Our HISTORY 

In 1981 a handful of island families incorporated The Jewish Community Association of Hilton Head and began holding services on a regular basis in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church.

By 1985 our congregation became known as Congregation Beth Yam, or “House by the Sea”. Our membership began to grow, representing a wide diversity of backgrounds, both religious and geographical. Most of the members live on the island full time while other make Hilton Head their home only part of the year.

As a Jewish congregation we came together bonded by a desire to strengthen our roots in this lovely resort and retirement community, and in so doing, build a wealth of meaningful traditions. With great pride, on January 14, 1990, we dedicated our building and became the first Jewish house of worship on Hilton Head Island.

An in-depth historical record of Congregation Beth Yam has been beautifully prepared by Mike Fritz and the late Robert Pascal. It covers the period from 1978 to 2007. This history was updated in 2014 by Joseph Levy and Michael Werner and can be viewed by clicking here. We are greatly appreciative of the generosity in time, effort, and talent they dedicated to this project and the impressive document they produced.

Dedication of Our New Building

Congregation Beth Yam celebrated its newly renovated and expanded synagogue with a Building Dedication on the weekend of December 4-5, 2009. The lead-off event was a Community Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 11:30 AM on Friday that was led by Rabbi Bloom and was attended by many congregants, guests, community leaders, and clergy from nearby churches. The ceremony was followed by a service in our Sanctuary where our Torahs were installed in the Ark. A special service was held for the installation of the Holocaust Torah in its own permanent location. Following the service, refreshments were served and guests were invited to take informal tours of the building. Friday evening, a congregational Shabbat dinner was served in our social hall, which was then followed by Shabbat Services. During the service, past presidents and those who participated in the design and construction of the new building were recognized. Dr. Alex Cohen and Rabbi Linda Joseph provided comments and greetings from the Union of Reform Judaism. A special Torah Study was held on Saturday morning. The Dedication Weekend culminated on Saturday night with dancing and music provided by The Carolina Klezmer Project Band, which was followed by a champagne reception. To see photos and videos of the dedication, click here.

Congregation Beth Yam Founders