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MRT is pleased and proud to have Jay Goldberg Trustee of the temple this year.  Jay brings his warm personality, his commitment to the temple as well as his 30 year experience as a Financial Advisor to his position as Chairperson of the House committee. Jay is a  Retirement Planning Specialist with Axa Advisors in their Woodbridge, New Jersey branch. Jay and his charming wife, Ellen, have been members of MRT for many years. Their two sons, Joshua, who is 25 and in the solar power business,  and Jeremy, who is 22 and a singer, musician and rock star,  have grown up in our temple. Both Jay and Ellen enjoy numerous, close friendships with other temple members.  Jay enjoys being a board member so that he can give his time, passion and efforts back to our MRT community.  When you see Jay at temple, please feel free to introduce yourself to him. He looks forward to chatting with you.

 By Rachel Placitella

Eleanor Rubin is in a unique position among MRT congregants because she is the chair of two different committees – Adult Education and Israel. In seeing first-hand Eleanor’s active involvement in these two positions, I was eager to learn more about her life and previous involvements.

Eleanor initially became interested in MRT by attending the Arts Festival. MRT’s welcoming environment, the ambassador program, our clergy, and programs offered all contributed to Eleanor becoming a member in 2011.

Eleanor was an elementary school teacher in Livingston, NJ for several years. Wanting to become more involved in Jewish areas and activities, she received a Masters Degree from Seton Hall University in Judeo-Christian studies. Her thesis research was to examine different religious communities’ responses to the needs of the elderly. Her finding was that the Jewish community was far ahead of other religions in providing eldercare, and since then this has been her focus.

In the mid-1980’s Eleanor helped start the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers. These managers assure that their elderly clients and families properly receive the medical, legal, social, safety and home care services needed for a better quality of life.

Eleanor’s proudest accomplishment was being the local chair of the National Council of Jewish Women. The primary goals of this organization are social justice and concern for the safeguarding of rights and liberties for women, children and families.

Eleanor feels her most interesting achievement was serving as president of the Jewish Federation of Central NJ in the early 2000’s. After the Federation received an $18 million endowment, Eleanor and her staff helped steer much of that funding to businesses in the developing Negev region of Israel, where obtaining standard loans was quite difficult. And, during her time as president, she also greatly increased home and hospital visitations provided by the Federation.

Eleanor’s goals as committee chair are the following:

• Adult Ed – to provide a variety of interesting and educational events for congregants and members of the community of all ages – through discussion, film, lectures, music – and to include more morning and afternoon programs so that those who prefer daytime programs can find it easier to attend.
• Israel – to provide reliable and knowledgeable information to congregants about both the successes and challenges of daily life in Israel. Eleanor is able to provide personal insights as her son and daughter-in-law have lived in Israel for 30 years, along with 5 of her 9 grandchildren and both her great-grandchildren.

I am very glad for two things – that I got to learn much more about Eleanor Rubin and that she is a talented and valuable member of our MRT family.

 By Harry Hillson

Marjorie (Margie) Wold is a stalwart supporter of the temple and all things Jewish. Margie got her Jewish start as a young girl growing up on Long Island. Although Margie has two sisters, they are both much older (10 and 14 years), so Margie grew up much like an only child.

Margie’s temple life experiences mirror what happened here at Monmouth Reform Temple. When Margie was 9, her family moved to Mahwah, NJ and joined a reform temple (which also initially met in a church), but soon, their beloved rabbi moved to North Carolina. As a result of a new Rabbi transition, a number of families including Margie’s, found that the temple no longer suited them. A dozen families started a Jewish Havarah, holding Shabbat services each week in each of their homes. These services were lay lead and allowed all the family members, including Margie, to run the service. Margie became a Bat Mitzvah at that time with the rabbi who moved to North Carolina leading the service in a restaurant. Margie’s religious upbringing really supports the notion that you can be Jewish anywhere.

Margie received her BA in English and Political Science from Rutgers College. Margie followed her dream to be a reporter with her college newspaper, then at the Princeton Packet. Margie and her husband, Rob, met at Rutgers and moved to White Plains to enable Rob to finish his residency. At that time, Margie worked for SUNY Purchase, and then was able to travel while working for Progressive Grocer, writing Marketing pieces for them.

With the birth of Lindsay, Margie stopped working in corporate America. The Wolds moved to New Jersey, first to Tinton Falls, then to Colts Neck, just when Margie was ready to give birth to their identical twins, Amanda and Jaclyn.

Margie and Rob affiliated themselves with Rob’s family’s temple, but did not feel comfortable with the very conservative approach. In 1999, the Wolds joined MRT where they embrace the culture and Lindsay began 1st grade.

Margie is a big believer in volunteerism and has given so much of herself, first to the Colts Neck PTO where she became President, and now at Jewish Federation and MRT. She became active at MRT through the Arts Festival. Margie has been involved in many committees and heads up most of our public relations efforts. Margie can be found at nearly every event at the temple where she welcomes you with a smile and friendly conversation. I am always amazed at Margie’s uncanny ability to say such complimentary things when she greets you, comments on Facebook, answers an email or at a meeting. We are lucky to have such a great leader!

 By Jill Austin

“He’s laughing all the way to the bank,” is one of Kerry’s favorite quotes. And if you want to know why you will just have to ask her. A long time member of MRT she joined with her husband Evan and their 2 children more than 20 years ago, but her affiliation goes back even further. Her parents were members of MRT. She has vivid memories of attending services and onegs at the Presbyterian Church in Shrewsbury as a child.

Kerry likes to mix it up when it comes to exercise and enjoys reading. Istanbul and Turkey are places she would love to visit and, of course, Israel.

If she ever won the lottery Kerry would set up a philanthropic foundation focusing on less popular causes that need attention. She is also very concerned about animal welfare. Good luck on winning the lottery Kerry and thank you for all you do for MRT.

 By Doreen Laperdon-Addison