Million-dollar gift honors couple’s deep roots in West Orange shul

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

When the renovation of B’nai Shalom is completed this spring, the campus will be known as the Morris and Miriam Hammer campus, thanks to a $1 million gift made by the Hammer family in honor of a couple with deep roots in the West Orange synagogue .

“My father contributed to a lot of charities, principally Jewish causes,” said Alan Hammer. “But he made few contributions with his name attached. My mother, and the rest of us, had the feeling that with his passing, it would be appropriate that the Jewish community had something with his name on it.”

Morris Hammer, cofounder of Gebroe-Hammer Associates, an investment real estate brokerage firm established in 1975 in Clifton, died two and a half years ago at the age of 82.

The family selected the synagogue for the honor because of their long history with the congregation, dating back to 1954, when Morris and Miriam moved to West Orange from Irvington. Even after moving to Livingston, they maintained their affiliation with B’nai Shalom. Today, the family members still gather there for the High Holy Days, and the Hammers’ great-granddaughter, Rebecca Kaplan, attends preschool there.

“The first thing we did when we moved to West Orange was join the synagogue,” said Miriam Hammer. She described numerous life-cycle events celebrated at the synagogue, mostly after Rabbi Stanley Asekoff became religious leader in 1972. These include baby namings, weddings, and ceremonies in which Miriam and Morris renewed their wedding vows on their 40th, 50th, and 60th wedding anniversaries.

“Rabbi Asekoff has shared a lot of first experiences with us,” said Alan. “His first conversion and first assignment in the congregation was Wayne’s conversion in 1973,” he said, referring to his sister Jill’s husband, Wayne Canastra. “That was one of the very important events in my father’s life. His affection for the rabbi began with that. He had a strong commitment to the temple and a tremendous affinity for the rabbi. This is an opportunity for our family to really show its appreciation.”

“We shared a lot of things together,” agreed Asekoff. “We’ve had a special connection together. Morris’ heart was in this building and this community always. For B’nai Shalom to receive this gift is a very special honor, not only because of its size but also because the family is wonderful. As a rabbi you meet all kinds of people from all walks of life. This is a really a close family who understands values and good deeds and is committed to Judaism. To have their name connected to the synagogue means a lot to me personally.”

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.

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