Temple Ner Tamid

Rabbi Yossi ben Yocahanan of Jerusalem taught: "Let your house be open wide..." Pirkei Avot 1:5).

In so many ways, this has come to be the signature of Temple Ner Tamid. From our very beginning as the merger of Bloomfield's only two synagogues – Conservative Temple B'nai Zion and Reform Temple Menorah – and now enriched by Clifton's Beth Sholom Reform Temple, Temple Ner Tamid is a community in the truest sense of that word.

We believe that first and foremost a synagogue should be a place where one can explore Judaism along with other fellow travelers on the sacred road to spiritual discovery. And to this end we endeavor to make our house as open and as welcoming as possible. The result is an uncommonly diverse yet inclusive community. We are interfaith households. We are single adults. We are multi-racial and same-sex and blended families. We come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds yet we all share a common vision of a Judaism where all expressions can find a place at the table.

I have often likened Judaism to a ma'ayan, a well-spring. It is a source of intellectual and emotional and spiritual nourishment. Through the words of Torah we drink of wisdom and mitzvah challenging us to be more, inspiring us to transform the world into the place the Holy One had intended it to be. We see ourselves as Shitufei Elohim / partners with God in our dream of Tikkun Olam / repairing the world. At Ner Tamid the ma'ayan is as wide as it is deep.

Join us. Enter our doorway. Both here on this website as well as at 936 Broad Street. Maybe it's just a coincidence that our street address shares the same meaning at Rabbi Yossi's teaching, to be open wide. But then again, I don't really believe in coincidences.

Welcome to Temple Ner Tamid.