Beth Shir Shalom Leaders Tweak Temple's Name

, a progressive Jewish temple in Santa Monica, is embracing change. Leaders recently announced that they are making a slight adjustment to the temple's name. They have unveiled a new logo that reflects the tweak.

What was formerly called "Beth Shir Sholom" is now "Beth Shir Shalom." Leaders of the Reform temple—which started in 1991 when Beth Sholom Temple combined with Temple Shir Shalom—say they made the adjustment after discovering the proper English spelling of the word.

“We’re yielding to the digital age," Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels said. "We pride ourselves on being a contemporary and progressive temple, and feel the switching of vowels is a practical and harmless tweak to tradition.”

Along with that revision, a new Beth Shir Shalom logo has been revealed. It depicts two triangles that form a dove and a Star of David, although it retains the hexagram. The dove, which is in flight, is also intended to reflect Beth Shir Shalom's forward-thinking approach.

“I think that the final product reflects the temple’s essence,” Comess-Daniels said. “Our new logo is very lyrical and speaks to who we are without any letters at all. We feel we are the home of the song of peace. The dove is in flight and moving forward, as is Beth Shir Shalom.”

The logo was created by Jim Shanman, a graphic designer at Asylum Design and Marketing Inc. 

“It was a great opportunity to go back to the basics of drawing and painting instead of digitizing,” he said.