Temple Beth El, an Oneonta congregation that serves the Jewish community, is preparing to celebrate its 90th anniversary with food and music.
Members will commemorate the milestone anniversary with a Shabbat luncheon and a Sunday klezmer concert the weekend of May 1 at the temple, according to an April 9 news release. Its history dates back to 1935, when eight Jewish families were invited to meet with Rabbi Joshua Cohen of Temple Beth El in Utica.
By 1942, Oneonta’s Jewish community found a home on Chestnut Street above the Oneonta Theater. This was used as a space for religious worship and Jewish education and culture for both children and families, the release stated. The group relocated to a larger space in 1950 at 177 Main St. over Henderson’s store, but soon saw growth in membership.
In the spring of 1956, the Oneonta Jewish community purchased the Bookhout Funeral Home on Chestnut Street and officially became Temple Beth El.
Ron Feldstein, a co-president of the temple’s board, said Thursday, April 23 he has been involved with Temple Beth El since he came to Oneonta in the early 1970s. He got a job at SUNY Oneonta as the director of the Hunt Union.
“I sought to find a temple that I could be comfortable with, and Beth El was the answer,” Feldstein said.
The Temple’s Hebrew School teaches school-age children and prepares students for bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, observes yahrzeits for family and friends and holds celebrations for Sukkot, Hannukah, Purim and Passover, in addition to regular Shabbat services, according to the release. It offers Torah study, Hebrew lessons and book discussions for adult learning.
Community donations funded an addition to the temple about 20 years ago, Feldstein said. He said it was expanded to be twice its original size, designed by temple member and architect Elliott Cohen. Local materials were used to develop a sanctuary that could seat 150 to 160 people and a social hall underneath it for social activities.
“We did a lot of expansion,” Feldstein said. “We raised every single dollar. There was no mortgage whatsoever.”
Longtime member Howard Gelbsman said Thursday he played a major role in raising the money for the addition to the temple. The total cost of the addition was about $80,000.
Temple Beth El also has a cemetery in the town of Oneonta, donated by the Diocese of Albany and St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in the early 1970s, said Steven Feuer, chairperson of the Cemetery Committee. The first person was buried there in 1973. As of June 2025, 88 people have been buried there and the cremated remains of three people have been interred, Feuer said Friday, April 24.
Feldstein added that the greater Oneonta community has always been supportive. The temple sees congregants from Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie counties, as well as Broome County and other areas in the Mohawk Valley, said longtime member Marilyn Lubell Thursday.
Membership is down a bit currently, Feldstein said. There was a point where the temple saw 150 families and has about half of that now. Gelbsman said young people do not get into organized religion as often until they find a need for it.
This is a trend occurring not only in the Jewish community, but in Christian communities as well, Feldstein said, calling it “the nature of the times.”
Religious school is offered most Sundays, which Feldstein said is active with 20 or 30 kids and three or four teachers. The temple additionally has a men’s club and a ladies’ club, Feldstein said.
The men’s club, which Gelbsman said he started, has a breakfast once a month on every third Sunday. He said whether five or 25 people show up, there is always enough food to go around.
The longevity of the congregation stands as a “testament to the generations of committed Oneonta area Jewish individuals and families,” Feldstein said. Congregants pay dues, but the temple also receives donations from within the Jewish community and from foundations and organizations outside of Judaism.
Lubell said she and her husband arrived in the area in 1966, as SUNY Oneonta was expanding. She has been a member for about 60 years now. When she joined, there were two generations of people involved, including the “founding fathers” who were very active and a new group of younger people. Lubell said it was a “warm, welcoming place.”
She added that the men and women of the synagogue would teach at the Sunday school. Lubell said she taught there for for 10 to 15 years. Her children were raised as members.
Gelbsman said he had been involved with Temple Beth El since 1967. He said he joined the temple because he had young children and believed they should know about their history. He is not as involved anymore, as he takes care of his wife who is sick.
“It was a great place, and I met a lot of good people and still have a lot of good friends,” Gelbsman said.
Cantor David Green, who has been with the temple for three years, said Friday he comes up to Oneonta once a month from the Philadelphia area. He first took the job after retiring from Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, a suburb about 20 miles from Philadelphia. His last service in Oneonta will be in June of this year, as he was hired back part time at Congregation Beth Or. He has 45 years of experience as a cantor.
Cantors are similar to rabbis with an emphasis on leading the musical aspects of congregational worship, Green said.
“When I met the congregation, I was immediately attracted by the small, close-knit community that they are,” Green said. “That is what drew me to the synagogue.”