A little-known secret is that in addition to managing their own burgeoning community, the leaders of the Lakewood Jewish community monitor the progress of municipal leaders across the state in communities with large Jewish populations.

Lakewood leaders recently reached out to Edison Mayor Sam Joshi and invited him for a second in-depth encounter with the major institutions and leaders of the Lakewood Jewish community. (Joshi visited Lakewood during his first race for mayor, in 2021.) Joshi graciously accepted the invitation in mid-May and brought with him Edison Councilman Asaf Shmuel, a member of Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, and Moshe Feuer, president of Kehilla of Raritan Valley: A Community United, a resident of Edison, and a member of Agudath Israel Congregation in Highland Park.

The visit was organized by Lakewood Councilman Meir Lichtenstein and included a visit to the headquarters of Bikur Cholim (one of the largest in the country), the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) busing organization and the Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG) Yeshiva.

Joshi met with an array of leaders of the Lakewood Jewish community in this visit, including Rabbi Yosef Heinemann, CEO of Beth Medrash Govoha; New Jersey State Assemblyman Avi Schnall; Deputy Mayor and Lt. Colonel U.S. Air Force Menashe Miller; Chanie Jacobowitz, VP of government affairs and compliance at Beth Medrash Govoha; Rabbi Shlomo Schorr, director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey; Rabbi Avraham Krawiec, director of the LSTA; and Rabbi Yehuda Kasirer, director of the Lev Rochel Bikur Cholim of Lakewood.

Describing one of the most inspiring scenes of the visit, Feuer wrote later in a thank you letter to Councilman Lichtenstein about “when the windows of the balcony of one of the myriad study halls were opened, we were privy to a bird’s-eye view of one of the most incredible scenes in the world. Students and scholars, over 1,000 strong in this study hall alone, jousting with one another, all the while trying to distill what is written in the holy tomes of the Talmud.”

Joshi stated, “It was incredible to see the Lakewood community through a guided tour. Rabbi Yosef Heinemann is a remarkable leader, and I look forward to maintaining an excellent relationship with the Lakewood community.”

Harry Glazer is the Middlesex County editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at [email protected] and he welcomes reader feedback.