Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
Seventy years is a long time.
At Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, the community isn’t going to let its platinum anniversary pass without celebrating appropriately.
What exactly will that look like? A mix of religious services, fundraisers, parties and more spread out over May and June, all labeled as “CBO70” events, according to the synagogue. As Rabbi Jason Bonder explained, Beth Or’s choice to hold a smorgasbord of festivities typifies the congregation.
“It really does capture what we are as a community. We’re a place where everyone can find their path within Jewish tradition. So some people, and I think a lot of people, find a little bit of everything here,” he said.
That attitude is one of the big reasons that the synagogue has been able to thrive since the mid 20th century. Bonder has only been the senior rabbi at Beth Or since the fall, but he has been with the synagogue since 2018. He said that, from the first time he walked through the doors, he could tell that Beth Or was a special place — and that’s thanks to the example set by previous generations of congregants.
“I really do think that people come here because of that culture that has been passed down for all of our history,” he said.
Bonder learned that tradition from the previous senior rabbi, Greg Marx, who served as the head of the congregation from 1989 until his retirement in 2024. Bonder said that the synagogue’s thorough leadership set a precendent.
“Rabbi Marx did an incredible job building this place up, but, but he didn’t do it alone. He had wonderful lay [leaders]. We have an incredible board. We actually have a system here where we have a president and a second and third vice president. So we actually already know who will be the president of Beth Or six years from now, and that type of strength in leadership has really made us thrive,” Bonder said.
As for the events of this spring, the celebrations kicked off on May 2 with a family Shabbat worship that honored the forefathers of the synagogue. The service featured the Beth Or Multigenerational Choir, a group made up of members young and old.
On May 4, Beth Or held a community-wide block party with games, food, music and more. The following day was a golf outing at Cedarbrook Country Club. In addition to golf, there was pickleball and other games, too. Bonder said that even something as normal as a day of golf is a reminder that Beth Or is looking out for its congregants, regardless of their interests.
“There’s horrible golfers like myself who are just going to be frustrated on the course,” he said. “But, if you’re a horrible golfer, it’s [still] a day for you.”
On May 16, Beth Or will continue its celebration with a Chai Shabbat service and dinner. The final event of the 70th anniversary is a Shabbat service at which the crown jewel of the festivities will be unveiled: a wall of over 200 personalized tiles created by member families that will cement the 70th anniversary and the community that was present for it for future generations.
“One of the things I want to drill home is that it’s been a team effort,” Bonder said.
“Everyone here [contributes], from the maintenance staff to the clergy to the lay leaders to the everyday congregants.”
When the community at Beth Or looks back over its 70 years of existence, it does so with pride, but also with an eye toward the future. The synagogue has an app, and makes sure to accommodate those who attend services virtually with equal treatment to those who come in person.
“We have the vision of bringing technology into better use, and using it as a tool for us to move into the future,” Bonder said.
The new senior rabbi’s chief goal, however, is bigger than that.
“The other thing that I’ve been dreaming of, especially with such difficult times in Israel, is building some sort of center for Israel engagement, where we can do our best to build a strong relationship with Israel and introduce all of our families, but especially our children, to Israeli culture and Israeli music,” he said.
Beth Or is a lively synagogue with a proud history, and as Bonder said, it’s all in the name.
“Beth Or [means] ‘house of light,’ and truly every single person being here brings light to our house,” he said. “It’s not just a throwaway line — it really is true, and we experience it here.”