In the mid 1950’s it became apparent that there was a need for a Conservative Congregation in the Long Branch Area. In September 1956, Mrs. Herbert Becker sent a letter to the Jewish Theological Seminary asking for help in getting started. In response two representatives of the United Synagogue of America, Dr. Henry Simon and Dr. Maxwell Kaye met with eight local families at the Becker home on October 11, 1956. Present at that meeting in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Becker, were Mr. and Mrs. Max Adler, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Cohen, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Gnesin, Mr. and Mrs. Milton Goodman, Dr. and Mrs. Harold Eder, Mrs. Dina Nobel and Mr. and Mrs. Irving (Dottie) Sachs. Dr. Simon and Dr. Kaye spoke of the basic tenets of Conservative Judaism and explained how to go about organizing a congregation.
At a meeting shortly thereafter, the following officers were elected: Herbert Becker, President; Mrs. Oscar Gnesin, Vice President; Roy Iskowe, Secretary; Mrs. Herbert Becker, Corresponding Secretary; and Milton Goodman, Treasurer. On Friday evening, November 2, 1956 the first Conservative service was conducted. Services continued on a regular basis at various locations in Long Branch.
The first High Holy Day services began in 1957, and were held at the Isle De Capri Hotel, Ocean Avenue, Long Branch. Services were conducted by Rabbi Robert Hammer. Our Sunday School opened. In November 1957 a Congregation Sisterhood was formed, with Mrs. Oscar Gnesin as President and early in December a Men’s Club was also formed with Henry Kaufman as President. At Simchat Torah services in 1957 two Torahs were donated by Benjamin Goldstein, which allowed us to start regular Saturday morning services. Also, In November of 1957 the Congregation purchased the former Brent-Good Estate at 130 Morris Avenue in Long Branch.
By the early 1960’s we had outgrown the house on Morris Avenue and planning started for the construction of a new building. In June of 1963 a parcel of land at 213 Lenox Ave. became available, and was purchased from the City of Long Branch in order to erect a permanent Synagogue. The next year was a very active one with Fund Raising activities and the selection of an architect and builder, all leading to a ground breaking ceremony on Sunday October 25, 1964.
Two years after the ground breaking, on Sunday August 7, 1966 a roof covering ceremony was held and in September of that year the first High Holiday services took place in our own new building, even though the building was not fully ready. It had rained very hard for several days just before the Holidays and a lot of water and mud had to be navigated in order to get into the building. Wooden planks were put down, which proved to be quite an adventure to cross since they were not very stable
The Congregation was led by eight Rabbis and 22 Presidents. It drew most of its members from Long Branch, West Long Branch, Eatontown, and Ocean Township. A significant number were employed at Fort Monmouth, the U.S. Army research, development, and procurement center for electronics and intelligence equipment, as engineers and technicians. (NOTE – The Fort is currently being closed down and moved to Aberdeen, MD.) At its peak B’nai Sholom had about 140 families, diminishing to 95 when it merged with Temple Beth El.
During the many years, the Congregation was ably served by its members. Helping to conduct services were Max Adler, Abe Grossman, and Harold Seldin. Max and Abe also taught the children for their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. In addition, Max headed the Ritual Committee, and assured the smooth preparation and running of High Holiday services. The office was run by Dottie Sachs, who saw to it that the building was maintained, bills were paid, and dues collected.
In the latter years, Congregation and Sisterhood functions were ably run by Yetta Epstein, Bernice Shutman, and Charlotte Ginsburg. Norbert Miller retained the perpetual role of Treasurer of the Men’s Club. For High Holiday services, Cantor Max Klein was hired. The Congregation adopted him and his family, just as they adopted us. The entire membership volunteered for Bingo. It was a fund raising event that drew the entire Congregation together.
Our last Rabbi, Jonathan Waxman led the Congregation from 1977 to 2002, twenty five years. He is a third generation Conservative rabbi, and provided insightful and scholarly comments on all facets of Jewish study.
In 2001-2002 it was recognized that the synagogue could not long continue to sustain itself. Membership had declined to 95 families; there were no new young families moving into the area; it was difficult to attract new members due to competition from both Temple Beth El (TBE) and Temple Beth Torah (TBT). The vast majority of the members were in the 60 and above age bracket. The Congregation entered into merger discussions with both TBT and TBE. It voted to merge with TBE. The merger was celebrated August 1, 2002.
