Temple Beth Sholom (Cherry Hill, New Jersey)

For similarly named synagogues, see Beth Shalom.
Temple Beth Sholom
Main entrance of Temple Beth Sholom
Religion
AffiliationConservative Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusSynagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Micah Peltz
  • Rabbi Bryan Wexler
  • Rabbi Steven Lindemann (Emeritus)
StatusActive
Location
Location1901 Kresson Road, Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
AdministrationUnited Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Geographic coordinates39°52′30″N 74°57′17″W / 39.87496°N 74.95473°W / 39.87496; -74.95473
Architecture
Date established1940 (as a congregation)
Completed
  • 1940 (Haddon Heights)
  • 1989 (Cherry Hill)
Capacity2,200 worshippers
Website
tbsonline.org

Temple Beth Sholom (abbreviated as TBS) is a Conservative synagogue located at 1901 Kresson Road in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States.[1] TBS was founded in 1940 and moved to its current building in Cherry Hill in 1989.

History

A member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, TBS was founded in 1940 at its former location at 19 White Horse Pike in Haddon Heights, about six miles (nine point seven kilometres) west of Cherry Hill.[2][3] Among the founders was S.H. Fastow, the owner of Fastow's Five & Ten Cent Store in Haddon Heights, which opened in 1936 and closed in 2001.[4] The founders located the synagogue in Haddon Heights hoping that as Jews moved from Camden into the suburbs, they would settle around the synagogue, but that did not happen.[5] As of 1948, the synagogue had 50 member families.[6] While in Haddon Heights, it grew to over 600 families.

In 1989, the synagogue moved to its current location in eastern Cherry Hill, at the corner of Kresson and Cropwell Roads.[7][2][8][9] In January 1989, members of the congregation marched for 6 miles (9.7 km) carrying the synagogue's ten Torahs from their old location in Haddon Heights to the new synagogue in Cherry Hill.[9] The Cherry Hill synagogue seats 2,000 people, has a school wing with 19 classrooms, and in 2002 expanded to include a Green Center for Jewish Learning, an expansion of 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m2), that contains a multimedia resource center and seven high school classrooms.[7] The synagogue includes about 1,000 member families, and offers a variety of educational and cultural programs.

Clergy

Rabbi Albert L. Lewis (1917-2008)

Former staff include Rabbi Albert L. Lewis (1917-2008), who served for 44 years at TBS.[10][11] Lewis was also a Rabbi Emeritus at the synagogue.[12]

Steven Wernick is a former Associate Rabbi of the synagogue.[13][14]

As of 2018, the Senior Rabbi was Micah Peltz, the Associate Rabbi was Bryan Wexler, the Rabbi Emeritus was Steven Lindemann, and the cantor was Jen Cohen.

Notable members

As a child, celebrated Hollywood actor, producer, writer and director Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz) had his bar mitzvah at TBS.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Joyful noise HD:Jews, especially children, prepare to celebrate the holiday of Purim". Courier Post. March 18, 2000. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Preisler, Julian H. (2008). Historic Synagogues of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley. ISBN 9781596295728. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  3. ^ Postal, Bernard; Koppman, Lionel (1954). A Jewish tourist's guide to the U.S. Jewish Publication Society of America. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  4. ^ Burkhart, Michael T. (June 21, 2001), Fastow's five-and-dime closes, stratford.net
  5. ^ Kalech, Charlie (December 2, 2009). "Temple Beth Sholom". Jerusalem Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  6. ^ "Rabbi Emeritus Albert Lewis". TBS website. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "History". TBS website. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  8. ^ Cammarota, Ann Marie T. (2001). Pavements in the garden: the suburbanization of southern New Jersey, adjacent to the city of Philadelphia, 1769 to the present. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN 9780838638811. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Polk Rhodes, Rosalee (January 11, 1989). "Temple Beth Sholom Celebrates Opening Its New Synagogue". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  10. ^ "Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, 90, Led Synagogue for More Than 40 Years". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  11. ^ Steinberg, Alan J. (1988). American Jewry and conservative politics: a new direction. Shapolsky. Retrieved June 22, 2011. haddon heights Temple Beth Sholom.
  12. ^ Francis, Eric (2002). Broken Vows. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312979331. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  13. ^ "Local rabbis shed light on situation facing Israel". Courier Post. November 4, 2000. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  14. ^ "Year 2000 full of promise for South Jersey clergy". Courier Post. December 31, 1999. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  15. ^ "Remembering an acting legend". S J Magazine. August 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.