Synagogue Life

Rabbi's New Digs: 'Too Perfect to Imagine'

By:

Aaron Passman, JE Feature

For Rabbi Eric Yanoff, joining Conservative synagogue Adath Israel in Merion Station wasn't just about finding a new spiritual home, it was a literal homecoming. The 34-year-old was previously a rabbi at Shaarey Zedek -- with facilities in both West Bloomfield and Southfield, Mich. -- but he grew up in Dresher and graduated from Upper Dublin High School. "When this...

Synagogue Life

Finding the Path to Inclusion for Intermarrieds

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

Just a few months ago, InterFaithways seemed like the next big thing. The one outlet in the region devoted exclusively to helping interfaith families feel more welcome in the community had secured prior funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. With the release of the 2009 "Jewish Population Study of Greater Philadelphia" -- and its startling statistics on intermarriage...

Synagogue Life

Rabbi Honored for Six Decades of Leadership

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

When Rabbi Julius Meles moved to Northeast Philadelphia to help launch Young Israel of Oxford Circle in 1954, the brand-new congregation couldn't afford to pay his salary. So, Meles decided, for practical reasons, to go into the glass business with his brother, installing windows and following in the footsteps of their father, who did similar work in Pruzsana, Poland. But...

Tradition

Shabbat, From the Ground Up

Synagogues sponsor programs that teach the basics to all

By:

Fredda Sacharow, Jewish Exponent Feature

When Benjamin Sacks steps up to the bimah for his Bar Mitzvah in 2016, he and his family plan to use the blue yad -- or Torah pointer -- the 6-year-old made with modeling clay during a recent hands-on workshop. For now, the pointer -- adorned with bubbles, lightning strikes and rockets -- occupies pride of place in the Sacks...

Synagogue Life

Rabbi Aims to Offer a 'Home' for Everyone

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

Yonah Gross celebrated a birthday last week, but he hasn't told many of his new congregants just how old that makes him. "I am 29. It's a little bit of a secret. In Orthodox circles, it's kind of young to be the rabbi of a shul," said the boyish-looking rabbi. Last month, the father of two became just the second...