H eadlines
Wynnewood Rabbi Neil Cooper to Step Down
L OCA L
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
Ahm in New Jersey. At that
time, he was the young rabbi
who understood the challenges
of the next generation.

“The synagogue was a
fortress to protect the Jewish
community from the encroach-
ment of secular society,”
Cooper explained. “You did
that by creating a place where
people felt comfortable.”
Building a preschool was often
the key initiative for synagogues
in the ’90s. But Temple Beth
M LE
OO LAB
DR AI
BE V
2 TS A
I UN
N M OW
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EL EA
S SIN
OP G
EN !
ANOTHER LOCAL RABBI
will be stepping away from the
pulpit after decades of service.

Rabbi Neil Cooper of
Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El in
Wynnewood said the following
about his decision to leave in
June 2022:
“It’s time.”
Cooper, 68, started at
Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El
in 1991. The Conservative
congregation grew from 600 to
700 families during his three
decades. But he’s stepping aside
now to make way for a younger
rabbi. “The challenges that are
ahead for the American-
Jewish community require
new thinking and leadership,”
Cooper said.

He came to Wynnewood
after nine years at Temple Beth
UPPE R DU BLI N
! Rabbi Neil Cooper and his wife, Lori Photo by Eli Nachmani of Sabra Studios
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JEWISH EXPONENT
Hillel-Beth El already had one
that was thriving. So Cooper’s
job, as he put it, was to maintain
the status quo and, gradually,
add to it.

Cooper attached a new day
care center and a program for
special needs kids to the existing
preschool. About 20 years ago,
he raised $400,000 to build a
community-run mikvah. It’s
still one of the only mikvahs in
the Philadelphia area.

Around the same time,
Cooper helped raise several
million dollars to complete
a building expansion. The
project added a whole second
building to Beth Hillel-Beth
El’s existing structure, and
included a new chapel, offices
and a dozen classrooms.

Cooper also revamped
the synagogue’s membership
categories around a patron
model. Several hundred
top-paying supporters started
giving money at the begin-
ning of the year, instead of
throughout it. That gave the
organization more cash flow
to work with as the calendar
went on.

“We have a thriving
synagogue in a difficult time
for Conservative synagogues,”
said Barbara Bookman, the
synagogue president.

As Bookman explained,
Cooper’s projects were effective
because he established an open
and welcoming culture.

The United States in 2021,
and the American-Jewish
community, is clearly different
than it was in 1991, and Cooper
adjusted with the times.

Nowadays, a large propor-
tion of Jewish marriages are
interfaith unions, and Cooper
has welcomed interfaith
couples. He also officiates gay
and lesbian weddings if both
people are Jewish.

And when the pandemic
broke out in March 2020,
Cooper pivoted to Zoom
and livestream services; the
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