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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Congregation Beth El (Voorhees, New Jersey)
Congregation Beth El is a Conservative synagogue located in Voorhees, Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States.

As of 2023, the clergy include Senior Rabbi David Englander, Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz-Boro, and Rabbi Emeritus Aaron Krupnick.

Overview

The mission statement of the congregation is:

“Beth El is our spiritual home. We create a warm and welcoming community where people of all generations are enriched by learning and inspired to discover their personal experience of Jewish life.”

History

Congregation Beth El 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 2,500-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.

The Beth El community hosts several groups, including Sisterhood, Men's Club, Young Families, Habonim (Empty Nesters), Youth Department (Youth groups), Kavod (LGBTQ Adults and Allies), Achim Sheli: My Brothers and Sisters (celebrating ethnic and cultural diversity), and Chevra: Creating Connections for Adults. The synagogue provides religious education for youth and adults.

References

  1. ^ "Clergy - Welcome to Congregation Beth El". 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. ^ "Welcome Message - Welcome to Congregation Beth El". 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  3. ^ Preisler, Julian H. (2009). Historic Synagogues of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley. ISBN 9781596295728. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  4. ^ Gillette, Howard Jr. (9 August 2006). Camden After the Fall: Decline and Renewal in a Post-Industrial City. ISBN 0812219686. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  5. ^ Vernon, Leonard F.; Meyers, Allen (2007). Jewish South Jersey. ISBN 9780738550022. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Arms Bzdak, Meredith; Petersen, Douglas (1999). Public sculpture in New Jersey: monuments to collective identity. ISBN 9780813527000. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  7. ^ Henry, Cynthia (April 6, 2009). "A moving day For synagogue, a new home". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  8. ^ Henry, Cynthia (January 24, 2009). "Church to buy Beth El property The synagogue will leave Chapel Avenue. It will sell the site to a charismatic Christian congregation". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  9. ^ "Religious School Welcome - Welcome to Congregation Beth El". 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
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