On Motzei Shabbat, February 13, The Jewish Learning Experience (JLE) of Bergen County will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a dinner at the Jewish Center of Teaneck. Honorees will be the four founding couples of the organization: Jeffrey and June Glazer, Sam and Marcia Kaplan, Louis and Dorothy Karp, and Aaron and Naomi Mandelbaum. These founders wanted to help other Jewish adults find the resources they needed “to make an intelligent decision on their Jewish observance,” said Sam Kaplan, founding president of the JLE. “The very first class we had had over 50 people in attendance,” added Kaplan. Today, their explanatory high holiday services attract over 300 people at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck.
The Kiruv Rechokim Service Award will be given to Dr. Shoval and Allyson Gur-Aryeh. A special tribute will be given to the previous and current rabbanim and directors: Rabbi Michael Taubes, Rabbi Steven Prebor, Rabbi Baruch Price and Rabbi David Pietruszka. Rabbi Pietruszka is the current director and has served in this role for over seven and a half years.
Per their invitation to the dinner, the JLE was founded in 1985 as a grassroots, independent adult outreach organization in Bergen County. Its mission is to reacquaint Jewish adults with their religious heritage through classes demonstrating the relevance of the Torah in contemporary times, experiential programs, and Shabbat and High Holiday explanatory services. The JLE caters to individual needs, including home hospitality and one-on-one learning. Since its inception, the JLE has touched the lives of more than 5,000 unaffiliated families in Bergen County and beyond.
“The biggest emphasis has to be for ba’alei teshuva right here in Bergen County to give hakarat hatov to the JLE, because we are the community outreach program for Jewish adults for the past 30 years, and we want to continue this for the next 30 years,” added Kaplan.
The 30th anniversary dinner taking place at the Jewish Center of Teaneck, 70 Sterling Place, will begin with a buffet at 8pm. Couvert is $300/couple and $150/single. Reservations are due by February 6. To attend or for more information, please contact Rabbi David Pietruszka at 201-966-4498 or [email protected]
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By Allyson Gur-Aryeh
