Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David (AABJ&D) will have its annual dinner on Sunday, May 8, at 6:00 pm at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, NJ. The dinner is the culminating event of a year filled with special programs and activities to help celebrate AABJ&D’s 50th anniversary.
Rabbi Alvin and Marilyn Marcus will receive the Legacy Award for their 48 years of service. “Rabbi Marcus has guided us from an emerging shul into the largest suburban Orthodox congregation in Essex County,” says shul president Larry Liebman.
Guests of honor include all past shul presidents and chairmen of the board who, as a group, have worked tirelessly for the benefit of our shul. Doris and Jay Hartman will receive the Keter Shem Tov Award and Alisha and Jeremy Blugrind will receive the Young Leadership Award.
“Our shul’s unique history began when two synagogues decided to merge in July 1966. Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob was a flourishing shul in the Weequahic neighborhood of Newark but, with the changes in economy and the dream of living in suburbia, the leadership decided to reach out to Congregation B’nai David, a new shul founded in 1963 in West Orange,” said Mali Schwartz, who spearheaded activities and programs for AABJ&D’s Jubilee celebrations. Congregation AABJ&D was the wonderful and successful result of this merger.
“Researching historical information for a Jubilee journal was eye-opening. The journal includes 50 years of shul history, and looking back at the beginning stages of our kehillah with all the challenges that were overcome is inspiring,” added Schwartz.
“We pay tribute to the tenacious men and women who had the vision to follow their dream of establishing a modern Orthodox shul in the suburban town of West Orange. I hope that our shul members will learn from their example and take home the message of AABJ&D’s Jubilee year, embracing the past, building our future,” said AABJ&D’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler.