Upon the merger, Adam Bogner together with Les Fromkin finished out their term as a co-president of the merged congregation. All plaques and other memorabilia were transferred to Beth El, as well as four torahs. The building was sold to the Sephardic Torah Center.
B’nai Sholom Today – The number of families currently at Congregation Torat El dropped to about 70. Attrition has been due to death or relocation. Currently, there are between 15 to 20 families/members actively participating in synagogue life.
The B’nai Sholom Foundation was created from the surplus monies resulting from the sale of B’nai Shalom real estate. The Foundation provides financial support to Jewish Cultural Events.
YEAR RABBI CONGREGATION SISTERHOOD MEN’S CLUB
56/57 Herbert Becker Muriel Becker
57/58 Robert Hammer George Jacobson Sylvia Gnesin
58/59 Bernard Frankel George Jacobson Sylvia Gnesin Henry Kaufman
59/60 Alex Graubart Martin Meisner Myrna Meisner Henry Kaufman
60/61 Saul Wisemon Martin Meisner Greta Adler
61/62 Alex Graubart Irving Bolton Myrna Meisner
62/63 Alex Graubart Max Adler Bernice Stupp Bernard Nathanson
63/64 Marvin Goldson Max Adler Bernice Stupp Bernard Nathanson
64/65 Alex Graubart Mortimer Zinn Seena Roth Herbert Tanzman
65/66 Albert Raab Mortimer Zinn Seena Roth George Goldenberg
66/67 Albert Raab Max Adler Bernice Stupp George Goldenberg
67/68 Albert Raab Murray Weiss Gertrude Hoffman Daniel Leitstein
68/69 Albert Raab Murray Weiss Seena Roth Daniel Leitstein
69/70 Albert Raab Murray Weiss Linda Maltzman William Fishbein
70/71 Albert Raab Daniel Leitstein Linda Maltzman William Fishbein
71/72 Albert Raab Daniel Leitstein Linda Maltzman Samuel Segner
72/73 Philip Blachorsky Arnold Silberman Seena Roth Herb Tanzman
73/74 Philip Blachorsky Arnold Silberman Edna Silberman Arthur Tauber
74/75 Philip Blachorsky Arnold Silberman Linda Maltzman Arthur Tauber
75/76 Philip Blachorsky Robert Isaacson Linda Maltzman Irving Bogner
76/77 Philip Blachorsky Robert Isaacson Seena Roth Irving Bogner
77/78 Jonathan Waxman Linda Maltzman Seena Roth Ed Kronish
78/79 Jonathan Waxman Linda Maltzman Marsha Fishbein Ed Kronish
79/80 Jonathan Waxman Linda Maltzman Yetta Epstein Paul Kaufman
80/81 Jonathan Waxman Linda Maltzman Yetta Epstein Chester Friedman
81/82 Jonathan Waxman Zeldon Rose Yetta Epstein Paul Kaufman
92/83 Jonathan Waxman Zeldon Rose Barbara Fisher Joel Schulman
83/84 Jonathan Waxman Robert Lieberman Yetta Epstein Joel Schulman
84/85 Jonathan Waxman Sandra Kaplan Linda Merrill Mark Bohrer
85/86 Jonathan Waxman Sandra Kaplan Linda Merrill Mark Bohrer
86/87 Jonathan Waxman Seena Roth Selma Goldman David Greene
87/88 Jonathan Waxman Seena Roth Selma Goldman Roy Kallens
88/89 Jonathan Waxman Presidium of V.P. Presidium of V.P. Roy Kallens
89/90 Jonathan Waxman Adrienne Messner Charlott Ginsburg Abe Grossman
90/91 Jonathan Waxman Adrienne Messner Charlotte Ginsburg Norbert Miller
91/92 Jonathan Waxman Charlotte Ginsburg Linda Merrill Norbert Miller
92/93 Jonathan Waxman Charlotte Ginsburg Linda Merrill Joel Schulman
93/94 Jonathan Waxman Sandra Bernstein Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
94/95 Jonathan Waxman Sandra Bernstein Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
95/96 Jonathan Waxman Sandra Bernstein Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
96/97 Jonathan Waxman Joel Schulman Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
97/98 Jonathan Waxman Joel Schulman Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
98/99 Jonathan Waxman Sharon Emmons Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Bernstein
99/2000 Jonathan Waxman Zeldon Rose Charlotte Gonsburg Milton Bernstein
2000//02 Jonathan Waxman Adam Bogner Charlotte Ginsburg Milton Epstein