By Cindy J. Roth
MJC, the spiritual home of the Jewish community in Malverne, is celebrating its 50th anniversary all year long, with special events that reflect on the past and serve as a guide for the future.
When MJC was founded, it held daily services at the American Legion Hall and its High Holiday services at St. Thomas Church. The congregation broke ground at its current location on Norwood Avenue on June 6, 1954, and since then has made a name for itself in the Jewish community. MJC is know as a friendly place where nobody counts the amount of money in another's pocket and getting involved isn't for the prestige, but rather to give back from a place that has changed people's lives.
"We're the best-kept secret," said Rabbi Michael Singer. "You can get tired of the politics and the mishegoss, but here you really get to learn and grow. There is no high pressure here. We're a little more laid back."
When the temple was first conceived, there were few Jewish families in the Malverne area. Over the years, membership grew to the point where there were more than 150 families and 400 children in Hebrew school. But as snowbirds moved out of the area and sold their homes to non-Jewish families, the congregation shrank. It currently consists of only 95 families and one child in Hebrew school, but temple members say the close-knit feeling that has emerged as a result has its benefits.
"They kind of live their lives here," said Singer of the congregants. "Simchas, losses, friends they've made. The synagogue is built on relationships and community-centered thinking."
However, members know that in order to survive, they need to recruit new members, and that is the goal for the future. "Everyone knows MJC. They are beginning to know more of it with Rabbi Singer and [President] Herb Brodsky," said Elayne Agatstein, charter member, board of trustees member and director of publicity for MJC. "They are putting us back on the map. [The goal now is] keeping it alive and vibrant and increasing membership and awareness of who we are. Our goal is to go forward and keep it going and to get people to come."
The temple is using its year-long 50th anniversary celebration as a way to draw new members. Singer, 28, who started at MJC two years ago, said he sees only great things for Malverne. "No other place has as much potential as this place to shape and do," he said. "This place understands what a community is. I see great potential in Malverne. It's our job in the next couple of years to rebuild the community."
For a small congregation, the MJC's is very active. There are about a dozen committees planning events for the temple. With Singer's ideology being, "Teach as much as you can, teach all the time," the temple holds classes on conservative Judaism, Jewish literacy, Yiddish, a book-of-the-month club, a Shabbat afternoon study group and Jewish creative writing and art classes. The synagogue also brings in speakers and collects food for a local pantry. The United Synagogue's Metropolitan Council, which oversees the conservative movement, awarded MJC first place for its educational programs, newsletter and Web site, www.malvernejc.org.
"This place has dynamo potential. It's a Jewish center. It's a center of Jewish learning," said Singer, who graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary in May and is also a lieutenant junior-grade chaplain in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps reserves. "We're up to date. We're traditional but at the same time we have the newest books. I want to turn the traditional on its head and teach people the meaning behind things so they are not just coming to services and saying prayers and not knowing what they really mean."
Brand new prayer books published by the conservative movement have more gender-neutral language and more directions to make services easier to follow. MJC members are used to evolving, as the congregation has become egalitarian over the years, meaning that men and women are considered equals. Women have alias and bat mitzvahs, and the temple even has a female cantor.
MJC has a nursery school that is non-denominational. The temple also takes part in a joint Hebrew School at B'nai Shalom in Rockville Centre with other temples in West Hempstead and Rockville Centre. Singer said he believes not having an in-house Hebrew school is more of an advantage than a disadvantage, since he is able to convince families to send their children to conservative day schools in the area, which MJC helps subsidize.
The congregants understand that not only two parents raise a child, but rather a community, and temple members are always trying to help one another out. The synagogue's HUGS (Help Us Give Support) committee is one example that reminds members that they are never alone at MJC.
"The temple is very, very outgoing," said Brodsky, who has been a member since 1978. "It's a place where people genuinely care about each other. There aren't cliques. The active members are ones that are open and friendly, and it's a nice feeling. You have more of a coming together, because as a community gets smaller, people become closer. You can't just be a taker, you have to give."
For the 50th anniversary, old rabbis and cantors have been invited back, and a series of events will be capped by a giant celebration in November.
"It's a great place to start, but a wonderful place to stay," said Singer.
