CONGREGATION B’NAI ISRAEL OF BASKING RIDGE OPENS THE DOORS OF ITS NEW SANCTUARY

Since 1990, when the founding members of Congregation B’nai Israel of Basking Ridge (CBI) first gathered to worship and study in church basements and firehouses, the congregation has been working diligently toward having a sacred space of its own.  On Sunday morning, September 21, the dream became a reality as over 600 congregation members, friends and dignitaries joined together to dedicate CBI’s new sanctuary in Basking Ridge.

The joyous ceremony, led by Rabbi John Schechter and Cantor Shana Onigman, was filled with song, prayers, and the playful tones of a Klezmer band. U.S Representative Robert Frelinghuysen, State Assemblywoman Denise Coyle, and Bernards Township Committee members Mary Pavlini, John Millay and Scott Spitzer helped make the day a community event.

Just a little over one year ago, Rabbi John Schechter, rabbi of the congregation since 1996, predicted, “When we build a sanctuary we will come, when we build a social hall we will all celebrate together.” Rabbi Schechter opened Sunday’s dedication ceremony with these words: “We look forward to your voices—to the voices of our children as they sing and pray in Hebrew the traditional melodies and the newer songs as well; to the voices of our Bar and Bat Mitzvah students whom the cantor and I are eager to work with in such an inspiring setting; to the voices of couples as they speak their vows…  Each song, each chant, each prayer upholds the purpose of this new building: to build, shape and direct our lives."  

The sanctuary is built to seat 280 people but can be expanded for larger events.   The addition of a smaller, more intimate gathering room, as well as a catering kitchen and social hall for congregational functions, completes the modern design.  Rabbi Schechter noted that the design of the new space bespeaks “the voicing of Jewish tradition in a new idiom, the presentation of our ancient values and debates in a fresh voice.” 

CBI has been located at 40 Whitenack Road since 1995, when the founding members purchased 5 acres of property from the Summit Speech School. Today, with over 280 families, CBI is completing its second capital campaign with a vibrant Religious School celebrating over 40 Bar and Bat Mitzvah children a year, a full array of educational programming for its congregants and the broader community, and a wonderful, nurturing non-denominational preschool.   

Congregation B’nai Israel, an egalitarian Conservative synagogue in the Somerset Hills, is a center for spiritual growth in the Jewish tradition.  Founded in 1990, CBI is committed to working toward tikkun olam (repair of the world) through tzedakah (charity), social action, and acts of loving-kindness. For more information about CBI, its religious school and The Weintal Preschool, please call 908-204-1412.