synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Old York Road Temple-Beth Am
Old York Road Temple-Beth Am
Celebrates 75th Anniversary
B orn right aft er World War II in
1947, just as Reform Judaism in
the United States was growing
into its modern, suburban form, Old
York Road Temple-Beth Am came of
age with the times.

It started as “a small but dedicated
group of families” who held High
Holiday services at the Abington
YMCA, according to the synagogue’s
history section on its website. But the
congregation bought its property on
Old York Road in 1950 and grew to
include 1,000 households by the 2000s.

Rabbis came and rabbis stayed. First,
Harold Waintrup from 1951 to 1992,
and then Robert Leib from 1989 to the
present day.

Members came, and they stayed,
too. Mark Lopatin, 65, joined in 1994
and said simply, “Th e synagogue is so
homey.” Larry Kane, the locally famous news
anchor, arrived at the temple in 1977 and
called it “a very diff erent kind of place.”
“I can tell you there’s just a sense
of belonging and friendship,” Kane
added. Th e newsman, now 79, was speak-
ing in the present tense when he said
that. By all accounts, Old York Road
Temple-Beth Am is still a place where
members want to stay.

And on Nov. 12, they may just stay
all night. Th at Saturday, the commu-
nity will celebrate its 75th anniversary
with a cocktail hour, dinner, dance and
silent auction. But mainly, congregants
are going to dance.

“Am I going to dance? I intend to,”
said Lopatin, who is chairing the gala
with his wife Suzan.

Leib will also let go and cut a rug, he
claims. But not until he lives up to his
role and puts the entire evening into
perspective fi rst.

“Th ere’s a sense of continuity and
stability,” he said. “Th at feeling of Beth
Am really being their second home.”
Today, that feeling persists, but it is
also fading as the congregation shrinks.

32 Old York Road Temple-Beth Am is not
immune from the illness infecting all
Philadelphia area synagogues in 2022
— the illness of declining faith.

Rabbi Leib acknowledged that the
community still needs to update the
congregant number, more than 650,
listed in the history section on its web-
site. Th e real fi gure is down to more
like 550 households.

As the rabbi said, more than 500
households is “nothing to scoff at.” But
it’s also nearly a 50% decline in less
than two decades.

Leib, though, refused to call the
trend a decline. Instead, he labeled it
a “generational demographic slump.”
He does not necessarily believe that
Old York Road Temple-Beth Am will
become a 1,000-household congrega-
tion again.

But he does believe it will “survive.”
“I’m not prepared to accept that
the proverbial writing is on the wall,”
Leib said.

Th e temple off ered 250 tickets to
the 75th-anniversary celebration to
the community, and the event sold
out quickly. Lopatin said the gala has
already raised between $135,000 and
$140,000, with a silent auction still to
go. All proceeds will go toward the
future of the synagogue.

Th e congregation, according to Leib,
includes “a substantial number” of
three-generation families and even a
few four-generation families. Lopatin
and Kane stayed involved with their
wives long aft er their children fi nished
their preschool and Jewish educations.

As a newsman, Kane is used to put-
ting things into perspective. He said the
congregation’s staying power is rooted
in a partnership between devoted
members and charismatic leaders.

Congregants are friendly to each
other; you feel at home as soon as
you walk in; and you do not just walk
in on the High Holidays. And Rabbi
Waintrup, Kane explained, “was a
giant.” He could make connections
with kids and adults. He used to tell
the news anchor that he watched him
“religiously.” Th e old rabbi’s sermons
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Old York Road Temple-Beth
Am challah ladies
Young congregants
celebrate the Jewish new
year at Old York Road
Temple-Beth Am.

were also “high-level” and “motivated
by the times of the day.”
Kane met Leib for the fi rst time at a
Sunday morning breakfast in 1989. He
called the moment exciting because he
noticed a lot of the same qualities in the
younger man, just with a South African
accent. Leib immigrated to the United
States aft er conscientiously objecting
to military service in his home coun-
try. He did not want to support South
Africa’s apartheid regime.

“You reach a point in life where you
realize the value of people of hon-
esty, integrity, quality, people who care
about others,” Kane said. “Th e two of
these men were into their work and
sensitive and caring.”
Leib is committed to keeping the
temple open and thriving. He says his
congregants are, too.

“By virtue of being an open, welcom-
ing and inclusive Jewish community to
all,” he said. “Th rough sheer grit and
determination to make sure that at all
costs our doors remain open.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Courtesy of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER