Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore (RSNS) | |
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Religion | |
Affiliation | Reconstructionist Judaism |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
Leadership |
|
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 1001 Plandome Road, Plandome, Long Island, New York 11030 |
Country | United States |
Location in Long Island | |
Geographic coordinates | 40°48′18″N73°42′25″W / 40.80500°N 73.70694°W |
Architecture | |
Founder | Rabbi Ira Eisenstein |
Date established | c. 1950s |
Completed | October 1993 |
Website | |
rsns |
The Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore (also known as RSNS) is a Reconstructionist Jewish synagogue located in the Incorporated Village of Plandome in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States.
The congregation was first founded as the Jewish Reconstructionist Society of New York in the 1950s by a group of socially-concerned and involved Jewish families. [2] One of the key founders of the congregation was Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, who would also serve as its rabbi. [3] [1]
In the 1970s, the society purchased an old mansion for $137,000 on Glenwood Road in Roslyn Harbor, New York with the intention of using it as a synagogue. [4] [5] [6] However, officials and residents in Roslyn Harbor refused to approve of the plans, citing issues with zoning, and the congregation ultimately took the matter to court. [7] [8]
The lawsuit proved unsuccessful, and in 1977, four nearby residents gave the congregation $30,000 to sell the building for use as nothing other than a residence. [9] [10] The mansion was sold, and the congregation then purchased and moved into the Roslyn Union Free School District's former Highland Elementary School in the nearby village of Roslyn Estates that same year. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
The congregation moved from the former Highland School in Roslyn to its current location in Plandome in October 1993, which is slightly northwest of Roslyn. [14] [15]
In 2007, antisemitic graffiti was found on the property. [15] [16] The hate incident shocked many congregants, as this was the first time the congregation was targeted at the Plandome location for 15 years at the time. [15] [16]
When services for the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were held virtually in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the temple made headlines when cardboard cutouts of congregants filled the seats in the sanctuary. [17] [18] The idea, which was first proposed by congregants Marvin and Barbara Schaffer, was inspired by the cardboard cutouts which the New York Mets filled the seats of Citi Field with. [17] [18]
The congregation is led by Rabbis Jodie Siff and Lee Friedlander, supported by Rabbi Emeritus, Ira Eisenstein. The cantor is Eric Schulmiller. [1]
Mordecai Menahem Kaplan was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein. He has been described as a "towering figure" in the recent history of Judaism for his influential work in adapting it to modern society, contending that Judaism should be a unifying and creative force by stressing the cultural and historical character of the religion as well as theological doctrine.
Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement based on the concepts developed by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983) that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization rather than just a religion. The movement originated as a semi-organized stream within Conservative Judaism, developed between the late 1920s and the 1940s before seceding in 1955, and established a rabbinical college in 1967. Reconstructionist Judaism is recognized by many scholars as one of the five major streams of Judaism in America alongside Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Humanistic.
Flower Hill is a village in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The eastern half is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Incorporated Village of Roslyn. Western and northern parts are more closely associated with Manhasset and Port Washington. The population was 4,794 at the time of the 2020 census.
Plandome is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Manhasset area, which is anchored by Manhasset. The population was 1,448 at the time of the 2020 census.
North Woodmere is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, New York, located in far western Nassau County on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Hempstead.
Humanistic Judaism is a Jewish movement that offers a nontheistic alternative to contemporary branches of Judaism. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people rather than a religion, and encourages Jews who are humanistic and secular to celebrate their identity by participating in relevant holidays and rites of passage with inspirational ceremonies that go beyond traditional literature while still drawing upon it.
Congregation Emanu-El of New York is the first Reform Jewish congregation in New York City. It has served as a flagship congregation in the Reform branch of Judaism since its founding in 1845. The congregation uses Temple Emanu-El of New York, one of the largest synagogues in the world.
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. RRC has an enrollment of approximately 80 students in rabbinic and other graduate programs.
Rabbi Ira Eisenstein was an American rabbi who, along with his mentor and—through his marriage to Judith Kaplan—father-in-law, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founded Reconstructionist Judaism over a period spanning the late 1920s through the 1940s. Reconstructionist Judaism formally became an independent denomination within Judaism with the foundation of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1968—for which Eisenstein served as founding president.
North Shore Central School District is a public school district in Nassau County, New York. It serves several villages and hamlets in the North Shore region of Long Island, specifically Glenwood Landing, Glen Head, Sea Cliff, Old Brookville, and parts of Greenvale and Roslyn Harbor. About 2,567 students attend North Shore schools. It has a single high school, North Shore High School.
Milton Steinberg was an American rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author.
Temple Beth Israel is a Reconstructionist synagogue located at 1175 East 29th Avenue in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. Founded in the early 1930s as a Conservative congregation, Beth Israel was for many decades the only synagogue in Eugene.
Eugene Kohn was an American Reconstructionist rabbi, writer and editor.
Anshe Emet Synagogue is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3751 North Broadway, in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Established in 1873, it is one of the oldest congregations in Chicago.
Judith Eisenstein was an author, musicologist, composer, theologian and the first person to celebrate a bat mitzvah publicly in America.
The Cow Neck Peninsula is a peninsula in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island.
The Manhasset Park District is a park district serving much of the Greater Manhasset area of Nassau County, Long Island, New York, United States. It is headquartered a 62 Manhasset Avenue, Manhasset, NY 11030.
Stonytown Road is a 1.32-mile road in the incorporated villages of Flower Hill, Plandome, and Plandome Manor in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It serves as a major east-west through street across the Cow Neck Peninsula, between Plandome Road and North Plandome Road to the west and Port Washington Boulevard to the east – as well as forming portions of municipal boundaries.
Plandome Road is a road in Manhasset and the incorporated villages of Plandome, Plandome Heights, and Plandome Manor in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It serves as a major north–south through street across the west side of the Cow Neck Peninsula, between Northern Boulevard to the south and Stonytown Road and North Plandome Road to the north, and is the main thoroughfare in downtown Manhasset.
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