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Alan Lowen has helped nearly 1,000 kids with their b’nai mitzvahs.
Irreplaceable! Alan Lowen retires as Temple Beth El’s b’nai mitzvah coordinator after 17 years. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
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fter 17 years as Temple Beth El’s b’nai mitzvah coordinator, Alan Lowen is retiring from the role at the end of 2021. Lowen has spent a total of 34 years at the temple. To honor Lowen, TBE is planning a special Shabbat service on Friday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. TBE is creating a memory book for Lowen that will be presented to him at the service. People contributed to the memory book in many ways, including writing tributes, submitting photos and making a donation in Lowen’s honor to the newly established Alan Lowen B’nai
Mitzvah Fund. TBE will be using the fund to help families going through its b’nai mitzvah program. Throughout his time at TBE, Lowen has lived by the phrase, “If somebody loves what they do, they never have to work a day in their life.” “It’s been a wonderful experience, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Lowen says. “Just to make a difference in a kid’s life, and for a kid to say, ‘I wouldn’t be up here if it weren’t for Mr. Lowen,’ it makes me feel good.” Lowen began at TBE as a special needs teacher on Saturday mornings, which turned into also teaching
Sunday school. He soon began teaching Hebrew classes and, eventually, teaching Torah. Lowen officially became b’nai mitzvah coordinator 17 years ago but worked with b’nai mitzvah students before then. Lowen estimates he’s helped nearly 1,000 kids with their b’nai mitzvahs in his time at TBE. Debbie Morosohk, TBE’s director of education, knows much of Lowen’s success at running the b’nai mitzvah program comes from his skills as an educator. “He’s so talented at understanding children and their individual needs, and he’s able
to bring everything he knows and loves to them in the way they need,” Morosohk said. Along with his role as b’nai mitzvah coordinator, Lowen is TBE’s gabbai, working with TBE’s Torahs on Shabbat and holidays, maintaining and organizing them, and with adults who want to read Torah at those different occasions. Lowen’s other duties at the temple include teaching an adult b’nai mitzvah class for more than 20 years and helping lead shivah services when needed. TBE Rabbi Mark Miller believes Lowen is one of the warmest, kindest, most
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