Expressway: A sense of loss as a temple community moves on

Temple Beth Elohim in Old Bethpage recently closed and the building and land have been put up for sale. This beautiful synagogue, once alive with people and tradition, where countless important religious and family events have taken place, has gone silent. A decline in membership and a change in the demographics of the area led to a decision to merge the congregation with that of North Shore Synagogue in Syosset. Although this is a positive outcome in one way, in another it is very sad.

That the building will eventually become something else is hard to grasp because I have deep roots there. My mother and father, Morton and Elaine Fass, were one of the original 18 families that established this Reform congregation in 1955. The first services were held at the Plainview Methodist Church because the group did not have a building of its own. Later, the congregation bought a piece of land. A sales office building purchased from a real estate developer was set up on concrete blocks for the temple. In 1959, my brother received his bar mitzvah in that building and most of the temple members came to our backyard for a celebration. I wore a beautiful homemade dress for the occasion.

My mother became the very first president of sisterhood and worked on many committees. She also sang in the choir. Through her devotion to the temple, she made Judaism come alive for our family by practicing all the rituals and making sure we celebrated every holiday, with all the accompanying foods and traditions throughout the year.

My brother and I both attended religious school and every Sunday morning, like it or not, we had to get up early and go to class. All of my friends slept late or played outside, but I had to go to school. I guess I hated that part but, I learned to read Hebrew there, an ability I take great pride in today. I was a part of the youth group and sang in the junior choir.

In 1959, there was a groundbreaking for a new sanctuary. And a few years later, in that new building, I stood nervously in front of the congregation, first on Friday night to light the candles and on Saturday morning to become a Bat Mitzvah.

Year after year at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, my brother and I were excited to hear and see the blowing of the shofar. The rabbi's special sermons connected us to God, the world at large and to Israel. Always, his words made you think; at times, they might help you resolve a problem in your life.

One day several weeks ago, my mother drove into the temple's empty parking lot to get information on the new location, only to find the doors locked and no one around. Turning away in disappointment, she stepped into the Garden of Remembrance and sat down on the bench to cry.

In retrospect, Beth Elohim was the source of my Jewish identity. Sharing a sense of community, learning moral values and the meaning of charity toward others, feeling the warmth of belonging -- these are irreplaceable memories.

The day my mother left the parking lot of the temple, she knew she was leaving behind an era. I feel that great sense of loss as well.

Reader Ellen Fass Greenspan lives in Bay Shore.