Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston

Livingston, New Jersey

Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 was founded in 1955 and is one of the oldest Reform

Reform Judaism (North America)

Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. With an estimated 1.5 million members, it also accounts for the largest number of Jews affiliated with Progressive Judaism worldwide.- Reform Jewish theology :Rabbi W...

 synagogues in the West Essex

West Essex

West Essex is the far northwestern region of Essex County, New Jersey, United States, bordering Passaic County and Morris County.It is considered to be one of the more affluent parts of the county, as opposed to very poor eastern Essex cities such as Newark, East Orange, and Irvington. As opposed...

 section of New Jersey. Emanu-El

Immanuel

Immanuel or Emmanuel or Imanu'el . It is a theophoric name used in the Bible in and...

 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

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 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

Hebrew Union College

The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...

. In 1956, the congregation purchased a hot dog stand

Hot dog stand

A hot dog stand is a food business stand that sells hot dogs, usually from an external counter on a public thoroughfare such as a road, street, ballpark, mall, or food court....

 off Northfield Road as their permanent home. By 1961, ground had been broken on that very spot to build their own sanctuary

Sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...

 designed by renowned architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s Peter Blake and Julian Neski. The new building, with its soaring peaked roof, is a landmark

Landmark

This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 in Livingston and evokes the Israelites' Tent of Meeting

Tabernacle

The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...

 in the desert wilderness. Most visitors think it looks like Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...

.

A major expansion of the building including a new main entrance, office space, the library, and the Holocaust Remembrance Center

Holocaust memorials

A number of organizations, museums and monuments are intended to serve as memorials to the Holocaust and its millions of victims. They include:-Argentina:* Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires -Australia:...

 was completed in 2004. This campaign also included a new Early Childhood Center (ECC)

Day care

Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...

. In 2005-2006, the congregation celebrated its 50th anniversary

Anniversary

An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 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

Union for Reform Judaism

The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...

.

Social Action

With the creation of a Social Action

Activism

Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

 Committee in 1964 and the hiring of Rabbi Peter Kasdan in 1971, Emanu-El established itself as a leader on social justice

Tikkun olam

Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in the early rabbinic period...

 issues. Kasdan organized a nationwide Reform Jewish boycott

Boycott

A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...

 of grapes in support of the United Farm Workers

United Farm Workers

The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...

. The synagogue participated in rallies, marches, and programs on issues such as Soviet Jewry

Refusenik (Soviet Union)

Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively, Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc...

, Ethiopian Jews, Abortion Rights

Abortion debate

The abortion debate refers to discussion and controversy surrounding the moral and legal status of abortion. The two main groups involved in the abortion debate are the self-described "pro-choice" movement and the "pro-life" movement...

, and Vietnamese Boat People

Boat people

Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...

. The congregation adopted and supported one Vietnamese family for years. In more recent years, issues such as Reform rights in Israel, Darfur

Darfur conflict

The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...

, Gay & Lesbian rights

LGBT social movements

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...

, and Jewish genetic diseases

Genetic disorder

A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....

 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.

Temple Emanu-El received an Honorable Mention for the URJ's Congregation of Learner's Award for Adult Education 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 since the program was brought to the Temple in 2005.

Office Staff

• Office Manager: Dorit Yehudai

• Bookkeeper: Robin Goodman

• Admin. Asstant: Elainia Graham

• Intern: Tyler Corsello

Our Clergy and Staff

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, Kasdan created and was president of the Livingston Interfaith

Interfaith

The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...

 Clergy. He led 8 adult bat mitzvah classes and was widely regarded for his work with youth through the Religious Action Center

Religious Action Center

The Religious Action Center is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The RAC is operated under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, a joint body of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism...

, Kutz Camp, and NFTY being awarded NFTY life membership in 1984 and the Rabbi Samuel Cook Award for lifetime contribution in youth work in 2007 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis

The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....

.

The congregation has been led since 2004 by Rabbi Mark Kaiserman. Originally from Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Kaiserman had been an Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El

Temple Emanu-El of Dallas

Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Texas was the first Reform Jewish congregation in North Texas, and is the largest synagogue in the South.- History :...

 in Dallas, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. 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)

Our Clergy and Staff

External links

• Temple Emanu-El of West Essex - Official website.