by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

December 2, 2008

Prayer and celebration marked the 45th anniversary and the rededication of a newly renovated social hall at Temple Shalom in Aberdeen.

Rabbi Laurence Malinger, the Reform congregation’s religious leader, and Cantor Marnie Camhi presided over the rededication during a service and Havdala ceremony on Nov. 1. More than 125 congregants then celebrated at a dance that also marked the temple’s 45th anniversary.

“It’s been an honor and privilege for Temple Shalom to serve the community for 45 years,” said Malinger. “It really says something when a congregation sustains itself as a strong community presence, and our presence is valued in the Matawan-Aberdeen area. We have wonderful interfaith relationships with our neighbors and wonderful intrafaith relationships with our traditional and Conservative Jewish neighbors.”

The work on the social hall took place this past summer. A floor-to-ceiling undertaking, it altered structural features and the decor of the room, according to Bonnie Smolen of Morganville, communications chair and member of the social hall committee. The hall is a multipurpose room used for catered affairs and congregational meals and provides space for extra seating during the High Holy Days, Smolen said.

It’s also used as a meeting room for a variety of events, including holiday parties, concerts, and carnivals, and serves as an indoor play area for nursery school students, she said.

The room’s renovations included the addition of dividers that can convert the large room into three smaller rooms, allowing multiple activities to take place at the same time. The social hall’s sound system and lighting also were upgraded, and new ceiling tiles, wall coverings, lighting fixtures, and carpeting were installed.

“Our social hall renovation allows us to celebrate our simhas together, as well as comfort one another in times of need,” said Malinger. “Our temple is a place where everyone is welcome and given the opportunity to connect with each other.”

‘A beautiful thing’

The temple was founded in 1963 by 12 Aberdeen families who came together to form a Reform congregation in the Bayshore area.

The founding members collected dues — five dollars per family (current dues are, needless to say, higher) — and met in different area venues, including Strathmore School, Matawan High School, and the Plaza Theater in Hazlet. A student rabbi became the congregation’s first religious leader until Rabbi Henry Weiner took over the pulpit in the summer of 1967. Malinger became religious leader when Weiner retired in 1999.

Meanwhile, construction was under way at 5 Ayrmont Lane, Temple Shalom’s current site. The building was ready for occupancy in 1967.

The congregation now has 355 member families, with some congregants descendants of those who joined in the temple’s early days. Charles and Gloria Silverman, the parents of Michael Silverman of Holmdel, were among those who joined Temple Shalom in the 1960s.

Michael Silverman became a bar mitzva there in 1970 and served as temple president from 2005 to 2007; his wife, Suzanne, is currently president of the sisterhood, and their daughter Elissa, 17, is president of the youth group. The couple’s son, Jonathan, 20, also has participated in temple life.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see children and grandchildren whose families were among our earliest members,” Michael Silverman said. “It’s a tribute to those who helped build this congregation. We’re fortunate that our parents’ generation created a temple that still makes a difference in people’s lives.”

And that sense of continuity continues.

“Temple Shalom has a broad and expanding mission,” said congregation president Karen Winograd of Aberdeen. “Our role runs from the spiritual to the educational to the communal. I hope we maintain a vibrant and viable synagogue for future generations, while we provide a welcoming and supportive community to all who seek Jewish communal identity in a progressive setting.”

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