Temple Beth Sholom (a transliteration of the Hebrew words for "House of Peace") is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 4144 Chase Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Greater Miami is home to a Jewish population of approximately 130,100 individuals in 69,700 households, according to the 2024 Jewish Miami: A 2024 Community Study. Founded in 1942, Beth Sholom is the oldest and largest Reform synagogue on Miami Beach and serves a community of more than 1,200 member households. Temple Beth Sholom is included on the Florida Jewish Heritage Trail for its role in the area's Jewish history.
The congregation originated as the Beth Sholom Jewish Center, organized by Abraham Zinnamon and Benjamin Appel to meet the religious and social needs of Jewish residents and visitors in the North Beach area of Miami Beach. Early services were held in a storefront on 41st Street, and the congregation gradually expanded into a center for Reform Jewish life in South Florida.
Temple Beth Sholom is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and functions as a religious, educational, and cultural institution for the local Jewish community. Rabbi Leon Kronish (1917âÂÂ1996) served as spiritual leader from 1944 to 1985, shaping Temple Beth Sholom into a place for Reform Judaism and cultural activities for people across the American South.
Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach is recognized as the cityâÂÂs oldest and largest synagogue. It became a focal point of the areaâÂÂs Jewish community, which expanded after 1949 when state restrictions on Jewish property ownership were lifted, a period during which Miami Beach was sometimes called the âÂÂShtetl by the Sea.âÂÂ
Pre-WWII, Miami Beach enforced anti-Semitic restrictions north of Fifth Street, confining Jews to South Beach hotels and developments until economic pressures and 1949 ordinances eased them, enabling northward expansion.
This broader South Florida Jewish saw growth, with Dade County's Jewish population increasing from 9,000 in 1940 to 52,000 by 1950, driven by veterans returning to familiar climates and innovations like air conditioning.
Abraham Zinnamon and Benjamin Appel arranged the first founders' meeting of Beth Sholom Center that took place on April 6, 1942. Later on June 3, 1942, they leased a building at 761 41st Street to congregate.
It was Miami Beach's first Reform synagogue, serving Jewish military personnel stationed there during World War II alongside civilians. Through the late 1940s, it grew further amid Miami Beach's post-WWII Jewish influx.
A charter of the State of Florida was granted shortly thereafter, and Rabbi Samuel Machtai, the "Radio Rabbi," conducted the first High Holy Days Services in 1942. The service was held in a storefront, where 20 Miami Beach Jewish families gathered to provide a house of worship for themselves and for the Jewish soldiers that had served during WWII. Rabbi Leon Kronish was hired by Beth Sholom Jewish Center as its full-time rabbi in 1944.
Leon Kronish assumed leadership in October 1944, and developed the temple, alongside peers like Irving Lehrman, during Miami Beach's rise with 75+ Jewish organizations by 1955. In 1956, the temple hosted the Beth Sholom Project in Intergroup Education with joint activities. In 1967, Temple Beth Sholom became a cultural center for the Miami Area, keeping with Kronish's thoughts on the Temple as a Jewish community center as well as for worship. For example, the temple hosted Leonard Bernstein events in 1967.
Rabbi Kronish was active in the Jewish Federation, Histadrut, and the American Jewish Congress. A first-generation American Jew whose family emigrated from Poland, he initiated a bar mitzva school-trip to Israel that became a recurring program at the congregation. In 1983, he chaired the National Rabbinic Cabinet of Israel Bonds, leading a delegation conference on Mt. Herzl (Har HaZikaron) to honor soldiers killed in the Lebanon War.
In January 2009, Temple Beth Sholom participated in the Library of Congress'<nowiki/>s Inauguration Sermons and Orations Project with a sermon delivered on January 16, for Barack Obama'<nowiki/>s presidential inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Temple Beth Sholom congregation moved in 1953 to their current two-story house, the Chase Avenue Hotel, at 4141 Chase Avenue. It was converted into a place of worship, with a capacity for 700 visitors. The membership grew from 40 households to more than 750 by 1955. By the late 1960s, the membership included more than 1200 families.
In 1956, the temple sanctuary and banquet hall were designed in the Modernist style by Jewish American architect Percival Goodman, inspired by Erich Mendelsohn. In 1961, architects added the religious school and auditorium. The lighting was designed by Goodman, he called the concept "the stars above AbrahamâÂÂs tent. Curvy arches pierce the dome, some with Stars of David. Multicolor glass fills geometrical panels, creating interior light effects.
In 2000, the sanctuary and lobby were reâÂÂorganized to better serve the congregation. The formerly sloped floor was reâÂÂgraded, wheelchairâÂÂaccessible ramps were installed, and the stainedâÂÂglass windows were replaced with new colourful art glass. Working with artist Laurie Gross, PKSB also reâÂÂdesigned the ark to fit with the buildingâÂÂs open plan while keeping existing Jewish art. The same year the synagogue was recognized by the state of Florida as a key heritage site, included on the official Florida Jewish Heritage Trail.
In 2011, the congregation expanded with a 20,393 square foot addition designed by Beilinson Gomez Architects. This one-story project, built between existing structures, added more worship and congregation areas, a new temple, youth center, welcome center, and administrative offices while preserving mid-1940s elements of the original temple.
Rabbi Gary A. Glickstein was Temple Beth Sholom's senior rabbi from 1985 to 2018. Ordained by Hebrew Union CollegeâÂÂJewish Institute of Religion in 1974 (B.A., UCLA, 1971), he led Temple Sinai in Worcester, MA (1977âÂÂ1985) and assisted at Congregation Bene Israel in Cincinnati (1974âÂÂ1977) In Miami, he established the Woldenberg Center for Jewish Life, chaired the Greater Miami Jewish Federation's finance committee, and led the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami plus the American Friends of Hebrew University (Miami). He also headed the UJA Rabbinic Cabinet executive, Israel Bonds Rabbinic Cabinet, and served as treasurer of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
In 2018, Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz, who had served the congregation since 1994, was promoted to senior rabbi, becoming the first woman to hold that position in the synagogueâÂÂs history. PomerantzâÂÂs promotion was widely reported in local media, including a CBS Miami segment highlighting her role as the first female rabbi to lead the congregation and as one of the largest synagogues on Miami Beach.
Temple Beth Sholom hosts the annual Ruach Pride gathering for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies, listed in the Greater Miami Jewish FederationâÂÂs community calendar. It's organized with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, JCRC, and Keshet. The congregation states that it welcomes members of the LGBTQ+ community, interfaith couples, and interfaith families. The temple organises an annual Mitzvah Day, a communityâÂÂwide volunteer and service event held for about thirty years that includes a public soup contest.
During Hanukkah 2023, amid the IsraelâÂÂHamas war, Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz highlighted the holidayâÂÂs theme of light overcoming darkness, and the temple hosted Miami Beach firefighters who had volunteered in Israel On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the synagogue hosted a memorial attended by about 1,100 people, including elected officials and holocaust survivors, with prayers and appeals for the release of hostages. In January 2026, Rabbi Loiben hosted a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ inclusion as a Jewish value in the templeâÂÂs chapel, in conversation with KeshetâÂÂs Tracey Labgold,