Member Spotlight – Betsy Gometz

Betsy Seligman Gometz and her husband Ken Gometz became members at Temple Solel in 2000. “We decided to join because of some friends that were joining Temple Solel,” says Betsy, “One of the first things we got involved with was the Gleaners led by Phil Hawkes.” This group used to collect fresh fruit from their neighborhood trees and donate it to food banks.

Betsy recently retired and is in search of new passions to fill her time. Her interests and hobbies include hiking, exercising on Zoom, Mah Jongg, gardening (she grew the Temple Solel Passover Parsley seeds) and baking sourdough.

Betsy is the chair of the Hiking Club at Temple Solel. Hiking Club meets once a month on Sunday morning starting in October. She’s also involved in the Temple Solel Book Club, Lunch and Learn, and Rosh Chodesh along with Shabbat services in person. “I think of Solel as a very welcoming place,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed the rabbis’ diverse interests and views on social justice.”

“I’m proud to be a member of the temple because of what the temple stands for in the community and it treats its members right.” Betsy’s favorite thing about Temple Solel was when the Hiking Club would get together for brunch “and we’d just have a great time visiting and meeting old friends and new people”.

In the past year, Temple Solel has met her needs by “having all the programs and different activities to help give more regimen in the lives of many and it gave us the chance to see people that we knew or interacted with and got to know them better,” she says. “Temple Solel keeps people connected.”

Something Temple Solel members might not know about Betsy is that she is from a pioneer New Mexico Jewish family that came to New Mexico in the 1800s.