Beth Hatikvah begins construction on its own building in Summit

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

With trucks driving back and forth on the industrial street creating a noisy backdrop, Congregation Beth Hatikvah celebrated a symbolic ground breaking for its new home at 36 Chatham Road in Summit on Oct. 3.

Since its establishment 11 years ago, the Reconstructionist congregation has been meeting in various houses of worship in Chatham, most recently Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church.

The congregation spent more than two years searching unsuccessfully for a location in the town, according to synagogue president Jay Weiner, who added that when they found a building suitable for renovation on a property in Summit — less than a mile from the church — committee members “were convinced of its potential.”

The location — on a block with neighbors that include a pharmaceutical processing company, an ankle brace manufacturer, offices of the utility JCP&L, and a dry cleaner — “is out of the ordinary,” he conceded, “but we’re a little out of the ordinary.” Zoning variances were granted based on an agreement from nearby businesses to provide parking.

Synagogue members hope to move into their new home within six months. The project is expected to cost a total of just under $4 million, including the nearly $1.4 million purchase price of the property.

About 50 people attended the ceremonial ground breaking. Greetings were offered by Weiner; Beth Hatikvah’s Rabbi Amy Small; Bob Max, a congregation founder; representatives of Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez; Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt; United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey executive vice president Max Kleinman and president Kenneth Heyman; and building committee members Dan Kiselik and Amy Klein.

Small called Summit “our new suburb of Jerusalem,” and led attendees in the chanting of the Sheheheyanu prayer. Max recalled the past, saying, “I’m not sure what we were thinking 11 years ago. Sometimes instinct drives our decisions.” He reminded the congregation just how long they have been “yearning to have a building of our own.”

Glatt welcomed the synagogue to Summit with the personal touch of a fellow Jew. “There are very few speeches I have given where I have gotten to say, ‘Mazal tov!’”

Weiner said he is looking forward to the move. “It means having a place of our own. It’s an opportunity for growth. We can do things when we want to do them.”

In their current situation, he said, “we are subject to other people’s use.” After their new home is built, “we will have the freedom to explore and find out who we are and who we want to be, and we can do it in our own space.”