By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

Could it be bashert (intended) that Beth Abraham Synagogue returns to its building at the time when Jews begin the process of teshuva leading up to the High Holidays?

Teshuva is the Hebrew word for repentance. Literally, it means return, to return to the right path.

The Conservative synagogue is set to return to the refurbished sanctuary level of its building in Oakwood, Sunday, Aug. 23 with a Torah procession — six months after a sprinkler pipe break flooded the building.

Repairs and renovations to the second floor of Beth Abraham’s building, which includes its sanctuaries, rabbi’s study, and gift shop, are expected to be complete by Aug. 23.

Finishing touches to the social hall and kitchen, on the first floor of the building, continue.

The celebration will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Israel, which has hosted Beth Abraham’s worship services since a week after the flooding.

“We’re going to have a brief ceremony in their sanctuary reciting some Psalms,” Beth Abraham President Julie Liss-Katz said. “We will express our heartfelt gratitude to our friends and hosts who have provided a home for us during these past six months, and then we’ll march out from their sanctuary to our cars.”

Congregants will drive to Beth Abraham and form a ceremonial procession in the parking lot to welcome the Torahs back to the sanctuary.

They’ll parade the Torahs to seven stations in the synagogue. At each station, they’ll pass the Torahs from one to another, to honor “the many hands and hearts that have carried Beth Abraham through challenge and toward renewal.”

“We’re going to represent, for example, the sisterhood and the men’s club, and the youth, and then we’ll move into our sanctuary, and we’ll have some singing and dancing, and then some refreshments,” Liss-Katz said.

Temple Israel is located at 130 Riverside Drive, Dayton; Beth Abraham is located at 305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood.

Liss-Katz added that Beth Abraham’s $300,000 campaign to bridge the gap between insurance coverage and restoration needs has met its goal.

The synagogue will continue to raise funds at Yom Kippur to cover additional building needs it discovered during renovations.

When a fire suppression system valve broke Feb. 19, water flooded the second and first floors of Beth Abraham at full force for more than 30 minutes. Oakwood Public Safety Department responders carried the Torah scrolls out. Building Committee Chair Matt Arnovitz — who would oversee the repairs and renovations — brought the Torahs to Jewish Federation Security Director John Davis for safekeeping and for the coming Shabbat morning service, held at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education.

Congregants scrambled to bring sacred ritual objects and books out of the building in the hours after the water was shut off. Beth Jacob Congregation hosted Beth Abraham’s Purim celebration and dinner along with its own.

Collaborative selichot service Sept. 5
Beth Abraham will also host this year’s collaborative selichot service with the Dayton Jewish Chorale and congregants and clergy from Temple Beth Or and Temple Israel, Saturday, Sept. 5 beginning with a dessert reception at 8:30 p.m. and prayers at 9 p.m.

Selichot are communal prayers of forgiveness recited on Jewish fast days and in the period leading up to the High Holidays. The service will be livestreamed via bethabrahamdayton.org.

To read the complete September 2026 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.