{{Short description|Reconstructionist synagogue in Ridgewood, New Jersey}} {{for|similarly named synagogues|Beth Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Beth Israel}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel | image = | image_upright = | caption = | map_type = New Jersey | map_size = 250 | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[New Jersey]] | location = 475 Grove Street, [[Ridgewood, New Jersey|Ridgewood]], [[New Jersey]] | country = United States | coordinates = {{coord|40.967970|-74.108127|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NJ|display=it|format=dms}} | religious_affiliation = [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] | rite = | region = | province = | territory = | prefecture = | sector = | district = | cercle = | municipality = | consecration_year = | status = [[Synagogue]] | functional_status = Active | heritage_designation = | leadership = Rabbi Jacob Lieberman | website = {{url|synagogue.org}} | architecture = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | general_contractor = | facade_direction = | groundbreaking = | established = 1928 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | year_completed = {{ubl|1931 {{small|(1st location)}}|2015 {{small|(in current location)}}}} | construction_cost = | specifications = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = | nrhp = | added = | refnum = | designated = | footnotes = <ref name=rabbi>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbi-online.org/jarah.htm |title=Rabbi Jarah, Religious Life, |work=Temple Beth Israel |date= |access-date=March 2, 2010 |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916005855/http://www.rtbi-online.org/jarah.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> }} '''Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel''' is a [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] [[Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]] located since January 2015 within Temple Israel & JCC, 475 Grove Street in [[Ridgewood, New Jersey|Ridgewood]], [[New Jersey]], in the United States.<ref name=homepage>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbi-online.org/ |title=Home page |work=Temple Beth Israel |date= |access-date=March 2, 2010 }}</ref> It is the only Reconstructionist congregation in the area, with a membership drawn from Bergen and Rockland counties.<ref name=Rosen>{{cite news |author=Rosen, Jane Calem |url=http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/2686/ |title=Two shuls and a Torah |work=[[Jewish Standard]] |date=July 4, 2007 |access-date= |page= }}</ref>
== History == Established in 1928, the congregation moved to prior current location, a former church, in 1931.<ref name=history>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbi-online.org/congreg.htm |title=HistoryL: Who are we? |work=Temple Beth Israel |date= |access-date=March 2, 2010 |archive-date=September 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909083018/http://www.rtbi-online.org/congreg.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> The building it purchased was the former Maywood Christian Association Church, constructed in 1901. Built in the [[Shingle style architecture|Shingle style]], the structure combined both stone and shingles. It also included "[[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] features, such as [[tracery]] windows".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Brown, Robin T. |author2=Warmflash, Schuyler |author3=DelGiudice, Jim |title=The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8135-2867-0 |page=153}}</ref> The congregation added an extension to the building in 1952 which included meeting and school rooms, and an additional sanctuary.<ref name=history/>
Originally [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], in the 1990s Beth Israel was faced with declining membership and a building that needed significant capital investment. To help address these issues the membership decided to move to the Reconstructionist movement in 1997.<ref name=Gibson>{{cite news |author=Gibson, David |title=A Collective Leap of Faith |work=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]] |date=May 25, 1997 |access-date= |page= }}</ref><ref name=Leichman>{{cite news |author=Leichman, Abigail |title=Rabbi Crosses Borders To Serve Congregation |work=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]] |date=November 1, 2001 |access-date= |page= }}</ref> By 2001 the congregation had 65 member families.<ref name=Leichman/>
== Recent years == In 2014, the community voted to sell its property and join in a strategic partnership with Temple Israel and Jewish Community Center in Ridgewood, N.J. It was renamed Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel. It employs a part-time rabbi, holds its own services, and joins Temple Israel members for joint programs and activities.<ref>{{cite news |author=Lipowsky, Josh |title=Answering the call |work=[[Jewish Standard]] |date=August 16, 2006 |access-date= |page= }}</ref>
Beth Israel participates in the "EZ Key Partnership", a High Holy Day initiative to provide free seats for qualified Bergen County residents. It also offers its own "free seats for first timers" program for High Holy Days.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highholidayopenseats.com/ |title=Welcome to the High Holiday Open Seats Campaign |work=Open Seats Campaign |date= |access-date=March 2, 2010 |archive-date=September 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922225033/http://www.highholidayopenseats.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Bibliography == * {{cite book |author=Brown, Steven |title=Higher and higher: Making Jewish Prayer Part of Us |publisher=[[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]] |year=1985 |page= |isbn= }}
== External links == *{{official|https://www.synagogue.org}}
{{Synagogues in the United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Bergen County, New Jersey)}} [[Category:Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey]] [[Category:Maywood, New Jersey]] [[Category:Reconstructionist synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1901]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1928]] [[Category:Shingle style architecture in New Jersey]] [[Category:Shingle style synagogues]] [[Category:Synagogues in New Jersey]] [[Category:Churches completed in 1901]] [[Category:21st-century synagogues in the United States]]