Every shul hopes it will happen to them: That their community will attract new families who join their shul and the shul grows to the point where they need more staff. Thankfully, that is exactly what happened to Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison.
Rabbi Yaakov Luban, rabbi of Ohr Torah, told The Jewish Link, “The community has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 35 years. There are now eight shuls in the neighborhood. We work very hard to cater to the different segments of the congregation and make people feel welcome.”
According to Jeff Klein, president of Ohr Torah, “The shul now has a little over 300 families and offers a wide range of programming for adults and seniors as well as a very active youth department. As the shul grew we had to recognize that even with Rabbi Luban’s tireless dedication, he can only be in one place at a time, and we needed additional rabbinic resources.”
A rabbinic search committee set to work to find the right person to fill the role of Assistant Rabbi. And they seem to have found it in Rabbi Sariel Malitzky. Rabbi Malitzky assumed the new position in August and according to Klein, “He hit the ground running and immediately put some innovative new programming into place.”
In one of those funny twists of fate, when Rabbi Malitzky and his wife were looking for a new community several years ago, they looked at Edison/Highland Park and were very impressed with the community but in the end they settled in Passaic because of its proximity to both of their jobs. And now, here they are living in Edison after all.
Rabbi Malitzky received Semicha at Yeshiva University, where he was a member of the Wexner Smicha Honors program. He has taught Judaic Studies at TABC for the past 10 years. He initiated the “Friday Chaburah” program, which today has become the Friday Kollel program attended by many alumni. Rabbi Malitzky was so taken with some of the insights of his students that he published a compilation of their thoughts, as well as some of his own, in a booklet called “Umitalmidai Yoter Mikulam,” which translates into “I have learned the most from my students.” Rabbi Malitzky teaches the “Matmidim” shiur, a Gemara elective for seniors. He is also the Director of Recruitment and the 10th Grade Dean. He also founded and runs Slapshots, a hockey summer camp.
Rabbi Luban and Rabbi Malitzky rotate among the four minyanim the shul hosts each Shabbos morning. Since coming to Ohr Torah, Rabbi Malitzky has started a shiur for 6th- to 8th-grade boys every Shabbos afternoon, 30 minutes before Mincha. He also hosts a program every other Thursday night, “Thursday Night Live,” which features refreshments followed by a shiur where they explore the minhagim of Shabbos on a deeper level. Rabbi Malitzky has also started a shiur once a month for 3rd- and 4th-grade boys and a women’s shiur as well.
“What’s beautiful about Edison/Highland Park is the community has a very wide religious spectrum of people with varying backgrounds and orientations but the Orthodox community is very integrated,” says Rabbi Luban. “The harmony begins with the rabbis. There is one vaad and the rabbis share a close relationship. In fact, many of the programs are done in conjunction with the other shuls. One example is Shavuos night where the rabbis crisscross the community and share each other’s pulpits. “That’s a statement of the achdus and unity that filters down to the entire community,” says Rabbi Luban.
Elie Salomon serves on the Ohr Torah board and shares, “Rabbi Malitzky is a gem that our shul was able to get as our Assistant Rabbi.” She too reflects on the inclusiveness of the community. “It’s got that small town feel and we have all different types of people who live in our community and everyone gets along.” She shared another example of this—a Melava Malka for the women of Edison/Highland Park that is held several times a year. All the women in the community get together. “When we participated in the Middlesex Challah Bake we didn’t enter by shul but as one unit.”
“What’s amazing about the community,” says Rabbi Malitzky, “is that it’s a very inclusive community. Our programs attract all types of people from not so observant to very observant. The people in this community are so genuine and so very down to earth. It’s a very diverse community but there is so much mutual respect. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s the ideal community to be able to live in and work in.”
For more information about Ohr Torah and the Highland Park/Edison community you can visit www.ohrtorah.net or email [email protected].
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
