Rabbi Nathan Weiner served as the senior spiritual leader at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Marlton, New Jersey, from 2016 to 2023. He was succeeded by Rabbi Lizzie Horne Mozes, who served on an interim basis for a year while the synagogue looked for a full-time successor to Weiner.

That successor is Rabbi Pamela Gottfried, and she’s been in place for two years.

The graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary had been serving in her own interim role at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta, Georgia. But when she visited Beth Tikvah for her in-person interview in the spring of 2024, she clicked with congregants right away.

“It happened to be Purim, so she was able to do more than regular Shabbat. She was able to do our megillah reading, and she was able to get along well with members of all ages,” said Joel Mosko, a longtime member and the secretary of Beth Tikvah’s board of trustees.

Mosko added that Gottfried had “a warmth and human engagement about her that was a good fit for our small community.”

On her LinkedIn page, Gottfried describes herself as “Self-Employed” from December 2010 to August 2024, and she served in a variety of educational, advisory and visiting/interim rabbi roles.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, she was working on education and outreach to unaffiliated families at Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta. It was supposed to be a five-year project, but the pandemic curtailed the organization’s resources.

Gottfried was able to stay until July 2021, but then she had to look for other work. While she remained in the Atlanta area, she started thinking about moving back to the area. She had grown up in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and her dad and brother were still in the Garden State.

While Gottfried was ordained in the Conservative movement, she had been serving a Reconstructionist synagogue in Bet Haverim, and she identified with many Reconstructionist values. The rabbi worked with the Reconstructionist Placement Office, affiliated with Reconstructing Judaism in Wyncote, to search for a new position.

“I downloaded 10 packets from 10 congregations on either side of the Delaware River. Beth Tikvah was the only one that seemed like the unicorn,” she said. “They used Conservative prayer books and have always been egalitarian and accepting of interfaith families.”

Her instinct proved right.

“I came, and I interviewed. It’s on brand for them to be heimish and inclusive, volunteer-led, a lot of lay-led programming. People feel deeply invested, and there’s a lot of belonging in the community,” Gottfried said.

At the time of Horne Mozes’ hiring in the summer of 2023, Beth Tikvah had 230 families, an increase from 189 five years before. Since Gottfried started, the synagogue’s religious school has doubled from about 25 students to 50.

Based in Marlton, Evesham Township, Beth Tikvah is the only synagogue with a permanent building in Burlington County’s biggest town, according to Mosko. Evesham has more than 46,000 residents. Along with Congregation Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel, it is also one of the biggest shuls in Burlington County.

“We have outreach to Medford and some other communities further out in Burlington County where there may not be a synagogue currently,” said Mosko. “We want to be the community that people look for when they want to experience Jewish life in Marlton.”

And once they look to Beth Tikvah, prospective families will probably like what they find, according to Mosko.

“I think families have seen what we have to offer as a community, especially a lot of mixed-religion families. They’re looking for a place where they’ll be welcomed. We go out of our way to be that place,” he said. “If a family member isn’t Jewish, they can participate in a family event.”

Beth Tikvah opened in 1976 in a ranch house with 12 families. Rabbi Gary Gans served the community from 1981 to 2016, before Weiner, who was already working for the shul, succeeded him as senior rabbi.

Horne Mozes’ yearlong contribution allowed stability to return at the top in the form of Gottfried. Synagogue leaders told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in 2023 that they wanted to take their time to find the right successor for Weiner.

In the fall, leaders and members celebrated the shul’s 50th anniversary. Gottfried led the religious services.

“It was a time to celebrate where we’ve been the last 50 years and look forward to 50 ahead,” Mosko said.

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com