Livingston rabbi welcomed by congregation amid concerns for the one he left behind

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Spector was installed as the new religious leader of Temple Beth Shalom, Livingston, on a brilliant Sunday morning in what synagogue president Michael M. Silverman termed a “once-in-a-generation” event.

But the celebratory mood was tempered with concern.

Originally from Philadelphia, Spector served as rabbi at Shir Chadash in Metaire, La., for the last 14 years before accepting the Beth Shalom pulpit and relocating to New Jersey in July with his wife, Karen, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jordan, nine. Shir Chadash was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and the Spectors expressed apprehension for friends and acquaintances left behind in a brief interview with NJ Jewish News prior to the Sept. 18 ceremony.

Surrounded by family, friends, and congregants, Spector, 41, assumed the pulpit of the 800-family Conservative synagogue, succeeding Rabbi Azriel Fellner, who retired after 18 years.

Dr. Ismar Schorsch, outgoing chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, delivered the installation address. Other guest speakers included Monsignor John J. Gilchrist, pastor of Holy Cross Church in Harrison; Marc Perlman, president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s New Jersey region; and Max Kleinman, executive vice president of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey.

Spector was escorted through the standing room only crowd under a huppa, symbolic of the marriage between a new rabbi and his congregation, as students from the Beth Shalom religious school sang songs of welcome. Spector’s sister, Jackie Fox, also offered songs in Hebrew and Yiddish.

In an interview with NJJN later in the week, Spector discussed his vision for his new pulpit.

“This is a congregation that has a remarkable record of achievement in terms of education, contributions to the community, and Conservative Judaism.

“My goal here is to revive this wonderful, warm, welcoming environment that existed here for many years. I think as the congregation grew, it was hard to maintain that type of warmth and sense of hospitality to people; it’s a huge operation now [with so many members]. But the people here are very gracious and warm and welcoming, and I want to help foster that type of feeling from the bima and make sure that whenever people attend services, that that’s the feeling they get.

“In addition, I’d like to improve upon everything that has already been accomplished,” continued Spector, “take our educational programs to an even higher level, be more creative in the types of programming we have…and to be as inclusive as possible.” The rabbi emphasized a point he had made in his remarks at the installation: the need “to reach out to all those who, for whatever reason, felt that they were disenfranchised or on the margins or were not fully at home here, whether it was because of personal problems or intermarriages.”

“I think we need to do a good deal of thinking on how — within the guidelines of our Conservative movement — we can make intermarrieds feel more welcome.”

Ultimately, Spector said, he wants Beth Shalom to be “a place where Jews of all ages, from the youngest to the oldest, feel like this is where they want to be.”

Ron Kaplan can be reached at RKaplan@njjewishnews.com.