GROUNDBREAKING DAY

What a fantastic day it was!

Picture this: a hot sunny June day; a white tent crowded with members, children, friends, guests, and reporters; a "Bima" with Rabbi Schechter, Karen Cuttler, Sharon Knoller, Rabbi Simon, Rev. Rozzelle, and Rev. Dutcher sitting on it; and refreshment tables at the other end.

Everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. As the crowd gathered, we greeted friends and guests, including some from an earlier era.

Rabbi Charles ("Chuck") Simon, who had guided us through our earliest years, gave a few remarks during the ceremony. His many friends were happy to see him again.

Former members Susan and John Harris were also greeted warmly. John chanted the Kol Nidre in his beautiful tenor voice for our first two High Holy Day services.

We were very pleased to have our architect, Milton Klein, and his wife Milly with us. Our appreciation for his work was expressed in the program.

Several clergy of our community turned out. Rev. Stephen Rozzelle of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Rev. David Dutcher of Bishop Janes UMC spoke briefly and we felt honored by their participation We were also delighted to welcome Rabbi "Mendy" Herson of the Chabad, Rev. Glenn Murphy of the Millington Baptist church, Rev. Steve McConnell of the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church, Rev. Robert Kuppler of the Somerset Hills Lutheran Church and Rabbi Amy Levenson of Beth Hatikvah in Chatham Twp,

Somerset County Freeholder Peter Palmer attended, as did Marianne Portway of AT&T. Central Federation V.P. Richard Knoller, father of our Sharon Knoller, made another of his frequent and welcome visits. Daniel Nadelmann represented the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties.

Rabbi Schechter opened the brief ceremony with a prayer, and later led us in responsive reading. Karen Cuttler, gave a brief history of the congregation as she introduced each guest speaker. Thelma Goldfinger, our honored founding member, spoke with great feeling and named all the members of the original study group. In closing, she looked forward to being present when the Torahs are carried into their new home. Then, looking ahead, Karen recounted the many reasons that we need this new building. Sharon Knoller, our cantorial soloist, led us in singing Holy Place". Cantor Riki Lippitz (wife of Rabbi Schechter) accompanied us on the guitar.

After Karen introduced the goundbreakers, we all moved across the driveway. We sang the Shehechayanu, and then put our shovels into the ground. Thelma dug first, followed by Karen Cuttler, Diane Newman, Nancy Novack, Harold Small and Ron Feller. A horde of small children also dug in, using their souvenir shovels, which Beth Raff had just distributed. (Great idea, Beth!) Cameras clicked, camcorders whirred, and we all sang a hearty "Simun Tov and Mazel Tov". What was there left to do, except eat?

Helene Troum and Diane Newman had arranged tables of tempting desserts, baked by members of the congregation. Tubs of cold drinks were rapidly depleted. Beth Raff provided Dixie cups for the children, with enough left over for us big kids.

We give a huge "Thank You" to Tina Levine, who did the layout of our beautiful printed program. The cover showed an aerial perspective view of the new building and there was a floor plan inside. Governor Christie Whitman’s letter of congratulations and good wishes was included. A list of contributors to the Capital Campaign was accompanied by an invitation to all other members to "put your name on this list".

Beth Raff and Amy Frankel, who handled our publicity, arranged for several advance news articles. Reporters and photographers were present from the Bernardsville News, and three Jewish publications. Donna Weinstein took photos, and Chuck Silverstein took videos. A photo album will be put together to go into our future library.

Rob Stier set up the sound system, with three speakers under the tent. He later moved microphones and a speaker over to the groundbreaking location.

Dubrow’s nursery mowed some very tall grass to prepare the grounds, and dressed up the area around our sign with new plantings. The sign showed up nicely in published photographs, as did Rabbi Schechter, Karen Cuttler, and Ron Feller.

Allan Klein’s bulldozer/back loader was parked in the groundbreaking area. He had used it earlier to fill the large potholes in our driveway.

Thanks to other members of the congregation who also helped: Zachary Cuttler, Scott Miller, Nancy and Bob Novack, Maureen Joachim, Ron Ellowitz, and the Weinstein clan.

And finally, I want to thank the people who helped to create this program. Rabbi Schechter, Cantor Lippitz, Karen Cuttler, Ron Feller, Diane Newman, Nancy Novack, Helene Troum, Beth Raff, and Connie Moore all provided ideas which helped shape the final result. I especially want to thank Connie for her total commitment to this project.

Harold Small

Chairman, Groundbreaking Day.

Congregation B'nai Israel-Somerset Hills Jewish Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 237
Basking Ridge, New Jersey 07920
908 204-1412