Temple Avodah in Oceanside named Elliot Shulman its Person of the Year and Richard and Arlene Fromewick were recognized as honorees during the temple’s Bob Harwood Memorial Golf Classic and Honoree Dinner on June 9.
Shulman, who has been associated with the temple for about 20 years, became deeply involved in many of the synagogue’s programs during the last five years. The Fromewicks have been members of the temple for 43 years and have been very generous in their support of it.
The annual event was named after Harwood, a temple treasurer who also was very generous in his support and deeply involved in its activities.
Shulman, a retired national sales manager and computer teacher, has been involved in most of the temple’s programs and serves as its go-to person for tech support.
“I retired about seven or eight years ago,” Shulman said. “And that’s when my wife said, ‘You better do something with your time,’ and I got involved with Temple Avodah.”
“You could say he practically lives here,” Stew Gubenko, co-chairman of the event, said. “We’re honoring him as Person of the Year for what he does every single solitary year for us. If you need it, he’s there to do it.”
Shulman has worked with Temple Avodah Rabbi Shai Beloosesky on Shabbat for the Soul, Shabbat on the Beach, Havdalah for the Soul and other programs.
“A unique person,” the rabbi said of Shulman. “What does it mean, unique? It’s above and beyond — a man with a big heart and, at the same time, a very modest person.”
Shabbat on the Beach is held in a relaxed atmosphere that brings in the younger generation. Shabbat for the Soul is a similar program, but taking place in the temple, which drew 170 people the last time it was held. Attendees shared space in a circle and sang songs with musicians, prayed and expressed themselves.
“A lot of feeling things,” Shulman said. “Letting people connect with themselves, which is really the basis of all religion, connecting to yourself.”
During Shabbat on the Beach in Long Beach, Shulman said the youngest children and families were playing in the sand — a very different vibe than what Shulman experienced in temple as a child.
“I grew up in a conservative-orthodox family, and you have to do this prayer, that prayer, the other prayer,” Shulman said. “It never really connected with me. As soon as I could sort of get out of it, I did. This place, the way we’re doing things, it does connect with me. It fills a need. I feel like it’s something that, because we don’t really preach to anybody about what they should or shouldn’t do, it’s just very open and very freeing.”
Temple Avodah frequently hosts movie nights with socially relevant films, and is frequently involved with the LGBT Network. The Network is a non-profit organization that is a home and voice for LGBT people, their families, and support systems of Long Island and Queens.
“It’s more a feeling that we want to have here, that we do have here, of just being open and welcoming and friendly — like a family,” Shulman said. “Our motto is, ‘However you define your family, we welcome you to ours.’ ... We’re open to everybody and everybody is treated equally. It’s something that we take a lot of pride in.”
While Shulman golfed that day, the Fromewicks did not. Richard Fromewick, an attorney, was president of the temple 35 years ago, and Arlene is a retired teacher.
“This is what stabilizes the community, having people involved in charitable enterprises doing good for the community,” Richard said.
The Fromewicks enjoyed having their friends and relatives present to recognize what they’ve given to the temple.
“Because we get everybody together, all aspects of our life, from friends and relatives and spiritual leaders,” Richard said, “so it shows people how to stay involved and make friends and be committed to doing good.”
“It’s a wonderful thing,” Arlene said.
When Rabbi Beloosesky describes the Fromewicks, one word comes to mind — generosity.
“Generosity from the bottom of the heart,” Beloosesky said. “For everything, any education program, they will stand first to support it, secular and religious. What you’re giving to the next generation, it’s by them.”
This marked the fifth active year the event has been celebrated.
“It started where we had 50 golfers and maybe 80 people the first year,” Gubenko said. “And now we have almost 100 golfers and 240 people attending dinner.”
While the size of the celebration has changed since 2019, with a couple years off because of Covid, the spirit of the event has not. After serving as temple treasurer for many years, Harwood died about nine years ago, and this annual event was created shortly after that.
“We wanted to create a theme where there are people in this temple, whether their benevolence is there, or what they do for the temple, it follows in the theme of what Bob did,” Gubenko said. “And that’s why we honor his memory every year.”
