Temple Emanu-El of West Essex

Infobox religious building
building_name=Temple Emanu-El of West Essex

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location=Livingston, New Jersey
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religious_affiliation=Reform Judaism
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status=Active
leadership=Rabbi Mark Kaiserman
website=http://www.emanuel.org
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facade_direction=West
year_completed=1962
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architect=Blake and Neski
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Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston, New Jersey was founded in 1955 and is one of the oldest Reform synagogues in the West Essex section of New Jersey. Emanu-El means "God is with us" in Hebrew.

Temple History

The congregation was founded by 11 families seeking a Reform Jewish service in the growing suburb of Livingston, New Jersey. By the fall of 1955, 56 families had been recruited and High Holy Days services were led by student Rabbi Milton Rosenfeld from the Hebrew Union College. In 1956, the congregation purchased a hot dog stand off Northfield Road as their permanent home. By 1961, ground had been broken on that very spot to build their own sanctuary designed by renowned architects Peter Blake and Julian Neski. The new building, with its soaring peaked roof, is a landmark in Livingston and evokes the Israelites' Tent of Meeting in the desert wilderness. [ [http://www.emanuel.org/aboutus/history/history_1955_to_2006/ Official Temple History] ] Most visitors think it looks like Noah's Ark.

A major expansion of the building including a new main entrance, office space, the library, and the Holocaust Remembrance Center was completed in 2004. This campaign also included a new Early Childhood Center (ECC). In 2005-2006, the congregation celebrated its 50th anniversary with year-long programs and events. Although smaller than most of the area congregations, it is known for its haimish attitude and welcoming atmosphere.

Temple Emanu-El is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.

ocial Action

With the creation of a Social Action Committee in 1964 and the hiring of Rabbi Peter Kasdan in 1971, Emanu-El established itself as a leader on social justice issues. Kasdan organized a nationwide Reform Jewish boycott of grapes in support of the United Farm Workers. The synagogue participated in rallies, marches, and programs on issues such as Soviet Jewry, Ethiopian Jews, Abortion Rights, and Vietnamese Boat People. The congregation adopted and supported one Vietnamese family for years. In more recent years, issues such as Reform rights in Israel, [ [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/7227/edition_id/136/format/html/displaystory.html Jewish News Weekly Article from October 17, 1997 on Pluralism Efforts] ] Darfur, Gay & Lesbian rights, and Jewish genetic diseases [ [http://www.canavanfoundation.org/rabbistories-peter.php Story on Kasdan support of Canavan Foundation] ] have been at the forefront.

Other Programs

Expanding approaches to welcoming interfaith families and Jews-by-Choice, Temple Emanu-El is an inaugural participant in the STAR Synagogue's "Calling Synagogue Home" project [ [http://www.starsynagogue.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=189 List of STAR-CSH Participants] ] .

Temple Emanu-El received an Honorable Mention for the URJ's Congregation of Learner's Award for Adult Education [ [http://urj.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=16777&destination=ShowItem URJ Congregation of Learner's Brochure] ] at the URJ Biennial in 2007. Numerous individual Temple members have achieved at least 100 hours of Jewish study to earn the URJ Keva Award [ [http://urj.org/educate/adults/keva/ About Keva] ] since the program was brought to the Temple in 2005.

Clergy

Rabbi Kasdan led Temple Emanu-El for 30 years until his retirement in 2001 when he was named Rabbi Emeritus. Known most widely for his social action work, [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE4DD123EF930A35753C1A96F958260 NY Times Article from October 3, 1999] Story on Kasdan] Kasdan created and was president of the Livingston Interfaith Clergy. He led 8 adult bat mitzvah classes and was widely regarded for his work with youth through the Religious Action Center, Kutz Camp, and NFTY being awarded NFTY life membership in 1984 [ [http://www.nfty.org/about/awards/lifemembership/ List of all NFTY life membership recipients] ] and the Rabbi Samuel Cook Award for lifetime contribution in youth work in 2007 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis ["CCAR Newsletter," January 2007, p. 3] .

The congregation has been led since 2004 by Rabbi Mark Kaiserman. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Kaiserman had been an Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas. He encourages a climate of diversity and integration among Temple committees and the Jewish community. Programmatic focus includes worship, youth activities, adult education, outreach, using film and popular culture in learning, and leading the first synagogue-wide trip to Israel. In 2006, Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy joined the Temple with a broad skills-set for traditional and contemporary music.

Rabbis:
*Milton Rosenfeld (1955-1957)
*Harold T. Miller (1957-1959)
*Herbert Rose (1959-1963)
*Kenneth Rivkin (1963-1971)
*Peter E. Kasdan (1971-2001) (Emeritus 2001-Present)
*Daniel E. Levin (2001-2004)
*Mark Kaiserman (2004-Present)

Cantors:
*Judah Livingston Smith (1956-1957)
*Norman Swirling (1957-1959)
*Hans Cohn (1959-1961)
*Sheldon Torn (1961-1962)
*Israel Weisman (1962-1964)
*Erwin Nathaniel Borses (1964-1965)
*Louis E. Davidson (1965-1982)
*Michael Manevich (1982-1989)
*Pat Hickman (1989-1991)
*Carla Reynolds (1991-1993)
*Donna Faye Dower (1993-1999)
*Renata Krushkova (1999-2003)
*David Rosen (2003-2006)
*Sharon Brown-Levy (2006-Present)

References

External links

* [http://www.emanuel.org/ Temple Emanu-El of West Essex] - Official website.