Our History

Welcome to Beth Israel, the only URJ Reform Congregation on the Mainland in Southeastern New Jersey. Founded in 1890, Beth Israel has been home to generations of families who are seeking a meaningful Jewish experience. However your family may be structured, we welcome you. Importantly, both men and women participate fully in all areas of worship and lifecycle events.

Our sanctuary features the original stained-glass windows designed in 1913 for our prior home in Atlantic City. These windows were restored in 1985 when we relocated to Northfield. Our pews, purchased in 2003, were made on Kibbutz Lavi in Israel.

Atlantic City's first congregation was founded on Monday, October 13, 1890, during a gathering at Hocheimer’s Cafe at 1408 Atlantic Avenue; here officers were selected for the new congregation. J.B. Koopman was elected as the first president. It was officially named Beth Israel of Atlantic City in November 1891 with Rev. Dr. Stemple hired to lead services for the group. Notably, one of the first acts as a board was to quickly vote out Rev. Stemple by a vote of 14 to 4 in favor of Rev. J.T. Sherbow. The synagogue’s board showed it was poised for progressive change as it catered to the German speaking Jews of Atlantic City. After J.B. Koopman’s term as president expired, Jacob Bacharach was elected to the role and served the congregation for more than two decades.

Between 1892 - 1893 a synagogue with a heavy Moorish architectural influence was constructed on South Pennsylvania Avenue at the cost of $4,000. Rev. Sherbow began prior to the synagogue’s dedication weekend, July 28 - 30, 1893. Under his leadership religious practices soon changed with both German and English used during synagogue services and in the synagogue’s Hebrew School. Later additions included a paid choir and Emma Meyerhoff on organ during services. To raise money, High Holiday seats were rented to members for the entire year. Those ones closer to the Torah, ranged from $1 to $12 annually.

Rabbi I. Koplowitz was installed as Beth Israel’s third rabbi in 1896, only to be replaced by Rabbi Solomon Philo in 1898, he later tried to sue the Beth Israel boar for slander in 1900 (and lost). Rabbi B.C. Ehrenreich replaced him in 1901, and then Rabbi Morris Mendel, who served through 1903. A total of seven spiritual leaders attempted to guide the congregation in its first decade prior to the arrival of Rabbi Dr. Henry Fisher from Philadelphia in 1903. He went on to lead Beth Israel for the next 38 years and solidified the congregation’s affiliation with the Reform movement. An influx of Jews to Absecon Island at the turn of the century paralleled a sharp increase in synagogue membership. A new facility was needed to house the growing German congregation, as increasing numbers arrived from Philadelphia.



A building plan for a property on Pacific Avenue was agreed upon in 1903 but did not fully materialize for another decade. To fundraise for the new facility a donation plate was regularly passed around at services during the singing of “Adon Olam”.

The first synagogue building on Pennsylvania Avenue remained in use through construction and eventually sold for $11,000 to the Trinity Lodge No. 79. The new Beth Israel synagogue, located at 906 Pacific Avenue, was completed in 1913. It was designed in the Greek revival style and estimated to cost $26,000. The large upstairs balcony was used during High Holiday services when extra seats were needed. Occasionally, visitors from out of town sat in the upper level to observe the religious services below. In its new space, Beth Israel frequently hosted local dignitaries, visiting scholars, and rabbis that represented progressive ideas in Reform Judaism in addition to deeper concepts of Zionism. Vacationing rabbis from Philadelphia's Reform community were often guest speakers, connecting with their own vacationing congregations at Beth Israel. As a sign of permanence, the congregation purchased a plot of land on the Black Horse Pike for the purpose of creating a congregational cemetery.

In the roaring 1920s, the Jewish population of Atlantic City spiked, and four hundred families joined Beth Israel as members. Many of the new congregants had German backgrounds, they moved near the new shul, living in close knit communities along St. Charles, Maryland and Oriental Avenues. In the 1930s, Beth Israel saw its older German population passing away and replaced with a younger English speaking membership base. A demographic change was afoot. The antiquated collection plate routine was discontinued and now a choir (composed of both Jews and Gentiles) accompanied an organist at services.

The Great Depression hit Atlantic City especially hard and funds for visiting speakers and programs became scarce. During times of economic struggle and survival, Beth Israel’s Rabbi conducted both mixed marriages and conversions to Judaism (with adequate study and prayer). This approach kept the congregation's membership numbers somewhat stable and helped it to survive this difficult period. Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks served as Beth Israel’s first spiritual leader born and raised in Atlantic City. Throughout the post-war economy of the 1940s he led a fundraising campaign for synagogue improvements that included the construction of new classrooms and installation of a synagogue kitchen.

