2023 Fall Issue

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Temple Has Long History of Serving Jewish Community Story by BONNIE-LYNN NADZEIKA Photos by KAREN FUCITO On a warm summer Saturday morning in July, a few boats bobbed in the water at two docks on 15 Durban Ave. in Hopatcong. The property is not a residence. It is not a small marina. It is the home of the Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center. Its members, whether they came by boat, car or on foot, were gathering for Saturday morning services. Mark Levy, president of the synagogue, noted that services start at “10ish.” “People start coming in around 10, and everyone greets each other and chats before service, so we don’t really start exactly at 10,” said Levy. Levy has been a member since the 1950s. His family came from Brooklyn and spent summers at a bungalow in the Hopatcong Hills. They were one of many Jewish families that came to the lake to escape the city heat. Currently, there are 35 families registered as members, said Levy, adding that none have small children. Despite that, Levy said the congregation is thriving. Services throughout the year are led by Rabbi Richard Kirsch, a graduate of Yeshiva University who also works as a guidance counselor at Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston. Kirsch has led the Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center for nearly 20 years. Typically, the congregation meets every Saturday from the beginning of July through the High Holidays in the fall. For the remainder of the year, services are held monthly and some members who are not primary residents of the Lake Hopatcong area return in order to attend services. Since the service is traditional, there can be no photography, recording or note-taking, said Levy. “We have a three-part service,” Kirsch explained during a phone interview. “The first portion is a guided prayer, followed by a reading from the Torah and the third part is a conversation.” The service concludes with prayer. After a service, members often gather to break bread. Alma Staloff, a member of the congregation since 1977, described the kiddush, or meal, that follows. “Gathering together we say a blessing, drink wine and share the traditional challah bread. Kiddush allows us to be together and discuss the service of that day,” Staloff said. Food is brought by members who have purchased supplies from kosher markets. There may be egg salad, tuna fish, bagels or gefilte fish. “We also drink coffee, but not right now. Since COVID we’ve been having kiddush outside, and it’s too hot for coffee,” she said with a laugh. Ross and Lisa Breen have been members for six years. The couple began attending when their youngest son, Dylan, was in high school. They live in Teaneck, but also have a home in Hopatcong. “Everyone is very welcoming,” said Ross Breen. “Everyone knows each other, everyone enjoys each other’s company. You don’t get that at a larger temple.” Dylan Breen would often bring a group of his friends to the lake. Kirsch would bring students from Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School and together, the boys would have fun on the water but also participate in the service. “Dylan didn’t like to do Torah readings because he didn’t like public speaking,” recalled Lisa Breen. But the closeness of the small congregation and the support from his friends helped him to become more self-assured. “He went on to lead the service with confidence,” she said. The congregation dates back to the 1940s. Like so many other groups, Jews who were able to, wanted to get out of the cities during the hottest summer months. While Morris and Sussex counties never rivaled the famous “Borscht Belt” of Jewish resorts and communities in the Catskills, there was still a significant presence in Northern New Jersey. According to the book, “The Jews of Morris & Sussex: A Brief History and Source Guide,” Jews— mostly immigrants from Eastern Europe—started settling in the area after the Civil War. By the 1920s, several Jewish resort hotels had popped up in nearby Mount Freedom, part of Randolph. Between the 1930s and the 1940s, there were nine Jewish hotels and 30 bungalow colonies there. In 2015, the Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey presented the exhibit “My Summer Vacation,” which looked at Jewish summer communities in the state. The exhibition highlighted the prevalence of many Jews who came to the area each summer. Largely forgotten today, Jewish resorts in Morris and Sussex counties attracted the same population of city Jews seeking respite during the hottest months of the year. At Lake Hopatcong, Jewish hotels began popping up the 1920s and the lake became a gathering place for more and more Jews. According to a bulletin from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The National Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs of the United Synagogue held their annual spring conference at the Hotel Alamac from June 8 through June 10 in 1938. “Men’s clubs from Greater New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia will be part of the conference,” it read. By the 1940s, there was enough of a population to merit building a synagogue. Land was purchased for a synagogue in Hopatcong with the intent of creating a community center. A sign was placed on the property announcing the future location of the Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center. But as a result of anti- Semitism, the sign was burned down the same night and warnings were posted for Jews to “get out.” Undeterred, the group sold the land and purchased the Durban Avenue property, which was the site of the Grand View Hotel. The hotel was converted into the first Lake 26 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2023</strong> Left to right: One of two large stained-glass windows at the front of the synagogue. Mark Levy at a reading table. The original building, the old Grand View Hotel, circa 1950. Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center as seen from the lakeside. (Historic photo courtesy of Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center.)
Hopatcong Jewish Community Center. It was a busy time for the congregation, which was growing rapidly, reaching peak membership by the 1960s with more than 120 families. According to an article in the Lake Hopatcong Breeze in 1953, the center opened the allinclusive Lake Hopatcong Day Camp during the summer months. Levy attended the summer camp, first as a camper and then as a counselor. Camp was held on the grounds of the community center, Levy said, but the group also used local resources. “Bon Air Lodge had a huge baseball field, so we would play there several times a week. There was also a miniature golf course nearby that we went to,” Levy recalled. Horseback riding took place at the Triple Lake Ranch in Succasunna. At its height, Levy estimates there were about 60 children attending camp. He said the camp ceased to operate in the late 1960s. At the same time, the congregation was planning a new building, having outgrown the old hotel. The property next door was purchased and by 1971, the new Lake Hopatcong Jewish Community Center opened. The new building and the old hotel coexisted on the property for a couple of years before the hotel was demolished, said Levy. With gathering spaces and a large sanctuary, the architecture of the 15,000-square-foot building was very contemporary for the time. Inside, the sanctuary has a 40-foot-high ceiling that is supported by massive wooden arches. Floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows adorn the altar, which sits on the lakeside of the sanctuary. These windows were designed and installed by artist Sol Nadel, who worked under the tutelage of world-famous artist Marc Chagall. There are also smaller stained-glass windows along each side wall of the sanctuary. In accordance with the traditional and Orthodox Jewish communities, the human image is not portrayed in artwork, including stainedglass windows. Instead, what catches the eye is a brilliant blue bird, the head of a ram and the distinct cluster of stone houses hidden within an array of red, yellow and orange geometric shapes. Along the right side of the building, the smaller windows depict five of the 10 commandments, giving representation to Moses. As in many Christian churches, some of the windows are dedicated to the memory of former members. Levy had a window each dedicated to his deceased parents: his mother, Anne, and his father, Samuel. Equally important to the imagery of the stained-glass windows, said member Staloff, is the view of the lake from the central hall windows. “I see people come out after service and just stare out the window at the lake. I do it very often myself. There is something very centering about the view and no other synagogue has that,” Staloff said. SEPTIC SYSTEMS INSTALLED AND REPAIRED PUMPING AVAILABLE • RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL • SITE WORK • FILL DIRT • TRUCKING 973-663-2142 • 973-713-8020 CELL lakehopatcongnews.com 27
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2023 Fall Issue

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