The walls in Rabbi Ben Adler's office at White Meadow Temple in Rockaway are lined with empty boxes. Just three days after moving in, he has already filled his shelves with books.

It is a sign, perhaps, of how eager Adler is to begin work at his new community by the lake.

"I was really attracted to being in a small community where you can get to know everyone, where you are not focused on one demographic," he said. "Even though it's small, I got the impression that this is a full community with people of all ages, from young kids to the elderly."

Adler, 32, takes the helm of the congregation from Rabbi Leslie P. Lipson, who served since 2000 and is now a religious school director in southern California.

Although White Meadow Lake will be Adler's first official pulpit, it is hardly an initiation for him into the life of rural synagogues. He served as an intern at a synagogue in the Berkshires, and believes many of the activities there can be adapted for White Meadow Lake, from hiking and kayaking outings in the summer to hands-on learning about bats and their role in Judaism.

When pressed, Adler acknowledges, "Okay, it's a little slim."

Still, he pointed out that these kinds of activities are "about creating community for people. If there are Jews who want to learn about bats, or who like to hike, then why not? It's a social activity just like a dinner dance. And hiking has a long Jewish tradition – like hiking in Israel."

John Cohn, former White Meadow Temple president and search committee head, said Adler brings an array of qualities to the job.

"His resume included a number of references to outreach, to community activities and events. He showed an interest in working with the existing membership but also going beyond it.

"We need to grow," he continued. "We definitely need to grow. He showed an interest in working with younger people and sensitivity to mixed marriages."

White Meadow Temple has just over 200 member families. Its religious school – which according to Cohn once had "twice as many students as we had members" – is "close to defunct."

With more members and potential members either intermarried or with intermarried children, outreach will be a critical part of Adler's job, according to Cohn.

Cohn acknowledged that there was a time the congregation would not have considered hiring a rabbi fresh out of rabbinical school.

"Years ago we would have had longtime members saying, how can a ‘young whippersnapper' know what to do? But people know that's not the case," he said. "Some people with many years of experience do not know how to take the right actions to move forward; a young person might, and might also be able to grow with you."

Adler's vision for the synagogue, he said, is "simple." Simple to articulate, that is – harder to implement, he acknowledged.

"People are attracted to quality. I hope to create a community of excellence to bring people back and bring people in. Nobody wants to join something mediocre. The big problem in Judaism today is that we settle for mediocrity and wonder why no one comes."

He internalized this approach at New York City's Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, a synagogue where he once worked that is renowned for building a strong and passionate membership among previously disengaged Jews. While he said the communities are so different from each other that specific programs from New York would be hard to carry over in White Meadow Lake, Adler believes B'nai Jeshurun's philosophy can work anywhere.

B'nai Jeshurun's intensely musical prayer services are one of its trademarks. Its late rabbi Marshall Meyer said that "the traditional Conservative service does not appeal to people," said Adler. "Let's rethink it. Let's add more Hebrew. Let's use music that is compelling."

That's the approach Adler hopes to take when it comes to the Shabbat service and Jewish education.

Adler looks the part of the rabbinate's new young guard, down to his small, fashionable glasses. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, he is a product of the Conservative movement and has always wanted to be a Conservative rabbi. Time at Camp Ramah and student life at Columbia University both led him closer to his goal. A brief stint post-college working for Internet companies clinched the decision. The business world was not for him. The Jewish Theological Seminary, however, was.

Adler said his children, Ronen, four, and Jonah, two, are enjoying the shift from a small New York City apartment to a house in the suburbs, as well as a lake where they can spend hours playing. His wife, Lisa Adler, who grew up in Miami, works at the Union for Reform Judaism in Manhattan in the area of synagogue board leadership development.

"I'm looking forward to being able to grow with this community – to watch it grow, and to watch myself grow as a person," said Adler.