Brooks was followed by Rabbi Abraham Narot (late 1940s), Rabbi Baruch Braunstein (1951), Rabbi Aaron Decter, and Rabbi Martin Weitz (1951). Under the guidance of Rabbi Weitz a group of Jews from the nearby island community of Brigantine attempted a grassroots effort to create a satellite branch of Beth Israel in 1954. Many were in mixed marriages and felt shunned by many Orthodox synagogues in Atlantic City. They wanted their children to be raised as Jews and felt Beth Israel’s Reform affiliation best suited their needs. Brigantine children attended Beth Israel’s Hebrew School while their parents attended services.

When Rabbi Weitz left Beth Israel in the mid 1950s Brigantine’s Jewish contingent was left on its own. Worth noting, the Brigantine group later abandoned the Reform movement and evolved into the Conservative Beth Shalom (Brigantine JCC), becoming an official religious entity in 1959. Without Brigantine to focus on, Beth Israel redirected its efforts to where the bulk of the Atlantic City Jewish population was headed, South of Atlantic City to Downbeach, populating the cities of Margate and Ventnor.

In the early 1950s, a fledgling congregation, Emeth Shalom, led by Beth Israel’s former spiritual leader, Rabbi Braunstein, branched off from Beth Israel to establish itself as the only Reform synagogue in Downbeach. Late to the game, but adapting to the moment, a competing Beth Israel Hebrew school was undertaken in in the mid 1950s to connect the Beth Israel congregation with its relocated Downbeach membership base. An ambitious capital campaign was launched to raise $100,000 for a Margate branch of Beth Israel. In May 1956 the congregation purchased a property from the Margate Community Church on Jasper and Ventnor Avenue (a few streets away from Emeth Shalom) to use for its future Downbeach location.

Beginning February 1957, a structural enlargement of the Margate facility was implemented while with Beth Israel programs and Hebrew school operating in the space throughout the late 1950s. The Beth Israel Downbeach site officially opened in 1961 with an annex constructed and dedicated in 1962.

Initially, the Atlantic City location was maintained and used for religious services while the Downbeach location centered on education and its nursery school. Later, Friday night services were held in Beth Israel’s Margate building, often partnering with social events or board meetings. Fewer members attended Friday night services at the Atlantic City location due to a spike in crime around the synagogue’s Pacific Avenue location.

As conditions in the inlet further deteriorated, Friday night services and evening programs in Atlantic City ceased entirely. Saturday morning and High Holiday services, however, continued in the city through the decade as Rabbi Philip Schechter led the congregation from 1964-1970. He was very involved in the Civil Rights movement at the time, later growing his hair and beard out to protest bigotry. He left in controversy, using his farewell sermon to rail against the board and the JCC that closed to children on the Sabbath, but opened its health club for big players in the community.

Throughout the 1970s both branches of Beth Israel were in active use simultaneously. A sign of the times, Bunny Katzman became Beth Israel’s first female president in 1973. She worked alongside Rabbi Stanley Relkin, from 1970 to 1973 and then Rabbi Howard A. Simon who officiated services in both locations from 1973 - 1980. Members continued to pray in Margate on Friday nights or Atlantic City on Saturday mornings, some members attended services at both locations! The Margate facility became heavily utilized and major refurbishment efforts were undertaken in 1976 under the presidency of Saul Sinderbrand. No longer was there a weekly scramble for mismatched chairs; instead, two hundred identical chairs now sat in neat rows. The cold brick walls inside were replaced by stone and a hand carved candelabra gave the synagogue a feeling of dignity. Rabbi Simon continued to straddle both locations through 1980. Beth Israel congregation was now composed of 300 families, primarily from Downbeach with a small contingent left in Atlantic City.

After Rabbi Simon's departure, Rabbi Mark Shook arrived to lead Beth Israel in March 1981. In July of that year, two Torahs were stolen from Beth Israel's Atlantic City location during an overnight break in and burglary. The cost of a Torah lay in its religious rather than financial worth. This incident combined with vandalism of the city's Mikvah, and robberies of Atlantic City Jews walking to shul expedited the need for a new direction for the congregation. Fortunately, change was something Beth Israel had become accustomed to in their long and winding history.

In the early 1980s Beth Israel ultimately sold its Atlantic City property to Resorts International Hotel and Casino for approximately one million dollars and the historic synagogue building was demolished soon after. The Margate branch of Beth Israel hosted all synagogue events for the next couple of years. The high cost of living in Downbeach prompted many Jewish families to relocate to the mainland communities of Linwood, Northfield, and Galloway.

