During Labor Day weekend in 2004, Bruce Kesselman was pondering whether to take a break from the corporate structure that had been a part of his life for years.

He decided to take a year off from his job to compile a book about Rho Upsilon, the Jewish fraternity he had been a member of at Rutgers University. The result was 46 Union Street, The Untold Story of Rho Upsilon, which also provides a history of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Rho Upsilon’s parent chapter. The fraternity has been in existence for 50 years.

Six days a week for the next 12 months, Kesselman, a 1973 graduate, read campus newspapers and every available yearbook covering 50 years and sent thousands of questionnaires to alumni and undergraduates to solicit general information, historical facts, and anecdotes about the fraternity. He also spoke to campus officials to gather more material and traveled all over the country to meet with interviewees.

“I wanted to present a history of the university and the fraternity as seen through the eyes of alumni and undergraduates. I wanted to know what important campus events occurred during their college years,” said Kesselman, who is an active member of Temple Beth Ahm in Aberdeen.

Many incidents emerged from the former students’ memory banks, including the “Matzohgate” scandal of 1973.

In March 1973, Barney Cohn, class of 1975, was the chapter’s steward. He bought a giant case of matza in anticipation of the upcoming Passover holiday. At some point, some of the fraternity brothers noticed that the paper packaging on the matza boxes had been removed. Although this made it difficult to know if the matza was “egg” or “regular,” another question arose: Why had the wrapping been removed in the first place?

The outer packaging was eventually discovered in an outside dumpster, and it revealed that the matza was not kosher for Passover.

“Apparently our steward, in the best financial interests of the chapter, was able to procure these items for less than the going rate, due to their undesirability of the season,” Kesselman wrote. “Although he did not realize that what he did was a violation of Jewish law, a knowledgeable brother explained it to him. While a few brothers were extremely upset, the majority congratulated him on his ingenuity and thought his misguided loyalty would serve the chapter well in other areas.”

A few months later, Cohn was elected master of Rho Upsilon, and he served with distinction until April 1974, Kesselman added.

Then there was the story of Lewis Bornstein, class of 1967. Bornstein was raised in a rabbinic family in Paterson and kept up the Jewish traditions of kashrut and Shabbat while attending the university. He maintained an academic interest in his Jewish heritage but also enrolled in courses that might lead to careers in other fields, Kesselman said.

Bornstein made his way to the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati; one of his classmates was Sally Priesand, the first female rabbi ordained in the United States, who served as the religious leader at Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls for 25 years.

Bornstein opposed the Vietnam War and his beliefs earned him the reputation of a “hippie radical,” according to Kesselman. After his ordination in 1972, Bornstein became the national director of admissions for the HUC campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem.

“The future face of the Reform movement was now in the hands of a Rutgers Hippie radical from the sixties,” Kesselman wrote.

However, Bornstein’s “radical” beliefs helped guide the movement toward a restoration of traditional values, such as the wearing of the kipa and tallit. After serving as a pulpit rabbi in a synagogue in Cinnaminson for 12 years, he resigned to practice law.

“His farewell letter to the congregation was entitled ‘While Pursuing the Lord, the Law Caught Up with Me,’” Kesselman wrote.

There were also some sad memories, Kesselman found. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Vietnam War was a source of bitterness and divisiveness throughout the campus. One result was a student takeover of the Rutgers administration building in 1970. The fraternity has also contended with anti-Semitic incidents as recently as 2003, when vandals painted swastikas on fraternity property.

“Everything I found out while compiling this book revealed that the fraternity offered life lessons with a touch of religion and humor,” Kesselman said. “So many of the fraternity brothers have been successful in their personal and professionals lives.”

After graduation, Kesselman founded Money Marketing USA, a strategic marketing consulting firm, where he was the managing director of more than 100 sales representatives and independent contractors. He is currently executive director of Temple Emanu-El in Edison.

At Beth Ahm, he spent many years on the board of trustees. He serves as executive secretary in charge of the temple office, is a member of the ritual committee, and edits The Shofar, the temple’s monthly bulletin. He was named “Groom of the Torah” in 2006 for being the most active male volunteer in the synagogue.

“Temple Beth Ahm would not be as strong as it is without Bruce,” said Rabbi Michael Pont, the temple’s religious leader. “I think of Bruce as a Renaissance Jew who is working for the betterment of Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism. He has high standards and speaks candidly, for which I have a lot of respect.”

Kesselman lives in Old Bridge with his wife, Paula. Their daughter, Heather, is a junior in Old Bridge High School, and their son, Joshua, is a senior at Penn State University (he has not joined a fraternity).

Proceeds from 46 Union Street will go toward undergraduate scholarships for Rutgers University students who join Alpha Epsilon Pi. The book is available on www.levinejudaica.com and may also be obtained from the Rutgers University bookstore.

“It’s a way to pay back the fraternity for the friendships I made and the good experiences I had there,” Kesselman said. “I hope it will encourage people to join the fraternity and have a successful college experience.”