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
OD L
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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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
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
synagogue is still off ering those
options for congregants.

Book man
described Cooper’s
legacy thusly:
“Building community, warmth
and camaraderie. It’s more
than a house of prayer. Our
synagogue is the cornerstone
of many people’s lives.”
But progressiveness cannot
overcome age.

Pushing 70, Cooper said
he wants to spend more time
with his three children and
seven grandchildren. He also
hopes to engage the hobbies
he’s neglected for years: music,
woodworking and gardening.

Th ese are the desires of
a man who wants to retire,
not one who stands ready to
address the myriad challenges
of modern Jewry.

Th is has been coming for
some time: Five years ago, he
decided with fellow synagogue
leaders that he would retire at
the end of this contract.

“It was never my intention
to do this until I die,” Cooper
said. In retirement, the rabbi and
his wife, Lori, will split their
time between Wynnewood
and Israel. Th ey have one
daughter and one grand-
child here, and two children
and six grandchildren in the
Holy Land.

As he looks ahead, the rabbi
is content with the status of his
synagogue. But he’s clear on
the diffi cult path ahead for his
successor. Th ose challenges for modern
Jewry? Th ey are manifold,
according to Cooper.

A younger rabbi, he said,
must engage a younger gener-
ation that is uncertain about
religion. He or she needs to
bridge the expanding gap
between American Jews and
Israel. Th e next rabbi also
has to welcome the growing
LGBTQ+ community.

Rabbi Neil Cooper, center, wearing baseball hat, with congregants at a recent event
Courtesy of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El
More than anything,
though, Cooper believes the
new leader must show inter-
married Jews that staying
Jewish is still important.

“Th ere needs to be a sense
of importance and urgency,”
he said.

Bookman is confi dent that
the temple will continue to
thrive even aft er their longtime
rabbi steps down.

“We’re a well-respected
synagogue,” she said. “We
have a wonderful school
and community.”
Th e pandemic didn’t change
that, she added.

“Even though people
couldn’t be together, we felt
that sense of closeness.” ●
jsaff ren@jewishexponent.com;
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...to be continued
AUGUST 19, 2021
5