Page 13 - Microsoft Word - Flip Pages Book of Life Aug 30 2016 final v1.docx

Steve Grumbach
I was born and raised in Bay Ridge Brooklyn and Staten Island NY. I was Bar Mitzvah’d in the Bay Ridge Jewish Center where my grandfather was a founding member and my parents had the first wedding ever held in their new ballroom and sanctuary.
Between HS and college I lost a bit of my desire for a synagogue. After college, I would go to High Holiday services at various places with friends, and go back to BRJC occasionally.
I married outside the religion, and wanted to have a temple to call my own. After my wife and I moved to Readington during the summer of 1993, I went looking for a congregation. On Rosh Hashanah, I attended services at a prominent congregation in the area. No one welcomed me, or made any effort to make me feel part of the community. Before Yom Kippur, I heard about this congregation called Or Chadash that did not have a permanent home but rotated between the Allerton Church for regular services and a church in Clinton for the High Holidays.
I walked into the church, by myself, and was immediately greeted by David Moutner and Susan Albert. They made me feel comfortable and instantly welcome. Rabbi Steinbrink was approachable and down to earth. I knew this was the congregation I wanted to join. So we did.
My wife, Sage, wanted to learn a bit more about the Jewish religion so she attended an intro to Judaism Course at Or Chadash with Rabbi Siroka. My boys, Gary and Cole, were both named at the congregation, and even though they did not continue a formal Jewish education, they have both attended services and temple events over the years, and got a good feel for the religion, which was very important to me. I was there when our present building was imagined and constructed.
Or Chadash is a very special and unique congregation. All are welcome and all are respected. Keeping that spirit alive for future generations is the reason that I joined the Or Chadash Legacy Circle and I hope you do too.