Temple Shaari Emeth (meaning "gates of truth";

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: השערים של אמת) is a

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located at 400 Craig Road in Manalapan,

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, United States.

History

Founded in 1966, Temple Shaari Emeth originally had 50 member families, and had its facilities at two Manalapan residences. Irwin Goldenberg was the congregation’s first religious leader. The congregation established a

religious school A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion. Children A school can either be of two types, though the sa ...

, with 23 students attending the first class which was held on February 18, 1966 at the two Manalapan homes. The

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corridor in Manalapan was expanding quickly, and many Jewish families from

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were relocating to the area. By 1967, the members of Temple Shaari Emeth needed more space for the growing congregation. In 1968,

Kevork Hovnanian Kevork S. Hovnanian (1923 – September 24, 2009) was an Armenian-American businessman and home builder, who founded Hovnanian Enterprises in 1959. He remained the president and chief executive officer of Hovnanian Enterprises until his retirement i ...

donated 3.5 acres of land on Craig Road in Manalapan. Construction of the new synagogue began in May 1969 and was completed in April 1970. The synagogue underwent a major

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

in 1990.

Religious school

The religious school has 527 students in grades K-10, with another 16 students enrolled in the school's post-confirmation program (grades 11-12).

Clergy and staff

Rabbi Peter Kasdan of

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served as the temple's religious leader from 1969 to 1971. He was succeeded by Rabbi Phillip Schechter of

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

, who occupied the position for the next 29 years. In 2003, Rabbi Melinda Panken of New York City became Temple Shaari Emeth's religious leader. Michael Weisser served as cantor from 1971 to 1973. Cantor Wayne Siet of Marlboro served as cantor from 1973 to 2017. Wally Schachet-Briskin has served as cantor since 2017.

Notable congregants

Anthony Firkser Anthony Paul Firkser (born February 19, 1995) is an American football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Harvard and signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in ...

(born 1995), football tight end for the

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of the National Football League

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaari Emeth Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Manalapan Township, New Jersey Reform synagogues in New Jersey Jewish organizations established in 1966 1966 establishments in New Jersey