By Anne Levin
In the past two decades, one out of five Reform synagogues in America has closed its doors. Soon to join the list is Har Sinai Temple, which was founded in Trenton in 1857 and moved to Pennington nearly two decades ago.
Changes in demographics are generally credited for this spiritual shift. While the closing of Har Sinai marks the end of an era for the local Jewish community, it has presented an opportunity for reflection, said Rabbi Jordan Goldson, who has led the congregation for the last five years.
“People have very fond memories of those times in Trenton,” Goldson said. “At our service [last] Friday night, we went around the sanctuary, and heard from people who had been members for 70 years. There was another century of history prior to that. So, on the one hand, people feel there is this long, long history, and it’s sad that it can’t continue. But people also realize that things change. Even the ancient temple in Jerusalem is no longer around, and that was a pretty vibrant place.”
The closing also presents an opportunity for renewal. Har Sinai is donating its Torah scrolls to congregations across the globe, from East Windsor to Taiwan.
“One of our Torahs is going to stay locally, at Beth Chaim in East Windsor, because theirs is in disrepair,” Goldson said. “The other four are going to Asia and Europe. That is part of the inspiring story. We’re part of a world Jewish community.”
One of the scrolls is going to a congregation in Israel that started two years ago. “It’s mostly Ukrainian and Russian refugees, and they’re now ready to have a Torah,” Goldson said. “They just left Eastern Europe, which is where most of our ancestors came from. So it’s full circle, from Europe to us and back.”
Additional Torahs will be sent to congregations in Spain, Portugal, and Taiwan.
“The last one is going to a congregation that started up and is now vibrant in Taipei, Taiwan,” Goldson said. “Some of the congregants are ex-pats, and some have been living in these places for 25 years. There are also local people who have been exploring Judaism. We’re helping these emerging communities bring Judaism to new places. And people are inspired that we’re able to do that.”
Har Sinai began in 1857 when the Har Sinai Cemetery Association was formed, first at a tract at the corner of Liberty and Vroom streets in Trenton. The first permanent home was a little brick chapel, purchased from Lutherans, on the west side of North Montgomery Street according to a history of the temple.
By 1929, the congregation was in its longtime home on Bellevue Avenue, designed by architect and member Louis S. Kaplan, who would go on to design the War Memorial auditorium a year later. Har Sinai remained at the Bellevue location until 2006, and was the only Reform congregation in Mercer County.
Goldson cites different factors for the closing. Larger synagogues are growing, while smaller ones are shrinking, especially in terms of young people.
“It depends on where a congregation is in its life cycle, for one thing. I think people are moving to be closer to bigger populations,” he said. “I think younger families are looking for places that have more programs. For that, you need more people and more resources. Our congregation had shrunk, with very few under the age of 50. Also, people who would have stayed home, or in the area, until they passed away, are
moving to where their kids are. So we’re losing members that way.”
Members of Har Sinai come from as far north as Belle Mead, and as far south as Levittown, Pa. They are dispersing, joining other congregations.
“There is sadness,” Goldson said. “But on Friday night, my message to the congregation was that we have been a force for good in the time we’ve been here. We’ve produced rabbis and cantors, and have done a lot in the community, and they’ve been a part of that. Now, they need to go forth. It’s not the end. It’s the beginning of a story somewhere else.”