Founded in 1985 by Sam Kaplan, Aaron Mandelbaum, Louis Karp and Jeffrey Glazer, The Jewish Learning Experience (JLE) of Bergen County is an independent adult outreach nonprofit that has touched the lives of more that 5,000 people. JLE’s 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. All classes are free of charge and JLE caters to individual needs, including home hospitality and one-on-one learning.
This year, as in years past, JLE will hold their Pesach Seder at Congregation Beth Abraham, 396 New Bridge Road, Bergenfield, New Jersey. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. “We remember our grandparents’ Passover table and we capture that at the JLE Pesach Seder. It’s a good experience and participants will want to come back,” said Kaplan. He is also inviting the “fifth son” to the Seder. In addition to the four sons who are mentioned in the Haggadah, Kaplan learned that we need to worry about the “fifth son.” Who is the “fifth son”? This is the person who does not even go to a Seder. “We want to find as many of the fifth sons as we can and bring them to our Seder,” Kaplan said.
Devorah Merriam, Kaplan’s daughter and a JLE board member, added: “The JLE Passover Seder runs much faster than the Seder you find in a religious home, but you get everything that is important. It’s a full meal; the food is always good. We serve traditional Jewish foods, like chicken soup with matzah balls and gefilte fish with horseradish. It’s a very welcoming environment and nonjudgmental. Participants don’t need any prior knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish practice. It’s an explanatory Seder.”
Board member Garron Macklin added: “The seder is a continuous chain going from the birth of our people coming out of Egypt until now. It’s that continuous chain that connects us. For families and friends to come together to celebrate that moment as a nation together is a memory we have from the youngest child to the oldest adult; they all remember the Seder. Through the JLE we can build those memories, build that connection with our Seder.”
JLE began as the solution to a dilemma two of the founders, Kaplan and Mandelbaum, both baalei teshuva, had. The problem was the relationship between the observant community and the not-yet-observant. Kaplan felt that the two communities were drifting farther apart from each other and knew that something had to be done. “Sam believed that by exposing these two groups to each other we could break down the barriers that were developing. It definitely worked,” Mandelbaum said.
JLE kiruv is dedicated to helping people gain a deeper understanding of the Jewish culture and experience Jewish beliefs and traditions. The four co-founders come from diverse backgrounds. Kaplan noted that this “gave us the sensitivity to give more meaningful programs to people we wanted to reach. Kiruv is all about sensitivity training and encouragement.”
Allyson Gur-Aryeh, a board member and volunteer, echoed this sentiment. “We must stop being so superficial and start understanding the greatness of every person. Whether they look less sophisticated or accomplished or even less religious, we don’t really know where they stand in Hashem’s eyes. I ask you to please open your eyes to other Jews around you, regardless of their background. A little warmth and interest from us goes a long way for people without a community like we have.”
Rabbi Justin Wexler is JLE’s rav. Rabbi Wexler is a Gemara teacher at Yeshivat Noam.
Dedicated volunteers and board members include Joy Sperber, Menachem Shapiro, Susie Atlas, Tzvia Isaacs and Rivka Herzfeld. “Joy is the engine to the vehicle of the JLE now and has been for approximately the past four years,” Gur-Aryeh said. “Sam Kaplan’s daughter, Devorah Merriam, is an extension of him. She’s terrific as a mother of four kids who juggles her home responsibilities with helping the JLE.”
Gur-Aryeh continued: “Joy assumes the role of running all of the organization’s events, keeping the calendar moving and motivating everyone to pitch in. We’re grateful she takes the position of chair on everything and we can just follow her instructions. Thank God, we are really in a special position to have numerous devoted members of the JLE board who want to carry their weight and pitch in whenever possible.”
JLE’s motto is “Challenge yourself, empower yourself, enrich yourself.” JLE welcomes you to come and experience all that JLE offers. For more information, to help sponsor the Seder or to volunteer with JLE http://jle.org/, [email protected], phone: (201) 966-4498
Susan R. Eisenstein is a longtime Jewish educator, passionate about creating special, innovative activities for her students. She is also passionate about writing about Jewish topics and about Israel. She has two master’s degrees and a doctorate in education from Columbia University.
