Mimi Steinberg, right, a long-time member of Congregation Beth Israel, joins others celebrating the 50th anniversary April 6.
Photo by Elaine Durbach
Five decades of growth
ESTABLISHED FIRST as a “Scotchwood Jewish Center” for families from Fanwood and Scotch Plains, Congregation Beth Israel was officially chartered in October 1957 as Temple Israel. After meeting in homes and storefronts and renting space from various organizations, including the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad, it moved into its current premises in early 1964, on Martine Avenue and Cliffwood Street, or what is now known as Shalom Way. The synagogue merged with Temple Beth El of Plainfield in 1994, and took on its present name.
April 10, 2008
Bruce Springsteen and Bob Marley don’t usually feature in rabbis’ talks, but in the style his congregants say is typical, Rabbi George Nudell drew on the wisdom of both at events celebrating his synagogue’s 50th anniversary.
Nudell’s April 6 scholar-in-residence lecture on the central theme of Passover was the culminating event of a weekend of celebration marking Congregation Beth Israel’s five decades in Scotch Plains.
Nudell, leader of the congregation since 1982, started with a teaching dating back some two millennia from Rabbi Gamliel’s yeshiva at Yavneh and went on to quote Springsteen’s song “The Promised Land,” about a young man trapped in a job working in his father’s garage, and Marley’s “Redemption Song,” about seeking spiritual and mental liberation.
When it comes to Passover seders, Nudell said, too many people stop after the meal and don’t go on to the songs that follow, with their similar messages of redemption and liberation.
The rabbi’s lecture followed a gala dinner at the synagogue the night before. The climax was a ceremony honoring all the presidents who have served the congregation, from its founding with just a few dozen families in 1957, to its present membership of 443 “member units.”
Some 17 of those presidents were present, including current president Ira Smelkinso
n.
Sunday’s event began with a prayers conducted by Cantor Matthew Axelrod. Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks, who happens to also be a Beth Israel member, read a proclamation by the Township declaring April 4-6 “Congregation Beth Israel Weekend.”
Elaine Hochheiser of Scotch Plains was probably the longest-affiliated member present at the rabbi’s talk on Sunday. She and her husband joined in 1958, when they and their three children came to live in the community. She recalled the first High Holy Day service the congregation held at the Italian American Club.
Hochheiser’s son Sheldon and his wife, Laura Leviton — who live in Highland Park but belong to the congregation — were with her for the lecture. Nudell, Hochheiser said, helped her through the loss of a daughter six years ago.
“I don’t think I’d have survived without him,” she said.
Mimi Steinberg, also of Scotch Plains, and her late husband, Herb, joined in about 1961. “This was just a shell,” she said, gesturing around the sanctuary. Her husband was appointed ritual chair, and later went on to serve as the congregation’s only two-term president. He played a key role in acquiring the financing for the completion and furnishing of the sanctuary.
“They ‘sold’ the seats, and that helped repay the loan,” Mimi Steinberg said.
Both she and Hochheiser were around in 1970 for the dedication of the building, when their rabbi at the time, Rabbi Simon Potok, invited his brother, the famed novelist and fellow rabbi Chaim Potok, to speak. Their children saw the growth of the religious school and the congregation’s United Synagogue Youth group. They chose to stay in Scotch Plains after their children grew up and moved away because of Beth Israel’s sense of community.
Leave Egypt every day
Nudell, who was a 28-year-old seminary graduate when he was hired, chuckled as he took stock of the personal changes.
Like his long-time congregants, he has transitioned from being one of the youngsters to being part of the “mature” crowd.
“When I first came, I was asked to attend a number of shivas, as people were losing their parents. Those same people are now grandparents themselves,” he said. “I’m doing naming ceremonies and bar mitzvas for their grandchildren.”
Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks, center, presented a proclamation marking Congregation Beth Israel’s 50th anniversary to its president, Ira Smelkinson, left, and executive committee member Larry Sanders.
As for other changes, he said there are more families now, compared to the number of singles when he came. But the essential character of the congregation has stayed constant. “It was a very hands-on community — people were in the kitchen cooking for parties, or fixing the roof — and they’re still like that.”
Ronnie Goland, who along with her family joined the congregation 14 years ago, said the hands-on approach characterized the whole anniversary celebration. “It really was a collaborative effort,” said Goland, who helped head up the celebration committee. “That’s how everything is here.”
In his pre-Passover talk, Nudell spoke about how lessons of the past provide direction for the future.
He urged his audience to “find who your pharaoh is, and defeat him.” That could mean breaking free of an abusive boss or spouse, or anxiety about finances, or a meaningless job.
“Each Jew must leave Egypt every day,” he said.
Doing so calls for “a change of mind and a change of heart,” essentially through dedication to Torah — a commitment Beth Israel has pursued for half a century.
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