Congregation Beit Tikva started at a Passover Seder in April of 1995. The group met in a private home every Friday night for services after the first Seder. That summer Rabbi Leonard A. Helman took charge of the congregation. The group quickly grew large enough that Leah Kellogg approached the Lutheran Church of the Servant and asked to rent space on Friday nights, where they continued to worship for the next ten years. During the High Holy Days, when attendance grew, services were held at the Capital Christian Church and Presbyterian Church. In 2005 Beit Tikva built their own temple on Old Pecos Trail.
Reform, Orthodox, and Progressive Judaism
Since the late 1800s, Santa Fe’s Jewish community has grown to include many followers from other parts of the world. Currently, there are five congregations that include Reform, Orthodox, and Progressive Judaism. Some of the descendants of the early settlers still have roots in Santa Fe. Marian Silver is the only surviving member of the original founders of Temple Beth Shalom, Santa Fe’s largest congregation. She was born in Santa Fe in 1932 to Pauline and Barney Petchesky. There were ten Jewish families in Santa Fe in the 1930s. During this era most of the Jewish families traveled to Albuquerque to attend services at Temple Albert.