Stephan Silver | Freelance Writer
When Rabbi Sam Hollander joined Congregation Beth El in Voorhees as associate rabbi in July, it represented a homecoming for the rabbi raised in nearby Cherry Hill.
As a rabbi, I never thought it was a possibility to come back home,” Hollander said. “How fortunate am I that the opportunity at Beth El was open and I could return home to strengthen the South Jersey Jewish community that has given me so much.”
Hollander, who joined Congregation Beth El after five years at Temple Sinai in Dresher, grew up as a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill. He attended religious school there through confirmation and later joined the Midrashah program, conducted jointly with the JCC.
“I think that it’s a big testament to the community to have one of their own back in the community,” he said. “I think it speaks highly of the South Jersey community that I’m one of many rabbis who have come from Cherry Hill and are now serving in different communities.”
Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, Congregation Beth El’s longtime senior rabbi, became rabbi emeritus in 2022, and at the same time, Rabbi David Englander became the new senior rabbi.
Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz-Boro is the synagogue’s cantor, and Hollander joined them this summer.
“They were waiting for that right click,” Hollander said of his arrival. “Finding the right fit between a rabbi and a community is not easy, but when the stars align, it is pretty amazing … it’s been a great partnership so far, and I’m so happy. People have been so warm and welcoming to this community. I love that the Beth El community is multigenerational, from our youngest learners in the ECC to programs for our teens and adults. It’s exciting, all the opportunities that are here.”
A welcome Shabbat in July filled the sanctuary at Congregation Beth El, according to Hollander.
“The role of a rabbi is difficult and can be lonely,” he said. “On Shabbat and holidays, you are always with your community and never home. Never did I imagine that I would serve an incredible community and be in walking distance to family.”
Hollander attended college at Rutgers and then spent a year at Pardes, an egalitarian yeshiva in Jerusalem — “I did leave the state of New Jersey,” he said — and enjoyed the chance to “be in an environment before rabbinical school where people were learning for the sake of learning. Yes, Jewish professionals, but also people that were excited to immerse themselves in Jewish texts.”
The rabbi went on to the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained in 2019.
“Growing up, I didn’t realize I wanted to be a rabbi, but I was blessed with opportunities where the synagogue and other Jewish organizations became a place where it wasn’t just something for my parents, it was clear that these communities also belonged to me, and that I had a role to play,” Hollander said.
“You create the community you want to be a part of,” he said of early moments in Junior Congregation and Hillel at Rutgers. “At that point, it clicked, where perhaps I had always been on that path, it was those moments that made me realize the excitement of being able to in a profession where you’re there for people to help make meaning in some of their most exciting and most difficult moments, being present in the grief and joy.”
And he carries that into his new role at Congregational Beth El.
“When I went into the search process, as a father of a now 13-month-old, as a young family, just like anyone else, when you’re moving to a place, you’re looking for a community where you can see raising your family,” he said. “And it just so happens to be that this is a place where I grew up.”
As for what the synagogue was looking for, Hollander said that, “I think Beth El was looking for someone to complete their team. I think there’s a great team that’s been put in place here, from the clergy team all the way through the staff and the lay leadership.
“I think we are at this moment when our focus in on the future, of what can a synagogue be for people. I think a synagogue should be a transformational place, just like the Beth El of the Torah, where Jacob wakes up and says, ‘Surely, God was in this place and I did not know.’
“I think for us today, people are looking for meaning in their lives, and it is the role of a rabbi to help make that meaning. In a world that seems so chaotic, and dark at this moment, a connection to Jewish community is critical. As I begin my time at Beth El during these difficult times, I am excited to focus on the work that I love to do. Not only will I bring my skill sets to my teachings on the bimah but also to the everyday moments from shmoozing at breakfast with our morning minyan to playing on the playground with our ECC students. All these moments, I think, can be transformative.”