Beth Israel saw a unique opportunity to move with them and ultimately became the first Atlantic City synagogue to depart the island of its origin. An empty lot on Shore Road in Northfield was purchased and after several years of ambitious fundraising, ground was broken on November 4, 1984. During this transitional construction period, Beth Israel's Hebrew School operated at the nearby Bellhaven School in Linwood. After its completion in 1986, the estimated cost of the massive 25,000 square foot facility exceeded three million dollars.

The new Northfield synagogue was designed by Blumberg Associates and featured the original stained-glass windows designed for the Pacific Avenue building. They were refurbished and installed in vertical light boxes and secured to the back of the bimah. The synagogue’s original pipe organ was reconditioned in the new sanctuary, hidden behind an acoustically transparent stone covered cloth. The original Holy Ark, decorated with symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel, was moved into the smaller Wolff chapel where it remains in use through today. This new building design included a social hall to the right side of the sanctuary and incorporated a movable mechanical bimah that easily relocated to the center of the room with a simple crank device. This allowed everyone an unobstructed view of the rabbi and cantor during services.

Rabbi Shook left Beth Israel soon after the move and was briefly followed by Rabbi Ben Romer in 1987. Rabbi David Weis arrived in 1988, leading Beth Israel for three decades. Jewish education and the sharing of Jewish values became a lifelong passion for Weis. Whether he was making challah with children in the Beth Israel Nursery School, explaining the story of Passover by dressing up as Pharaoh, helping students prepare for their B’nai Mitzvah, or teaching at Stockton University, Weis was at home with all ages; he truly excelled at life event connections, from weddings, funerals, to simchas. One great story depicting Rabbi Weis’ unique style included a baby crying incessantly during a service, he continued to speak, picked up the baby and just kept talking; the baby eventually stopped crying, totally engaged in the moment, seemingly enthralled with the sermon.

Under Rabbi Weis’ direction, Congregation Beth Israel in Northfield adopted a unique Simchat Torah tradition. After the last chapter of the Torah is read during the service, the Torah is unrolled through the aisles of the sanctuary, with congregants standing and supporting it throughout the room. Once it is fully unrolled, B’nai Mitzvah teens are directed to stand behind their Torah portions. The Torah is then re-rolled back to the beginning. Traditional dancing with the Torah always followed the festive service.

“I am a storyteller. I look at sacred scripture and biblical authors and I try to teach those lessons. Some relate to the best moments and the worst moments of people on the path of life,” Weis explains. “It is not the story of perfect people; they are stories about people who are more like us - with flaws and problems. But we can learn that if those people can rise above it, then so can all of us.”

Under the leadership of Synagogue Director Susan Sokalsky, and Education Director Cookie Feldman, Beth Israel thrived over the next three decades with membership averaging between 400 to 500 families from 1990-2010. Beth Israel’s Hebrew school also flourished alongside an active early childhood program and helped to anchor young Jewish families in the mainland communities of Northfield, Linwood, and Galloway.

Programming at the Northfield location included interfaith services, the Manna Project, Mitzvah Day, and the continued success of the NIFTY youth group under the direction of Susan Weis. Communitywide Yom HaShoah Services were regularly held at Beth Israel, memorializing the Six Million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Many members of Beth Israel were Holocaust Survivors, and second-generation children that joined the synagogue when theirs closed.

In 2010, the Beth Israel sanctuary was rededicated to the memory of Gusti Engelberg, an active member for 65 years. She fled Germany during the Holocaust in 1938, later relocating to Atlantic City with her family in 1944. She was known as the "heart and soul" of the congregation. Many volunteers and lay leaders contributed to Beth Israel's more recent success including Ted Rich, Beth Israel's president from 2009 - 2014.

Rabbi David Weis served as Beth Israel's rabbi for 33 years (1988 - 2021) celebrating both the 100- and 125-year anniversaries of the congregation. Being part of the synagogue for so many years, Weis was able to experience countless life cycle events with thousands of members, watching them grow from Beth Israel's preschool to B'nai Mitzvahs to weddings; welcoming the next generation that followed.

Rabbi David Weis now serves as Rabbi Emeritus, welcoming a new spiritual leader, Rabbi Michael Feshbach, in 2022. After tenure with the Jewish community from the US Virgin Islands, Feshbach arrives during another important turning point in the shul's long history.

The 130-year-old congregation has continued to evolve and adapt to the South Jersey Jewish landscape as it looks to the horizon. New leadership spells new opportunities for the Mainland communities and an opportunity for Congregation Beth Israel to reinvent itself once again.