2012 Marks the 30th Anniversary of the Merger
of Sharey Tefilo and Temple Israel

On the following pages you will find images, history, video and more...

    In and Around the Sanctuary
    Temple Sharey Tefilo: Temple Sharey Tefilo’s history goes back to 1874 when ten Orange, New Jersey merchants, including the five Harris brothers, met in a small room above a storefront on Cleveland Street to establish Congregation Sharey Tefilo of Orange. Twenty-one years later, the congregation moved into a Moorish-style wooden building, reminiscent of the architecture of eastern European synagogues. This served as the congregation’s home until 1927 when Rabbi Stephen Wise dedicated the congregation’s imposing, Grecian-pillared Temple on Prospect Street in East Orange. Founded as an Orthodox synagogue, in 1921 the congregation affiliated with the Reform movement. Eight rabbis and three cantors, including Rabbi Avraham Soltes, Rabbi Charles Annes and Cantor Theodore Aronson served the congregation whose membership dramatically increased as the Jewish community migrated to the suburbs following World War II.

    Temple Israel: In April of 1948, 229 families from Sharey Tefilo, citing the need for a new type of religious experience, established Temple Israel in South Orange. Within a year, the congregation had purchased the beautiful Kip-Riker mansion on two and one half acres of land, the current site of our congregation. Temple Israel, led by Rabbi Herbert Weiner and Cantor Abe Levitt, grew in both size and innovation. Expansions of the facility took place in 1953 and in 1963.
    Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel: The blending of our Temple families into a single congregation once again, occurred in 1982, when the 500 members of Sharey Tefilo carried their Torahs into the Temple Israel sanctuary. The lessons learned while apart made us stronger and more viable than ever before. Today our sacred congregation, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, continues a proud tradition, thriving rich in spirit and strong in number. During the years we have been joined together we have watched our Temple grow, attract many young, new members, deepen our roots in the community, and develop excellent programming for members from pre-school to senior citizens. As a congregation we have made significant contributions to the well being of American Reform Judaism and a spiritual, ethical, social, and community impact in the lives of our Temple family members.

    Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel creates a bridge between the warmth of Jewish tradition and the challenges of life in the modern world. Throughout the history of our congregation, the ethics and rituals of our people have guided us in creating a vibrant and meaningful Judaism imbued with innovation and relevance.
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    Temple History: Learning About Our Past, Jared Kofsky

    • Introduction
      The Present and the Future
    • The Early History of Temple Sharey Tefilo
      What will TSTI's future be like?
    • Martin Luther King
      Final Thoughts
    • For the past two years, I have been researching my family tree. If you have researched your family tree then you realize that you never know what you will unravel. I have discovered that one of my great-grandfathers and his brothers owned a fur dyeing company, and that another great-grandfather, a Western Union telegraph operator, may have been the first person in North America to learn that World War I was over.

      As part of our religious education at TSTI, we are encouraged to complete a "mitzvah project" prior to our bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies. Since I really enjoyed working on my family tree, I decided that for my "mitzvah project", I would research Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel's 136 year family tree, sharing my findings with temple congregants.

      TSTI encourages that our "mitzvah projects" be "hands on", and researching TSTI's history surely is, from literally getting my hands on historic archives, to speaking with people across the USA.

      Through my research, which has lasted about five months to date, I have spoken to Cantor Aronson, a rabbi in West Hartford, CT, a rabbi in Great Neck, NY, the first young woman to become a bat mitzvah at Sharey Tefilo, who currently resides in Southern California, and several long term members of TSTI. I have done extensive research in the internet, at the South Orange Public Library, and at TSTI, in addition to conducting interviews.

      Through these articles, I hope that you will feel connected to the rich history of our congregation.

      I would love to know your memories of TSTI's past! Please contact me through the temple office.
      In 1921, Temple Sharey Tefilo joined the present day Union for Reform Judaism, the start of its affiliation with the reform movement.

      On April 22, 1927, Temple Sharey Tefilo moved from its Orange site to pillared 57 Prospect Street in East Orange with Rabbi Stephen Wise, a well-known rabbi from New York. This building is now Faith Temple New Hope Church.

      According to Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, currently a rabbi in Connecticut, who attended Sharey Tefilo about three decades after the new building opened, "(It was) a very special place to attend services and to attend religious school".

      Cantor Aronson also started with Sharey Tefilo decades after this building opened. "The older part of the building was quite grand- the front of the building had big tall columns and it was a very traditional building. There were beautiful stained glass windows. The back side of the building, which was the school and the offices, was fairly new at the time. It was a modern structure, almost entirely made of glass. It won several prizes in architecture", said Cantor Aronson.
      Rabbi Marius Ranson was the rabbi of Sharey Tefilo in the 1930's and 1940's. He was considered a very left-wing rabbi. He actually prohibited tallit and yarmulkes in Temple Sharey Tefilo!

