In March 2022, Congregation Beth El in Voorhees, New Jersey, hired Rabbi David Englander to be its spiritual leader. Englander was 50 at the time. and had spent the previous 22 years as a rabbi at the Conservative B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, Florida, which has about 1,000 families.
When he moved to South Jersey to start his new role in July 2022, Englander took over a similar institution. Conservative Beth El had nearly 800 families, an Early Childhood Center and a religious school.
The 50-year-old was taking on senior rabbi duties for the first time, and his new congregation was a big responsibility. But Englander felt ready.
He wanted to bring back in-person life while offering virtual accessibility. He thought he could galvanize young people by offering more volunteer opportunities. And he hoped to balance modern inclusivity with Conservative tradition.
More than a year into his tenure, the rabbi believes he is doing all three.
“I couldn’t be happier with how the first year went,” he said.
In-person services, classes and other programs have returned. Shabbat services transitioned from active Zooms to passive livestreams. Early Childhood Center, religious school and youth group sessions are entirely in person again.
The rabbi’s message with the passive livestream is clear: “If you can come in person, we’d love to see you,” he said.
There’s a new energy in Beth El’s Main Street home, according to Englander. And that has renewed the shul’s commitment to service. The Conservative congregation recently reestablished its Caring Committee for monthly collections. That money helps with service activities like making dinner at Ronald McDonald House Southern New Jersey in Camden.
“I hope the message is getting out: Beth El is concerned with being a partner in this community,” Englander said.
These efforts have not yet attracted new members, but they have activated the shul’s younger congregants, according to Englander. Those who participate in service activities outside the synagogue walls are in their 50s or younger. The new Sisterhood leaders are “younger than me,” he said.
“I’m excited to see where they’ll take that volunteer arm,” he added.
To keep younger generations engaged, the rabbi wants to make Beth El as inclusive and accessible as possible. He wants to follow other Conservative synagogues and add the names of the matriarchs to the congregation’s daily prayer. He sent out a text to the community welcoming people’s comments on the possible change, and they have been “extremely positive,” the rabbi said.
He is also doing his best to finish Shabbat services by noon each Saturday and to limit the hours for Rosh Hashanah services this year to 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
“I’m reflecting on the needs of people who are joining,” Englander said.
At the same time, the rabbi wants to remain true to the Conservative label. To Englander, that means welcoming interfaith couples and supporting them once they are married. But it does not mean facilitating their weddings or officiating at their ceremonies. It also means keeping as much Hebrew as possible in Shabbat and High Holiday services.
“Hebrew is the national language of the Jewish people,” the rabbi said.
Overall, Englander is happy. He calls South Jersey “a gem of the Jewish community” and a “pleasant and beautiful place to live.” And he describes Beth El as a shul with “a stunningly beautiful campus, great senior leadership and all manner of opportunities for engagement.”
It’s not without its challenges, though.
The biggest one is that Beth El’s ECC faces a market competitor, public preschool in New Jersey, for Jewish kids, according to Englander. The rabbi likes public preschool and is glad that it exists, but he believes that “there’s nothing like Jewish preschool for helping young children and their families connect to and fall in love with Judaism from an early age.”
The congregation has embarked on a capital campaign to lower tuition and the “barrier to membership,” Englander said.
“We want to lower any barrier that is now or will prevent people from being part of our community,” he concluded.
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