B'nai Israel celebrates 20th year in Basking Ridge
Published: Jan 22nd, 11:43 AM
Reprinted from the Bernardsville News
BERNARDS TWP. - On Saturday, Feb. 6, more than 200 congregants and their friends will help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Congregation B'nai Israel (CBI) of Basking Ridge.
The congregation will be honoring those familes that have been part of B'nai Israel from the start.
The celebration will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a havdalah service, followed by hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dancing. There will be a silent auction and a short ceremony honoring the founding families of the synagogue.
The congregation has undergone tremendous growth since its early days. When first opening it had 25 families. That has now grown to 250 families.
At first, Friday night services were held every other week in the basement of Bishop Janes United Methodist Church and there were no Saturday morning services. Services are now held in a state-of-the-art sanctuary at 40 Whitenack Road.
The Religious School originally had about 24 students with classes held in people's homes, the Somerset Hills Montessori School, St. Mark's Episcopal Church and even the Pleasant Valley Park warming hut. There are now more than 200 students and two sessions of Religious School are held in spacious classrooms in the congregation's own building.
The first B'nai Mitzvah class had eight students. The current B'nai Mitzvah class has 37 students, and in 2011-2012 there will be more than 50.
Rabbi Charles "Chuck" Simon initially served on a part-time basis. The current Rabbi John Schechter is full-time.
For more information on CBI call (908) 204-1412, or visit www.cbibr.org.