      In the 1930's, Sharey Tefilo hosted several lectures and conferences, including the annual conference for representatives of NJ Jewish congregations.

      In 1934, former German Ambassador James W. Gerard spoke at a Sharey Tefilo Junior League forum, boldly claiming that "there are too many Jews in the communist ranks". Rabbi Ranson argued in a New York Times letter to the editor that Gerard was a publicity seeker. Gerard replied that the letter to the editor "came with ill disgrace".

      Yearly, on Chanukah, Sharey Tefilo placed a nine foot menorah outside of East Orange City Hall, as a gift to the City of East Orange.

      (Photo Credit and Property of Faith Temple New Hope Church/faithtemplechurch.webs.com)
      Know something about Rabbi Ranson or James W. Gerard's statements that I didn't mention? Share your memories of TSTI history by contacting me through the temple.
    • At one point, Newark was a city flourishing with Jews. Temples like Oheb Shalom, which is now down the road from TSTI, and B'nai Jeshurun, which is now on South Orange Avenue in Short Hills, originated in Newark. However, unlike most Essex County temples, Sharey Tefilo (a predecessor to TSTI) originated in Orange, and was the first temple in Suburban Essex (Orange was considered part of Suburban Essex at the time).

      Isaac, Julius, Louis, and Jacob Harris were Prussian emigrants. In America, they became big in business, starting stores all over Essex County, in towns like Bloomfield and Orange. Their dry goods store in Montclair was extremely successful- it lasted through the 1960's.

      In the mid-1800's, the Harris' and Orange merchants Louis and Isaac Gotthainer, Jacob Bernard, Leo Levitt, Victor Mink, Albert Stein, and Max Mindlin (grandfather of Bruce Springsteen's drummer Max Weinberg) formed a burial society to find places to bury the few Jews of the Oranges.

      In the Jewish year 5635, the burial society evolved into Sharey Tefilo.

      At the time of the temple's opening, a legal certificate of the congregation read, "We have taken upon ourselves the name of Congregation Sharey Tefilo of the City of Orange, New Jersey and do request this certificate to be recorded according to law. Witness our hands and seal this fifth day of October, Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-Four".

      However, for 21 years, Temple Sharey Tefilo was without its own building. Congregants worshiped in Library Hall, a room presumably at the old Orange Public Library on Main Street in Orange. Finally, on February 3, 1895, the cornerstone of the new building at 16 Cleveland Street in Orange was laid by one of the original founders, and then president of the temple board of trustees, Louis Gotthainer. Gotthainer was a clothing merchant in Orange.

      The opening of the synagogue and the proposal for the building was featured in two separate issues of The New York Times.

      The new synagogue cost $5000 to build, and the Times stated that it was to have an area of 30x60 square feet. There were separate entrances for men and women, and it contained schoolrooms and cloakrooms. Plans for the building were proposed by temple vice-president W.E. Lehman.

      In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the temple had only 20 members, and had two auxiliaries, which were the Ladies' Montefiore Aid Society, and the Jesse Seligman Literary Circle. At the time, the annual income of the temple was $300.

      (Photos and Article Credit and Property of the New York Times/nytimes.com)

      Know something about this period in TSTI's early history that I didn't mention? Please contact me through the temple.
      One of the most famous congregants of Sharey Tefilo was Max Weinberg, drummer from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and former drummer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

      Mr. Weinberg's mother Ruth Weinberg is still a member of TSTI.

      "It's very exciting to still be with Sharey Tefilo. It's gotten really big", Mrs. Weinberg said in an interview.
      She was confirmed at the temple almost 85 years ago in 1927. Her father Max Mindlin was in real estate and was a founder of Sharey Tefilo. According to Mrs. Weinberg, he got the property on Prospect Street in East Orange.

      "My father was very eager for us to leave Cleveland Street", said Mrs. Weinberg.

      Ruth Weinberg has been very involved in temple affairs. "I was very active when I was young, I was president of the religious school and I've always been a member. I was most active when Rabbi Soltes was there", says Mrs. Weinberg.

      While at Sharey Tefilo, Max Weinberg was very fond of Rabbi Soltes.

      "He was quite the poet, musician, and spiritual leader", Mr. Weinberg said in an article in the Jewish Telegram. In an article in the Jewish World Review, Mr. Weinberg raved how Rabbi Soltes "made Judaism come alive to students". In fact, Rabbi Soltes presided at his wedding.

