# Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel

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Reconstructionist synagogue in Ridgewood, New Jersey

For similarly named synagogues, see [Beth Israel](/source/Beth_Israel_(disambiguation)).

Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel Religion Affiliation Reconstructionist Judaism Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue Leadership Rabbi Jacob Lieberman Status Active Location Location 475 Grove Street, Ridgewood, New Jersey Country United States Location in New Jersey Coordinates 40°58′05″N 74°06′29″W / 40.967970°N 74.108127°W / 40.967970; -74.108127 Architecture Established 1928 (as a congregation) Completed 1931 (1st location) 2015 (in current location) Website synagogue.org [1]

**Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel** is a [Reconstructionist](/source/Reconstructionist_Judaism) [Jewish](/source/Jewish) congregation and [synagogue](/source/Synagogue) located since January 2015 within Temple Israel & JCC, 475 Grove Street in [Ridgewood](/source/Ridgewood%2C_New_Jersey), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), in the United States.[2] It is the only Reconstructionist congregation in the area, with a membership drawn from Bergen and Rockland counties.[3]

## History

Established in 1928, the congregation moved to prior current location, a former church, in 1931.[4] The building it purchased was the former Maywood Christian Association Church, constructed in 1901. Built in the [Shingle style](/source/Shingle_style_architecture), the structure combined both stone and shingles. It also included "[Gothic Revival](/source/Gothic_Revival_architecture) features, such as [tracery](/source/Tracery) windows".[5] The congregation added an extension to the building in 1952 which included meeting and school rooms, and an additional sanctuary.[4]

Originally [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Judaism), 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.[6][7] By 2001 the congregation had 65 member families.[7]

## 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.[8]

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.[9]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-rabbi_1-0)** ["Rabbi Jarah, Religious Life,"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080916005855/http://www.rtbi-online.org/jarah.htm). *Temple Beth Israel*. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2010.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-homepage_2-0)** ["Home page"](http://www.rtbi-online.org/). *Temple Beth Israel*. Retrieved March 2, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rosen_3-0)** Rosen, Jane Calem (July 4, 2007). ["Two shuls and a Torah"](http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/2686/). *[Jewish Standard](/source/Jewish_Standard)*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-history_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-history_4-1) ["HistoryL: Who are we?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100909083018/http://www.rtbi-online.org/congreg.htm). *Temple Beth Israel*. Archived from the original on September 9, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Brown, Robin T.; Warmflash, Schuyler; DelGiudice, Jim (2001). *The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century*. [Rutgers University Press](/source/Rutgers_University_Press). p. 153. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8135-2867-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8135-2867-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gibson_6-0)** Gibson, David (May 25, 1997). "A Collective Leap of Faith". *[The Record](/source/The_Record_(Bergen_County))*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Leichman_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Leichman_7-1) Leichman, Abigail (November 1, 2001). "Rabbi Crosses Borders To Serve Congregation". *[The Record](/source/The_Record_(Bergen_County))*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Lipowsky, Josh (August 16, 2006). "Answering the call". *[Jewish Standard](/source/Jewish_Standard)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Welcome to the High Holiday Open Seats Campaign"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090922225033/http://www.highholidayopenseats.com/). *Open Seats Campaign*. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2010.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown))

## Bibliography

- Brown, Steven (1985). *Higher and higher: Making Jewish Prayer Part of Us*. [United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism](/source/United_Synagogue_of_Conservative_Judaism).

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.synagogue.org)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructionist_Congregation_Beth_Israel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructionist_Congregation_Beth_Israel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.