Welcome to Beth Israel Judea

Beth Israel Judea Welcomes You

Congregation Beth Israel Judea is multigenerational, participatory San Francisco temple. Our community welcomes all Jews and interfaith families along with their partners and friends. We value celebrations of the spirit, Jewish culture, our children’s education and life-long learning, music, social justice and Tikkun Olam (the healing of the world). We foster expressions of Judaism that embrace the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity that has characterized the Jewish people throughout history as well as through contemporary forces, including intermarriage, conversion and adoption.

You are welcome here. We hope that you will find a comfortable and nurturing place in our spiritual community. 

BIJ worship seeks to nurture the Jewish soul.  From our Friday evening Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath) and Shabbat morning prayers, to the holidays and festivals, our services present a unique blend of traditional and contemporary practice, and always with beautiful music. 

Beth Israel Judea offers excellent educational programs for children, families and adults. Our younger students enjoy Hebrew school and Sunday Religious School in state-of-the-art facilities with experienced and nurturing educators. Weekly Torah study and a wide variety of other learning programs are available for adults and families. 

Rabbi Danny Gottlieb and Cantorial Soloist David Morgenstern are both committed to a Judaism that is vibrant, relevant and compelling. They want to help you make BIJ your new spiritual home. 

Beth Israel Judea’s unique history

Congregation Beth Israel Judea was formed almost 50 years ago from the merger of two San Francisco Jewish institutions. Congregation Beth Israel, founded in 1860, was originally founded as an Orthodox synagogue, but subsequently became the oldest Conservative Jewish synagogue west of the Mississippi.  Temple Judea, founded in 1953 was a young and growing Reform Jewish community, and  the first Reform San Francisco temple built in almost 125 years.  They joined together to create a fulfilling synthesis of traditional ritual and contemporary Jewish practice. 

...and who we are today! 

At BIJ we pride ourselves on our welcome and warmth. Jews and non-Jews alike are welcome at all our services and events. We know how important it is to find a spiritual home where Jewish community is valued and real, for Jews and for their non-Jewish family and friends. The congregation is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.

Here, you can make a difference in the temple and its programs, find new friends, nurture your faith, serve the Jewish people in San Francisco Bay Area and in the world around us, and cheer with our crowd at a baseball game. 

It's all up to you. Come be a part of our San Francisco Bay Area Jewish community.  You are welcome! 

BIJ’s location provides convenient freeway access and easy parking for members in the City, Pacifica, the Coastside and North Peninsula areas. We are located near San Francisco State University and Lake Merced and just a couple of blocks away from the 280 freeway entrance in the southwest corner of San Francisco. We are next door to the Brandeis Hillel Day School and the Jewish Community Center Preschool. There's plenty of free parking spaces here.  

Please join us. You are welcome here.