:
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic,
all inside services have been cancelled until further notice.
Drive-up services will be held on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Please Call Shul Office for more information
(409) 762-4545
Please join us
Saturday, March 6th
for our next
Jews in Cars Shabbat Morning Service
Ronnie Graber, President
CBJ Board of Trustees
2021
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH 7:00-8:00 P.M.
FIRST EVER CBJ VIRTUAL PURIM CARNIVAL
$50 Landry’s Gift Card
door prize drawing
(you must be present to win)
WATCH YOUR MAILBOX (A megillah, a bingo card, a door prize ticket will be sent to your house)
WATCH YOUR EMAIL (Recipes for hamantaschen, music, random interesting tidbits will help you prepare)
COME AS YOU ARE (Through the miracle of Zoom you never have to leave your house. Wear a costume, wear your pajamas, pants are optional)
B.Y.O.B. There is a longstanding custom of drinking wine at Purim. The custom stems from a statement in the Talmud attributed to a rabbi named Rava that says one should drink on Purim until he can “no longer distinguish between arur haman (cursed is Haman) and baruch Mordechai (blessed is Mordechai)”
Yes, that is the "Whole Megillah"!
If you did not receive the Zoom link to attend the celebration, please send an email to Diane Wonio:
words.smithie@yahoo.com
and she will send you the Zoom link and the Hamentashen Recipes and emails that Meris and Marc sent out. Diane will also email you the PDF file of The Whole Megillah upon request.
CBJ Recent Events
Jews in Cars - Saturday, February 20th, 2021
Gabbai, Simon Gerbert and Shul Administrator, Paula Blunt fixing special brunch that was served to JIC Shabbat Morning Service motorists attending February 20th. The Brunch Box included "everything" bagels, lox, tomatoes, onions and a special cream cheese mix spread! See what you missed?
Bill and Meris Hamilton led a perfect Shabbat morning service. They were joined by Simon Gerbert who sang Ashrei perfectly!
Bill doing so much better after brain surgery a few weeks ago.
So happy to see Patricia Stowe (left) with her chauffeur, Peggy Green, following along with their Siddurim while listening to the audio on the FM Radio.
President Ronnie and First Lady, Charna Graber
Obviously, that's Charna on the left. Guess that's Ronnie on the right because we can see his Ten Gallon Stetson up on the dashboard.
Max and Kathleen Sukiennik. Kathleen drives Max to the service. Max drives Kathleen crazy. They are in the running for CBJ's Cutest Couple.
Great to see our beacon of the Beacon all bundled up. Thank you, Diane Wonio for always doing such an incredible job!
Ira Levine in the K-9 Unit with his adorable Molly ...Also competing for Cutest Couple.
CBJ Annual Membership Meeting 2021
(Annual meeting photos courtesy of Diane Wonio)
Meris Hamilton, CBJ Board Treasurer Introducing Outgoing President, Peggy Green
as Dr. Bill Hamilton Returns Inside After Leading with the Invocation
Peggy Green, Immediate Past President Speaking to Attendees About Her 2-Year Board Leadership and Accomplishments.
Peggy Discussing Board Member Simon Gerbert's Years of Contributions to the Board and the Synagogue
Newly Elected Board President, Ronnie Graber Discussing Plans for 2021
Peggy Proudly Displaying Her
Certificate of Awesomeness
Presented by Her Fellow CBJ Board Members
Marc Weiss
Served as
Master of Ceremonies
A Total of 22 "Jews in Cars" Attended the 2021 Annual Membership Meeting
2020 Chanukah Party
Meris Hamilton, Emcee for 2020
Chanukah Party December 16th
Premier of the Beautiful Programmable Chanukah Menorah
Jews in Cars Watching Videos On Movie Screen With Audio Via In-Car FM
"Jews in Cars" Shabbat Morning Services
January 2nd, January 16th & February 6th, 2021
Jews in Cars - January 2
A Full Minyan - So Nice!
Such a delightful way to start 2021 at CBJ with Jews In Cars Shabbat Morning Service led by Meris & Bill Hamilton. So nice to have a full Minyan. Meris & Bill did a phenomenal job and the service included wine and challah for Kiddush and Motzi.
Molly Levin Attended with Proud Poppa Ira
Malachi Greene arrived with his Parents (Irene and Nathanael Greene) and his 4 siblings at the Shul for the Jews in Cars Shabbat Morning services on February 6th announcing the celebration of his 5th Birthday. So, Meris Hamilton cued up "The Dinosaur Song" and broadcast that for those in attendance while Malachi danced with the stuffed Dinos he received as a birthday gift. And... as they say..."A Good Time Had by All!" (the "party" included chocolate birthday cake provided by Peggy). Aannnd, we were all grateful to see Lis and Hugo Kahn arriving as our Minyan Makers.
Jews in Cars - January 16th
Meris & Bill Hamilton Davened An Amazingly Smooth Service Complete with Chanting, Great Music and Special Prayer by Meris
Welcome to our historical synagogue at 2401 Avenue K on Galveston Island. The Shul was built on Galveston Island 90 years ago, during the Great Depression, by Jewish families of Austrian, German, Russian, and Polish heritage. Many descendants of these original families are still members and active with Congregation Beth Jacob.
Following Hurricane Ike in 2008 our Shul sustained severe damage. Nevertheless, CBJ members managed to come together with services in the outdoor Courtyard. Now, with COVID-19, we’ve been forced to hold outside services again. We have met the challenge with “Jews in Cars”. Via broadcast services from the doors of the Shul to the radios in the vehicles parked along the street, we have again succeeded to come together during difficult times. We invite visitors to join us every first and third Shabbot, on 24th Street, and tune in to radio station FM 87.9 listen to the audio portion of the service on your FM radio.
With the arrival of the vaccine, there’s hope of returning to in-person meetings. No one knows when that may be. We do know that once we return to inside services, we will enjoy the newly set-up children’s room, gift shop, and the main sanctuary with its newly installed HVAC system thanks to the very noble financial support from Patricia Stowe, Laura & Ed Schreiber and Peggy Green. We will enter the building through the soon-to-be renovated courtyard - a memorial to Rae and Harry Schreiber made possible by another generous donation from Laura & Ed Schreiber.
I think our founding fathers and mothers would would be so thrilled with the work we’ve done keeping their dream alive.
Peggy Green,
Proud to be the 2021 Vice President of
Congregation Beth Jacob Synagogue
Click photo for
Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Galveston, Texas
Original 1931 Stained Glass Window with Outline of the Original Torah Ark Located Below Window. Torah Ark Was Moved to The Chapel in 1963 When New Sanctuary Was Completed and New Ark Build in Main Sanctuary