      "He's a nice fellow...Max has always been very supportive of everything that we've done here", said Cantor Aronson.

      Share your memories of Max Weinberg at TSTI by contacting me through the temple.

    • During my quest to learn as much about the history of our temple as possible, I discovered The Enduring Community: The Jews of Newark and Metrowest by William B. Helmreich. This well written book shares many facts about TSTI, including the fact that Sharey Tefilo, established in 1874, was the first temple in Suburban Essex.

      However, the book mentioned one fact that I had never heard of before. It stated that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at Sharey Tefilo in May, 1961! This fascinating fact did not come up in my research of files at TSTI, or on the internet. I contacted the author, William B. Helmreich, and he informed me that his source was a newspaper article stating that MLK was slated to speak at Sharey Tefilo, however, at first, there appeared to be no evidence that it ever took place!

      I continued my research, doing internet searches of Sharey Tefilo. One search result led me to a sermon by Rabbi Stephen Fuchs of Beth Israel in West Hartford, CT, which mentioned how he was a religious school student at Sharey Tefilo starting in 1954-5. I called Rabbi Fuchs, who informed me that he attended Martin Luther King's speech at Sharey Tefilo!

      According to Rabbi Fuchs, Sharey Tefilo was filled to capacity for the speech. Reverend King spoke about racial injustices in our society, and expressed his appreciation to the Jewish community for helping the African American community.

      Rabbi Fuchs recommended that I contact Rabbi Emeritus Bruce Goldwasser, who attended services at Sharey Tefilo starting at age 16. Rabbi Goldwasser also attended Reverend King's speech.

      "I was very impressed. I believe in his message.", Rabbi Goldwasser said in a phone interview.
      "It was packed. There was not an empty seat in the house.", said Rabbi Goldwasser.

      Rabbi Goldwasser noted that Reverend King never looked at his notes. He spoke from memory and inspired Rabbi Goldwasser, who later became VP of the NAACP Rutgers Newark chapter.

      Attended Martin Luther King's speech at Sharey Tefilo? Please contact me through the temple.
      Throughout the 1930's and 1940's, Rabbi Marius Ranson prohibited the wearing of tallit and yarmulkes in Temple Sharey Tefilo. While he was rabbi, 25 families who belonged to Sharey Tefilo left the congregation and founded Temple Israel in South Orange. Herbert Weiner became the rabbi.

      The newly founded temple started with only the Kip-Riker mansion, commonly known today as "the mansion". Temple Israel then added the religious school building, and lastly the sanctuary building in the early 1960's.

      In the early 1950's, Temple Israel donated an original stained glass piece from the mansion to the First Presbyterian Church in Downtown South Orange. This was recognized by Eleanor Roosevelt as a friendly interfaith gesture, and she presented an award to the temple.

      "(Through the years) we've had a lot of wonderful speakers", said Matty Goldberg, a temple member who witnessed the award ceremony.

      According to Norma Benish, whose husband was chairman of the subsequent merger committee, prospective congregants were interviewed prior to joining Temple Israel, to ensure that congregants were compatible with the temple. Also at Temple Israel, all Bar Mitzvah students were educated by the cantor.
      Meanwhile, at Temple Sharey Tefilo, Rabbi Avraham Soltes was the successor to Rabbi Ranson. Rabbi Soltes encouraged young women to have a bat mitzvah. The first bat mitzvah at Sharey Tefilo, which was in the 1950's, was the bat mitzvah of Roseann Platt, who later became director of a religious school in Jericho, NY.

      In a recent interview with Ms. Platt (now Ms. Michalson), she described her bat mitzvah as being "revolutionary" at the time. Although she was reluctant, Rabbi Soltes encouraged her to become a bat mitzvah. She was not a large part of the service, but she did read torah from the Book of Numbers. Her granddaughter, who recently became a bat mitzvah, read the same torah portion as Ms. Platt did decades before!

      In the early 1960's, Sharey Tefilo hired the firm of Davis, Brody, and Wisniewski to build Joseph L. Sonnenscheir Religous School, which was located next to the temple. Davis, Brody, and Wisniewski had previously built synagogues in New Jersey, in towns like Lakewood. The project cost $245,000, and included an audio-visual room, classrooms, offices, and a lounge. The original religious school was located 1½ miles away on South Harrison Street.

      "It (the building on South Harrison Street) was an old mansion. The bedrooms were classrooms. One of the downstairs rooms was a library", says longtime temple member Annette Littman.

      Around this time, Sharey Tefilo decided to hold an experimental rock service. It was thought to be the very first rock service.

