Dale Bluestein: Producer, Writer, Videographer

Dale Bluestein with Eric Bressler

Dale Bluestein has volunteered at Bet Shalom for many years, using his professional skills as a videographer and producer to benefit the congregation in many ways. I sat down with him to acquaint everybody with this amazing man behind-the-scenes.

Thanks for sitting down with me, Dale. You and your family have been members of Bet Shalom for many years. Tell us about them.

My youngest daughter Jilli was in a baby carrier when we came in to talk about joining Bet Shalom in 2002. Jilli is now in her second year of college, and her older brother and sister Ethan and Sydney are also grown and living in Fargo. As a young family, we had belonged to 3 other Synagogues before finding Bet Shalom. In the years to come, as my family went through a transition and I met my wife, Lisa, we became a “two-congregation” couple. Her mom grew up in Minneapolis and had close ties to Temple Israel. So over the years we’ve played a bit of “High Holiday Ping Pong.” But it is clear where my heart is.

I understand you own PartnershipMEDIA in Eden Prairie. What’s that business about?

I have worked in television for pretty much my entire career. In 1993 I was sitting in my office at the TV station I worked at in my hometown, Buffalo, NY when a call came from KMSP-TV in Minneapolis. Honestly, at the time I’m not sure I could have found Minneapolis on a map; typical east-coaster! But friends who had seen the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl at the Metrodome in 1992 all raved about the city, so I was interested. I interviewed, and I ended up working at KMSP for 10 years. Next, I went to the strange world of home shopping at ShopNBC. In 2008 (remember that year?) about 350 ShopNBC employees and I were invited to do something else. So I decided to start my own small production company which I named PartnershipMEDIA because I’ve always have tried to create creative partnerships with whomever I work. Over the years I have been very fortunate to work on projects of all types, and many in the Jewish community. When people ask me what I do, I usually say, “You know when you go to a gala or benefit and they show you a video to try to get you to give money? I make THOSE videos.”

I recall that you produced the DVD that came with Bet Shalom’s 25 year anniversary book in 2006. Tell us about that experience.

Getting involved with Bet Shalom’s 25th Anniversary commemoration was pivotal for me professionally and personally. I went to a planning meeting, and the group was only discussing creating a commemorative book. I thought, “You know, there really should be a video to go along with this.” The team welcomed this idea, and that led to me starting two very important relationships. First, Tom Silver (of blessed memory) took me under his wing and gave me a lot of support and creative help as I worked to put the video together. Second, I got to know Rabbi Cohen much better as he welcomed and appreciated me as the project came together.

But the real value for me in working on that video was that I got to learn the entire history and backstory of how Bet Shalom came to be! I doubt that many congregants today know the story. I felt really privileged to help memorialize it, although that was 17 years ago! Watch the 25th Anniversary Video HERE!

Of course more recently you worked with Mike Milkovich to drastically improve Bet Shalom’s streaming religious services when COVID hit in 2020. Now that the situation is stable, can you reflect on what happened?

I want to make something very clear: the amazing set-up that allows Bet Shalom to do our current level of production and streaming is 100% Mike’s work. He essentially built the Space Shuttle himself and kept Bet Shalom “on the air” for all that time during the pandemic. The time, experience and dedication that he has shown is simply remarkable. We owe him much appreciation!

My contribution came just before we started streaming in earnest, in fall of 2020 as the pandemic raged. We literally could not have High Holiday services in the building. This is where my production experience came in handy, creating over 10 hours of “programming” that replaced our in-person High Holiday services. That was both the most pressure and the most fulfillment I have had from anything I have ever worked on. When we started recording in late August, Cantor Havilio had just started at Bet Shalom. She walked into quite a whirlwind! But the hours I spent with her and the rabbis were very special and meaningful to me.

How else have you been involved at Bet Shalom?

I proudly served on the Board for two terms. I must say, though, that I am so grateful that there are much smarter people than me who are willing to help guide the Synagogue’s future. My best contributions have been in creating videos for the capital campaigns, documenting our Czech Torah scroll restoration, and helping Rabbi Avrin develop one her “epic” Purim productions.

What are your future plans?

Most of my work these days is for the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. I absolutely love history. And I really enjoy learning about “our” cultural history. I will continue to produce mini-documentaries about all sort of topics, like the one I just finished on Jewish Delis—super fun, and it made me very hungry! I am also hoping to continue my work on a film about the Czech Torah scrolls. After two trips to the Czech Republic in 2022, I hope to have some completed work by 2024.

Here are some links to some videos that people may enjoy.

My most recent work for Jewish Historical Society: Delis, January 2023

Bet Shalom’s Czech Torah Scroll Restoration and Re-dedication, January 2021

Presentation for the Jewish Historical Society’s 35th Anniversary, September 2019 (see if you can recognize the voice)

JCCs Merging: The Monorail, Fall 2016