| Temple Emanuel | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location | 1101 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States |
| Geographic coordinates | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Senior Rabbi: Jerome P. David Associate Rabbi: Geri Newburge Cantor: Neil Schnitzer[1] |
| Website | templeemanuel.org |
| Architectural description | |
| Completed | 1992[2] |
Temple Emanuel is a Reform Jewish congregation located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It was founded in 1950 on the western side of Cherry Hill, and moved in 1992 to Cherry Hill's east side. Its first rabbi was Herbert M. Yarrish, who served from 1956 to 1975. As of 2011[update], the senior rabbi is Jerome P. David, the associate rabbi is Geri Newburge, and the cantor is Neil Schnitzer.
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Temple Emanuel was established in 1950 as Cherry Hill, New Jersey's first Reform Jewish congregation. The members initially met in a variety of locations, including homes, schools, churches, and other quarters. They hired their first full-time rabbi, Herbert M. Yarrish, in 1956. Yarrish was a graduate of Harvard University, who had received a master's degree in Hebrew letters from Hebrew Union College in 1949.[3] He had previously served as a rabbi in Dallas, Texas; as a USAF chaplain at Lackland Air Force Base during the Korean War; at a synagogue in Flint, Michigan;[3] and in 1955 as a part-time rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Massachusetts.[4]
In 1959, when membership reached approximately 300, the congregation broke ground on its first permanent synagogue building in Delaware Township, on Cherry Hill's west side.[3][5] Jerome P. David joined as assistant rabbi in 1974.[2]
Yarrish retired in 1975; following his retirement he worked as a stock broker.[3] He was succeeded as senior rabbi by Edwin N. Soslow, a role he filled until his death in 1987. Soslow was succeeded as senior rabbi by Jerome P. David.[2] The congregation moved to its current building in east Cherry Hill in 1992.[2][6]
In 2005, Temple Emanuel broke the world record for dreidel spinning, with 541 dreidels spun simultaneously for at least ten seconds. There were 578 participants, succeeding the previous record of 535 people by the University of Maryland Hillel in 1999. In 2010, members of Yeshiva University broke Temple Emanuel's record, by spinning a total of 618 dreidels.[7]
As of 2011[update], the senior rabbi is Jerome P. David, the associate rabbi is Geri Newburge, and the cantor is Neil Schnitzer.[1]
The congregation acquired 9 acres (3.6 ha) of land on the east side of Cherry Hill (at the intersection of Springdale and Kresson Roads) in 1989, and began construction of a new synagogue building there.[2] In 1992, the congregation moved to the new facilities, across from the Katz Jewish Community Center (JCC).[2][6] The facilities include a social hall (used for special occasions such as weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and conferences), an industrial kitchen (adjacent to the social hall; used for banquets, as well as volunteer groups, such as the 'soup kitchen' where people prepare foods for poor people), an outdoor atrium (also used for Sukkot), a spacious lobby, chapel, sanctuary, library, preschool and Hebrew school complexes.