Adath Israel Congregation was founded on October 15, 1923 in Trenton, New Jersey. We have a number of events planned to celebrate the incredible milestone of our 100th Anniversary.
View the calendar of 100th Anniversary events
View the gallery from our Adath at 100 Music Review Concert
From the Archives
Throughout our 100th Anniversary year Rabbi Adler will be sharing some important moments from Adath’s history contained in the Linder Archives at the synagogue.
The Hasidic Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger, who died in 1905, wrote:
In the soul of every person there lies a hidden point that is aflame with the love of God, a fire that cannot be put out. Even though ‘it may not be put out’ here refers to a prohibition, it is also a promise. Thus our sages said, ‘Even though fire descends from heaven, it is a commandment to bring it from a common source. (Sefat Emet on Vayikra, Tzav 3:23)
The message of Rabbi Yehuda, known by the title of his work, Sefat Emet, is that we must not put out the fire of tradition, but at the same time, we should understand the promise that the fire will never go out because of our commitment. The challenge of living a Jewish life in modern times is that we all have the choice to opt out, to just say we are not interested in Judaism. We speak about keeping the flame of Judaism alive, but at the same time, that isn’t the best argument for why be Jewish. To say, “I am involved because that is what my parents and grandparents did” is not a strong positive message. Judaism may have mattered to them, but why does it matter to us?