Who We Are

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The mission, vision, and the many activities of our congregation are supported by Temple Beth Shalom’s wonderful clergy and staff. Explore who serves our community below.

Don’t know who to contact with a question? Feel free to call the Temple office directly at 509-747-3304. We’ll make sure your message gets to the right place.

We support the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force's efforts in tracking hate crimes and hate incidents so we can create a community record of these occurrences, develop publicly available reports, and work on improving response and prevention efforts in Spokane. If you have experienced a hate crime or hate incident or know someone who has, report it through this anonymous process. #SpokaneCountyHumanRightsTaskForce #HumanRights #ReportHateCrimes #SayNoToHate

Temple Beth Shalom’s Mission and Vision

Mission

We are an inclusive and diverse, liberal* Conservative Jewish congregation whose mission is to inspire the search for a meaningful Jewish life, and to create a kehillah kedoshah (holy community) in the Inland Northwest.

Vision

Temple Beth Shalom is a congregation whose culture of warmth, welcome, and openness is reflected in its spirituality, its connectedness, and its physical space.

We warmly welcome all who are interested in exploring Judaism. We create a kehillah kedoshah through Torah study (study of sacred text), avodah (worship and spiritual growth), and gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness and human connection), to perpetuate Jewish life in present and future generations.

Torah: We study Torah to stimulate life-long learning and passionate engagement with the profound wisdom of Judaism. Literacy is increased by study of sacred texts, prayer and Hebrew. Thoughtful and informed decisions regarding religious observance are made in the context of halakhah (Jewish law) as defined in the Conservative movement.

Avodah: We cultivate spiritual growth through Torah study, communal prayer, individual spiritual practice, home and synagogue holiday celebrations, life cycle events, and the observance of mitzvot (commandments).

Gemilut Chasadim: We have compassion for one another in times of joy and sadness, through acts of respect and loving-kindness, and through the pursuit of justice in our community and in the world.

Jewish Peoplehood: We cherish and support the state of Israel, the land of Israel, and the people of Israel across the globe. We promote Jewish peoplehood and heritage through social and cultural connections with Israel and within our Jewish community.

*Temple Beth Shalom follows the liberal interpretation of Conservative Judaism

Clergy and Staff

Rabbi Tamar Malino – rabbi@spokanetbs.org

Rabbi Malino's Sermons for High Holy Days

Rabbi Tamar Malino arrived in Spokane in 2010 and served as the Executive Director of Spokane Area Jewish Family Services. In 2012, she began as part-time Rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El in Spokane, where she continues to serve. In August 2014, she became the Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom and is the first female congregational Rabbi in Spokane.

Rabbi Tamar was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2001. She has served as a congregational Rabbi at Beth Am, The People’s Temple in New York City, and at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, (San Diego), CA, where in addition to her clergy responsibilities, she was a popular community lecturer and director of the award-winning Hebrew for High School Credit program. For two years, she worked as the Director of Jewish Life at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City, CA.

Rabbi Tamar has created programs exploring Jewish spirituality, prayer, Jewish culture, history, and Israel. Her central passion is in her role as a teacher in deepening spirituality and strengthening compassion in her community. She lives on the South Hill with her two sets of twins, Aviel, Coby, Jax and Yair.

Zina Zimmerman, Director of Youth Education and Programming – eddirector@spokanetbs.org

Zina is a born and raised Spokanite and lifelong member of Temple Beth Shalom. Zina grew up in the TBS school system, as both student and madrich. She also attended Camp Solomon Schechter as a camper, Oded, and counselor for many summers. Zina held many positions within USY, successfully organizing the state convention in Spokane. Through TBS, Zina studied Jewish history in Israel at the Alexander Muss High School. As an adult, Zina was the USY advisor for five years. She also taught Sunday school at TBS for seven years.

As the Director of Youth Education and Programming, Zina is looking forward to fostering a learning environment that is not only exciting and engaging but also one that is empowering for students of all ages and nurturing for all learning styles.

Zina’s background is in psychology, having received a B.S. in the field from Gonzaga University. Zina’s focus in school was in child and adolescent psychology as she always knew she wanted to work with children and families. While at Gonzaga, Zina was also one of the founding members of Jewish Bulldogs – a Jewish club on campus for all students.

Zina enjoys creating digital art, photography, calligraphy, and sipping daily coffee creations. In 2019, Zina married her husband, Sam, and in 2021, they welcomed their first daughter, Aayla.

Gabriela Marquis, Assistant Youth Education Director/BBYO/Gesher - gabrielam@spokanetbs.org

Hi! I’m Gabriela Marquis, a recent graduate from Gonzaga University with majors in English and Spanish. I also work at Gonzaga as a Mentoring Coordinator for the Unity Multicultural Education Center. During college, I was highly involved with the Jewish community, serving as president of the Jewish Student Union, tutoring for B’nei Mitzvah, and running Gesher this past year. I am super excited to continue my involvement with Jewish youth education and engagement this year as Assistant Youth Education Director/BBYO and the youth groups’ leader.

Cicely West, Administrator - administrator@spokanetbs.org

Membership Committee – spokanetbsmembership@spokanetbs.org