      "The sanctuary was filled to capacity", said Cantor Aronson, "It was very exciting. It was one of the first things I ever did as a cantor".

      "My husband and I were literally producers of the rock service, says Annette Littman, "We worked closely with the rabbi. That was a very very exciting time. We knew we were doing something that had never been done...music put Sharey Tefilo on the map."

      In 1982, Temple Sharey Tefilo and Temple Israel merged, forming the temple we know today as Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel.

      On the day of the merger, "(Cantor) Aronson orchestrated the ceremonial marching of the Torah scrolls from East Orange to South Orange", as reported in the New Jersey Jewish News.

      "It was a nessecery move (the merger). East Orange was becoming a very dangerous place for us", said Cantor Aronson in an interview with me.

      Today, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel is on the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places. TSTI is also the only reform congregation in South Orange.

      Know more about Temple Israel? Attended religious school on South Harrison Street? Share your memories of TSTI's past by contacting me through the temple.
    • New Site, Rabbi Ranson, and the 1930's
      Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel has had many homes. It started out in the Jewish year 5635 (1874), in a room at the old Orange Public Library on Orange's Main Street. TSTI then moved to a wooden building on 16 Cleveland Street in Orange. Just over 30 years later, the temple relocated to a pillared building in East Orange, and then moved to our current site on Scotland Road.

      Today, TSTI is home to three gorgeous buildings, a historic mansion that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, a recently renovated building housing the Linda and Rudy Slucker Religious School, and the Bass Sanctuary Building, which now has a beautiful new lobby, pictured above.

      It is difficult to believe that the original Sharey Tefilo was created only to "serve the small Jewish population of the Oranges"!

      An important part of our temple is the temple museum, which is located in the sanctuary lobby. Congregant Mimi Braun is the curator. The museum features a torah from the Holocaust, which was once in Hitler's Museum. It also features Judaica, and photographs of the previous two locations of Sharey Tefilo, a predecessor to TSTI.

      Today, we have two rabbis and two cantors, a Jewish film series, as well as a high school youth group. In 1890, the temple had 20 members. Today, over 1,000 families belong to the temple

      "My favorite thing in our congregation is that all of us on the clergy are great friends...everyone is welcoming and friendly", says Cantor Aronson, who started when Sharey Tefilo had 400 families.
    • Max Weinberg
      Already, TSTI is moving towards the future, with TSTI Mobile, the version of tsti.org for mobile phones. It includes calendar updates and religious school information.

      In addition, TSTI is going green with GreenFaith, an organization the helps reform temples lower their carbon footprint. Seven other temples in New Jersey are part of GreenFaith, in towns such as Edison and Franklin Lakes. We are one of the first reform temples in the USA to be a GreenFaith sanctuary. TSTI has been using non-toxic supplies and energy efficient light fixtures to help our environment. TSTI also has a "Green Team".

      TSTI is also the first "able" congregation in Metrowest. The bimahs in both the main sanctuary and in the chapel are ADA accessible, as Rabbi Cohen shared with congregants over the High Holy Days. There are also wheelchair lifts in the temple.

      In September of 2010, we completed our year long "torah project", fulfilling the 613th commandment. Our temple now has a new torah, thanks to our scribe, Zerach Greenfeld. As Rabbi Cohen stated on the last day of the "torah project", in 100 years, TSTI congregants will still be reading from our new torah.
    • Temple Israel, the 1960's, and TSTI
      When I started this journey to discover as much about the history of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel as I could find, I did not know what to expect from TSTI's 136 year history. From speaking to rabbis who attended religious school at Sharey Tefilo over 50 years ago, to discovering that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at Sharey Tefilo, and Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at Temple Israel, this journey has truly been amazing.
      In my opinion, a mitzvah is connection. I have connected to people all across America, and I hope that you have been connected to their memories of TSTI history. A mitzvah is also about community. My mitzvah project is to educate temple congregants about the history of their congregation. In addition, previously, I have written articles for a local media group on TSTI events, letting our local community know the inside happenings of our temple. A mitzvah is continuous. I would love to be a "junior Temple Historian", and continue to explore the history of our temple and communicate what I learn with our congregation!

      I gratefully acknowledge Ruth Weinberg, Annette Littman, Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, Rabbi Bruce Goldwasser, William B. Helmreich, Cantor Aronson, Norma Benish, Sunny Seglin, Mimi Braun, Matty Goldberg, Roseann Platt Michalson, and Rabbi Miller for their significant help in the project. I also would like to thank my parents Randi and Jeff Kofsky for editing and proofreading these articles, and special thanks to my mom for driving me to every place that I have done research.



      Know something about Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel's history that I have not mentioned in "Temple History". Please contact me through the temple.






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