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Congregation Kol Ami in Cherry Hill
Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
A cross the Philadelphia area,
Reform synagogues are
losing members, considering
moves and mergers and wondering
how to attract younger members.

But in Cherry Hill, this process
is already playing out. Two Reform
synagogues, M’kor Shalom and Temple
Emanuel, saw their memberships
decline from more than 1,000 people
to less than 350. Then they considered
a unifi cation and went through with it
last June.

Today, almost a year since they
moved in together to Emanuel’s
home on Springdale Road, they are
not wondering how to attract younger
members. They are doing it.

Congregation Kol Ami, the unifi ed
synagogue’s new name, which means
“voice of my people,” has welcomed
100 new families since the move.

Those new households were not a
part of “either legacy congregation,”
said an email from Kol Ami’s public
relations team.

They are not all young either, accord-
ing to Kol Ami Rabbi Jennifer Frenkel.

Some are seniors. Others are in their
50s. But for the most part, they are
adults moving to South Jersey for
jobs, families who want to start their
8 MARCH 23, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
children in Kol Ami’s Early Childhood
Center and families who want to give
their kids a proper Jewish education in
the temple’s religious school. They are
households from Cherry Hill, Voorhees,
Marlton, Medford, Moorestown and
Cinnaminson. Some come from as far
as the shore.

But regardless of who they are or
where they come from, what they are
looking for is the same: a Reform Jewish
community. And Kol Ami is now the
only one in a township with thousands
of Jewish residents. It is also one of
the only local Reform options, along-
side Congregation Adath Emanu-El in
Mount Laurel, according to the Jewish
Federation of Southern New Jersey.

“There’s defi nitely those practical
elements of, ‘My child is reaching
religious school age, and we need to
educate him or her.’ There are trans-
actional, specifi c needs, and then
there’s the more general needs,” Kol
Ami Co-President Drew Molotsky said.

“People are looking for community,
other people who share interests and
clergy guidance and partnership at
diff erent stages of their lives.”
Cecilia Connor, 38, lives in
Haddonfi eld, about 10 minutes from Kol
Ami, with her husband Nick and their
three children. The Connor parents
grew up in interfaith families and were
not synagogue members. But they
Courtesy of Congregation Kol Ami
Photo by Jarrad Saff ren
Merged Cherry Hill Synagogue
Attracting Young Families
Congregation Kol Ami members
were “brought up in the Jewish culture”
by their Jewish mothers, according to
Cecilia Connor. So, as they got older,
the parents decided that they wanted
Judaism to be a part of their kids’ lives.

They also wanted a Jewish community
outside of their secular neighborhood
and school system in Haddonfi eld.

“We value the Jewish tradition and
having Jewish heritage be a part of our
kids’ lives. It’s about knowing where
they came from and who their ances-
tors are,” she said.

Cecilia Connor had already heard
about Temple Emanuel from a neigh-
bor. The newly-formed Kol Ami was the
closest option. The Connors enrolled
their daughter in the synagogue’s
summer camp last year and then joined
as a family. By the fall, their daughter
and son were students in the ECC.

Today, the family attends preschool
activities, tot Shabbats, candy bingo
nights and the Purim carnival.

“Most of the friends we’ve made
have been through our kids, but it’s
been nice to make those friendships as
well,” Cecilia said.

Adam and Ahlise Greenbaum,
both 47, live in Cherry Hill with their
8-year-old son. Adam Greenbaum
grew up in a Conservative synagogue
in upstate New York. His father had
grown up Orthodox, but he decided on
a diff erent path for his family.

“Secular but with Jewish beliefs,” the
son said. “It was more about under-
standing Judaism and the values it
instills than simply following traditions
we don’t fully understand.”
Now the Greenbaums want to raise
their son with the same values. They
heard about Temple Emanuel from
Ahlise Greenbaum’s OB-GYN before
their son was even born. Then Ahlise
Greenbaum, who is not Jewish, took
an introduction to Judaism class with
Emanuel’s rabbi, Jerome P. David, now
retired, before the unifi cation last year.

By August, the parents had enrolled
their boy in religious school at Kol Ami.

“Our son attends religious school.

We do the events that come with that,
and we attend the occasional service,”
Adam Greenbaum said.

Late in February, about 100 congre-
gants attended Kol Ami’s weekly
Shabbat service. A few years ago,
that would have been a great crowd,
according to Molotsky. But in 2023,
it’s a little light. The Friday night crowd
“skews older for sure,” he said. But if
there’s a bar or bat mitzvah weekend
starting up, which there is most Fridays,
young families come.

“Unifi cation has really turned out to
be everything we hoped it would be,”
Molotsky said. ■
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com