During our Erev Shabbat service, the Beth Am community will warmly welcome the newest member of our Beth Am clergy, Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff.

Rabbi Nemitoff served congregations in Houston, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; and Columbus, OH before returning, in 2003, to become Senior Rabbi of his childhood congregation, B’nai Jehudah in Kansas City, KS (a large, nationally known temple, and one of the oldest Reform congregations in America). He has a passion for spreading the message of liberal Judaism throughout the world, having worked with Jewish communities in Serbia, China, Estonia, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, and Israel.  More recently, he served as Interim Rabbi for Temple B’nai Torah (Bellevue, WA) and Temple B'nai Jeshurun (Des Moines, IA).

With expertise in the areas of synagogue transformation, liturgy, and death and dying, Rabbi Nemitoff has dedicated his rabbinate to helping individuals discover their own Jewish paths. Dozens of his articles, poems, creative liturgies — and three books — have been published over his 43-year career. His hobbies include photography, cycling and poetry. After graduating from Southwest High School, in Kansas City, he attended Washington University in St. Louis, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. He was ordained from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Cincinnati campus) in 1981. In 2006, Rabbi Nemitoff was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree, also from HUC-JIR.

Following the service, we’ll join in a festive Oneg Shabbat on the Social Hall Patio. Please join in welcoming Rabbi Nemitoff to our congregation!

If you attend virtually, please join the livestream starting at 6:15 PM. You may follow along in our texts for the Erev (evening) Shabbat service using the digital version (available for purchase) of the Mishkan T'filah: A Reform Siddur.

To enhance your enjoyment of Shabbat, please visit betham.org/shabbatcorner (including "Social Stories" in the Resource Box to prepare children ahead of time for what to expect during the Shabbat service).

*These services will be live video streamed. By entering the Sanctuary you give Beth Am permission to record you.