Congregation Beth El (Voorhees, New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
Congregation Beth El is a Conservative
synagogue
located in Voorhees, New Jersey
. As of 2011, the clergy includes Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, Rabbi Noah Arnow, Rabbi Isaac Furman, and Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro.
It was founded in 1921, in Parkside, Camden
, at Park Boulevard and Belleview, opposite Farnham Park. It was Camden's first conservative synagogue. The congregation had an annual Chanukah Ball beginning in 1922, a religious school beginning two years later, a Hebrew Free Loan Society, a Hebrew ladies charity society, and in the 1930s hosted sorority and fraternity meetings on Tuesday nights. Its synagogue building was demolished in 2000, and a Boys and Girls Club was built in its location.
Beth El relocated in 1967 to 2901 West Chapel Avenue in suburban Cherry Hill
. William Zorach
's sculpture "Memorial to 6,000,000 Jews" (1949) was located at it. Beth El was the oldest conservative synagogue in Cherry Hill. In 2009, Beth El sold its Chapel Avenue property to a 2500-member Christian congregation based in Philadelphia. On April 5, 2009, members of Beth El walked 6½ miles transporting 10 Torahs to the new synagogue in neighboring Voorhees
, within the Main Street Complex
. With the sale of the Chapel Avenue property, assessed at $9.9 million, the Voorhees campus consists of a 1,200-seat sanctuary, 500-person social hall, coffee bar and administrative offices. The remainder was raised through congregant donations.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
located in Voorhees, New Jersey
Voorhees Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,126 people, 10,489 households, and 7,069 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,424.0 people per square mile . There were 11,084 housing units at an average density of 955.2 per square mile...
. As of 2011, the clergy includes Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, Rabbi Noah Arnow, Rabbi Isaac Furman, and Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro.
It was founded in 1921, in Parkside, Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
, at Park Boulevard and Belleview, opposite Farnham Park. It was Camden's first conservative synagogue. The congregation had an annual Chanukah Ball beginning in 1922, a religious school beginning two years later, a Hebrew Free Loan Society, a Hebrew ladies charity society, and in the 1930s hosted sorority and fraternity meetings on Tuesday nights. Its synagogue building was demolished in 2000, and a Boys and Girls Club was built in its location.
Beth El relocated in 1967 to 2901 West Chapel Avenue in suburban Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...
. William Zorach
William Zorach
William Zorach was a Lithuanian-born American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts.-Life and career:...
's sculpture "Memorial to 6,000,000 Jews" (1949) was located at it. Beth El was the oldest conservative synagogue in Cherry Hill. In 2009, Beth El sold its Chapel Avenue property to a 2500-member Christian congregation based in Philadelphia. On April 5, 2009, members of Beth El walked 6½ miles transporting 10 Torahs to the new synagogue in neighboring Voorhees
Voorhees Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,126 people, 10,489 households, and 7,069 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,424.0 people per square mile . There were 11,084 housing units at an average density of 955.2 per square mile...
, within the Main Street Complex
Main Street Complex
The Voorhees Main Street Complex is a shopping center, banquet hall, residential, medical and business complex located in Voorhees, New Jersey, United States. It was developed by John B...
. With the sale of the Chapel Avenue property, assessed at $9.9 million, the Voorhees campus consists of a 1,200-seat sanctuary, 500-person social hall, coffee bar and administrative offices. The remainder was raised through congregant donations.