Temple Beth David, located at 3 Main Street in Cheshire, is thrilled to announce their 50th anniversary year when they will honor the past and celebrate the future. All are welcome to participate.

A Shavuot-themed family picnic kicks off the celebration on Sunday, May 20, at Mixville Park in Cheshire. A special, commemorative Shabbat service will be held on October 19 as part of their annual Scholar-in-Residence weekend. Other celebratory events are planned throughout the year. The celebration culminates on Dec. 1 with a gala featuring music, dancing, and treats at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Visit tbdcheshire.org/about-us/tbd-50th-anniversary for more information. 

Temple Beth David began in 1956 with the Cheshire Jewish Community Club. Between 1956 and 1968, a small group of friends gathered in their homes to celebrate the Jewish holidays and dreamed of one day starting a temple in town. That dream became a reality with the purchase of the building owned by the Methodist church on Main Street. The building, which dates to 1834, is one of the last remaining examples in the United States of a chapel designed by the founder of the Methodist faith, John Wesley, and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On August 9, 1968, 18 families led by Temple President Richard Fiske, observed the first Shabbat service in their new spiritual home with the presentation of a Torah gifted by Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel of New Haven. Temple Beth David is now about 200 families strong and growing. 

“Our 50th anniversary gives us the opportunity to reflect on our past, rejoice in our present, and look forward to our future,” said Temple Beth David’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Micah Ellenson.