 | As you probably are aware, Beth Sholom plays host to two Israeli dance sessions: Don on Monday night and Sharon on Tuesday night. To the left is a picture of Beth Sholom from the parking lot at the rear of the building, a picture that the dancers would see on a December night. The outline of the building is lit (and this picture doesn't do justice to the view) so that the "triangle" is outlined. Like many synagogues, there is an attempt to emulate the various mountain and hills that one reads about in the bible and Beth Sholom's shape emulates this. The building is quite imposing from many views. |
 | Synagogues don't just play host to Israel dance sessions or religious services. Quite a bit of social interaction occurs within the building. Here is one of the meeting rooms on the bottom floor. At selected times this room has served as an offshoot for receptions during weddings and bar/t Mitzvahs. For the night of these photographs, the room was to serve as the meeting place for the Philadelphia Israeli choral group which practices at Beth Sholom generally most Tuesdays. |
 | This is another shot of the room described above. Later in the evening the disk coordinator did peek in while the choral group was practicing and a piano had been added to the room. Chairs were rearranged around the piano to accomodate this practice session. For a while many aspects of culture were simultaneously being practiced at Beth Sholom that night - the choral group practice and Sharon's Israeli dance class. No doubt there was some intersection of music between these two activities. |
 | The disk coordinator is always fascinated by the additional art work one sees in these facilities. The wall hangings pictured here represent the torah, the first five books of the bible. In other corridors, similar art is displayed. Other plaques honor service organizations and religious leaders. Probably most people just pass these by, but each hanging has a story to tell. |
 | The synagogue buildng was completed about 1960 and two congregations merged to populate and administer the building. These plaques commemorate the two older congregations - the original Beth Sholom that was in the city of Philadelphia and the West Oak Lane Jewish community center also at the time resident of Philadelphia. |
 | We are heading toward the Fischman auditorium where both Sharon and Don hold classes. This web site has other photos of this auditorium but always populated by dancers. We are about to see this auditorium in a different light. But, first, this plaque stands at the entrance honoring Isadore and Ida Fischman for whom the auditorium is named. This is on the wall within a kind of vestibule that in itself can be "walled off." Through another set of doors is where we dance. |
 | This is a long "fish eye" view of the Fischman auditorium without the noise of dancing and music. It was very eerie taking this shot with no one around. The auditorium was created to be used for religious and social ceremonies and has tables and chairs to accomodate this. But, for Israeli dancers, only the floor and the space is needed |
 | This shot concentrates on the front of the auditorium where the stage is. Think of all the presentations this has seen. The lighting was relatively low level on this visit but one assmes that additional lighting is available when the stage is being used. | |
 | You may be aware that the disk coordinator visited this facility during the morning hours recently as related in the homage to scorpios personalities section. At the time the auditorium was playin host to the many toddlers who come to Beth Sholom for pre-school. It looked very different at the time - toys being used everywhere. This shot shows where the toys go when not being used. A collection of these toys sit against the wall halfway between the vestibule and stage. The disk coordinator was tempted to mount a few of these and take a spin around the auditorium but he can report to you that in the end the only rotating he did was done while dancing. |
 | If you are going to have an auditorium and provide space for weddings and other special events, obviously you need a kitchen. Beth Sholom has a large kitchen that spans the area between the two auditoriums shown in these pictures as well as providing access to them. This picture shows the kichen while not in operation. Synagogue kitchens break down meat and dairy areas - to satisfy dietary laws - with each area contains large and powerful freezers for the storage of food. |
 | Well, eventually dancers had to arrive for Sharon's class. Not to mention that Sharon had to make an appearance. That evening the maintenance people of Beth Sholom were honored with gifts at year's end for their assistance to the class. Someday this web site will document these maintenance departments of all the pertinent locations - these men and women go out of their way to assist these classes. But, after all, this is an Israeli dance class and the major emphasis for the evening is dancing. The next two pictures show the circle of dancers inside the Fischman auditorium during Sharon's class. In the end, this is how this auditorium should be pictured and represented - lots of music, lots of motion and lots of fun. |
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