Temple Beth Israel celebrates 44 years on Longboat

Temple Beth Israel has been a part of the Longboat Key community for 44 years. To celebrate, the temple threw a “La Vie en Rose” soiree on Feb. 19 at Michael’s On East. To help see life through the lens of positivity, each guest was gifted a pair of pink, heart-shaped glasses. 

About 165 members and guests attended the gala, which honored Rabbi Michael and Nancy Eisenstat. 

“Rabbi Eisenstat is our rabbi emeritus. He served the congregation for a very long time, and he continues to participate in many of the activities,” Executive Director Isaac Azerad said. “We have something called the Rabbi Michael B. Eisenstat Miniversity of Judaism, and it’s a compendium of courses that are of Judaic nature. We repeat it every year, and all the retired rabbis participate.”

Eisenstat led the temple from 1997 to 2008. In addition to being the evening's honorees, which the rabbi humbly said he was embarrassed by, he and wife Nancy recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. 

The ballroom was dimly lit with candles and decorated in black and white with pops of red. Some of the women wore roses in their hair, and a few of the men dusted off their tuxedos for the occasion.   

The entertainment line-up included Dr. Mime Kenny DeCamp, the temple’s organist and Music Director Ann Stephenson-Moe and Sheri Nadelman and SoulRcoaster. Auction items ranged from restaurant gift cards to gold and diamond rings. 

In a letter of acknowledgement, Chief of Police George Turner wrote, “Thank you for allowing me to share with you, and acknowledge, the celebration of 44 years of Jewish life, community service and leadership on Longboat Key.”