East Brunswick Jewish Center

About

A haimish Conservative Synagogue 450 members strong with active Men's Club, Sisterhood, USY/Kadima. Open and inclusive, we welcome you to join our family!

Story

East Brunswick, New Jersey was once a tranquil and rural town. Can you imagine that clusters of homes were interspersed with groves of trees, apple orchards and potato farms?

When Route 18 was only a two lane highway, shopping centers did not exist and you could buy your food and drink (including those with alcohol) and your hunting licenses and supplies at the Foodtown on Milltown Road and Ryders Lane, where the Walgreens now stands. The East Brunswick Jewish Center wasn’t yet a glimmer of an idea to forty people who showed up at Bea and Mel Rosenhack’s home to discuss the need for some sort of Jewish organization in East Brunswick in 1957. However, by early 1959, links to synagogues in Highland Park, the hiring of a temporary Rabbi, the formation of a constitution and regular meetings in the Grange Hall, lead to the first Bar Mitzvah with our first Torah on January 27, 1962, only five years after that first coffee klatch in the Rosenhack home. (By the way, the Grange Hall stood next to the firehouse on Dunhams Corner Road near Ryders Lane. It became Playhouse 22 which has since moved south on Cranbury Road to a beautiful new facility.)

Since that time many things have taken place. Twenty-five thousand dollars purchased a five-acre plot of land at 511 Ryders Lane, our current home. After multiple expansions, we have grown into a facility that can house up to seven hundred families for the High Holy Day services and several hundred children in various levels of Hebrew school classes.

We host well-attended bi-yearly fundraisers to help with our financial needs while also taking part in congregational trips to Israel, marching in the Israeli Day Parade in New York City, supporting Israeli soldiers and donating to local social organizations to help feed and clothe those falling on hard times. We are open for services twice daily and work hard to visit the sick in our community and offer services in the homes of those suffering the loss of a loved one.

We are closely linked with the other Jewish Congregations in the area, often running events with them and we maintain friendly relationships with other religious organizations to keep our lines of communication open.

Our successes have been made sweeter with the help and support of our Rabbi and our lay leadership.

Today, we have 450 family members. We have an active Nursery School, Religious School, Men's Club and Sisterhood. We offer daily Minyan, maj jong groups, lunch and learn, fun programs, inventive fundraisers and more! We are a warm, welcoming and inviting community of hard working people who enjoy socializing and praying together.

Everyone Is welcome to services and on Shabbat luncheon is always served! Come and discover what a wonderful community we are and stay to be a part of our family!

Products

Hebrew School
Nursery School
Youth Groups
Gift Shop
Men's Club
Sisterhood
Mitzvah Corps.
Daily Minyanim
Shivah Support
So much More!