Friday, December 19 at 6:00 pm Chanukah Service, Followed by Congregational Dinner Party, Co-Hosted by MRT Sisterhood and Men’s Club
SAVE THE DATE!
Celebrating Cantor Gabrielle Clissold
Upon her Retirement from MRT
Saturday night, April 25th
“From MRT to Manhattan”
Light Bites and More!
Adults Only
Proceeds to Benefit the Cantor Gabrielle Clissold Music Fund
A Wonderful Success: “The Jews of Broadway” at MRT
On Sunday, December 7, 2025 the Adult Education Committee had the honor of welcoming Cantor Micah Morgovsky, her accompanist Barbara Orwick, and Cantor Micah’s daughter, Ayala who presented “The Jews of Broadway Concert”. As many of you may know, Cantor Micah is the daughter of our long
time MRT members, Joel and Marilyn Morgovsky. Joel was a past president of MRT and Marilyn sings in our choir.
Pieces were performed that followed the musical journey of American Jewish Broadway artists through the early 20th century to today. The program was outstanding, well attended and received much positive feedback. Cantor Gabrielle Clissold joined the group for a special musical finale, helping to end the concert on an inspirational high note. The Concert was offered in person with a livestream option. A refreshment buffet was held in the Social Hall. The accompanying photos capture fond memories we have of this very enjoyable afternoon.
UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICE
SHABBAT SERVICE,
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12TH at 6:00 PM
Service this Friday night will be led by Rabbi Renee Edelman and Cantor Gabrielle Clissold.
Join us before the service starting at 5:30 pm for a pre-neg. Come mingle with fellow congregants while noshing on refreshments!
Friday night’s pre-neg is sponsored by Robin Gerber in memory of her father, Harold Schultz
There are members of our Congregation who are very sensitive to scents and fragrances. MRT strives to provide a “Scent Free” environment in our building. The MRT community asks that you avoid wearing scents of any kind when coming to our synagogue and please inform your guests who visit with us.
CHANUKAH, OH CHANUKAH!
ALL CONGREGANTS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND ALL OF THESE CHANUKAH EVENTS!
TZEDAKAH BOX
HABcore
There are more than 1200 homeless people in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Our Tzedakah Box recipient for December and January is HABcore, which for 38 years has provided permanent, affordable housing that helps homeless families, veterans, and individuals with special needs move from crisis to stability. Importantly, HABcore provides its residents, 95% of whom remained in permanent housing after one year, with needed support services. HABcore shelters are located in both Asbury Park and Red Bank.
Tzedakah donations (cash or check payable to MRT) can be placed into the lobby Tzedakah box, sent to the MRT office, or made through our website by clicking HERE.*
*If paying by check or online,please make sure to add a note to your payment specifying that the funds should be directed towardsHABcore.
MRT offers two opportunities to meditate together each week.
Boker Tov- Friday, December 12th at 8:00 am.This is MRT’s long-standing Friday morning meditation session consisting of a short reading, 18 minutes of silent meditation, a tiny bit of discussion, and then Kaddish.
Lilah Tov- Monday, December 15th at 9:00 pm. Transition peacefully into sleep with this short and meaningful meditation session. We will start with a reading, 18 minutes of meditation, and then a quiet recitation of a portion of the bedtime Shema.
Each session is a way to inject a little bit of peace into your week and will help you feel calm and centered and connected with your community. If you are new to meditation, these sessions can be a gentle introduction to the practice with a Jewish twist. I hope you will join us.
Both sessions can be accessed via Zoom by following the link below:
The MRT LIFE & LEGACY program, launched in 2016 under the auspices of the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey and the Grinspoon Foundation, seeks pledges of after-lifetime or immediate contributions to one of MRT’s endowment funds that will be used to sustain our holy community at MRT.
We are pleased that 53 of our members have made an after-lifetime
commitment or immediate contribution to one of our endowments with a
total value of over $400,000.
We hope that more members of our community will join in this mitzvah.
The Adult Education Committee prepares an annual MRT Adult Education Program Brochure. This provides information and a schedule of educational opportunities offered at Monmouth Reform Temple each calendar year.
You may access the 2025-26 brochure HERE or by going to our temple website: monmouthreformtemple.org. At the top, click on “Adult Jewish Learning” and then “Programs and Schedules”. You may also look for hard copies displayed on our lobby table. We hope you will take advantage of these wonderful educational offerings that our temple provides for you.
Thank you.
Maddy Kalb and Brenda Tuller
Co-Chairs Adult Education Committee
Men’s Club
Men’s Club Poker Game, 1st Tuesday of every month, 7:15 pm
Join the Men’s Club to play poker in the social hall at 7:15 pm (time may vary) on the first Tuesday of every month.
Contact Zach Gilstein zachmate2@gmail.com if you would like to play and for more information.
Sisterhood
Mahjong, Wednesdays, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm
We will be playing Mahjong in the MRT social hall every Wednesday from 1:00 pm-3:00 pm.
Synopsis: In Eleanor The Great, June Squibb brings to vivid life the witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell.
The Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ)
Our engaging MRT Sisterhood offers many activities and programs throughout the year to its members. We are also a member of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), the umbrella organization of Sisterhoods nationwide. WRJ offers a multitude of educational and social programs to explore and participate in. Feel free to visit http://www.wrj.org to subscribe for updates from WRJ via weekly e-mail.
Sisterhood Judaica Shop
Your MRT Sisterhood Judaica Shop has a selection of beautiful and meaningful gifts for the home, the holidays, special occasions and for the young people in your life.
Below is a catalog showing many of the items we have available. To order any items or visit the shop, contact Racielle Lande hilande0110@gmail.com
Please help us keep our mi shebeirach list current.
If you or a loved one have been included on the Mi shebeirach list and you would like for yours or their name to continue to be read, please let us know as soon as possible so we know to keep the name on the list.
We appreciate your help in keeping the list up to date.
Mi Shebeirach
If you are in need of pastoral care or would like to add a name to our Mi Shebeirach list to be read at Shabbat services, please contact Rabbi Edelman, Cantor Clissold or the temple office.
Please note: Names added to the Mi Shebeirach list will be read aloud during Shabbat Services for two weeks. If you would like to continue to have the name read, you must recontact the temple at the end of the two week period. As always, when you attend Shabbat services, you are welcome to announce the name of a loved one in need of healing.
Yahrzeits
May our loved ones’ memories forever be a blessing
The names of your loved ones will be read during Shabbat services for Yahrzeit, Shiva & Shloshim.
Names to be read on Friday, December 12, 2025
Shabbat Service at 6:00 pm
Ted Choate, *Helen Davis, *Abraham Glasser, Abraham Golden, *Nancy Louise Egan Grant, *Louis E. Jacobson, Irwin Kaltenbacher, Eleanor “Peach” Krachman, Herbert Leifman, Joseph Levinsky, Ace A. Orange, Samuel Rivkin, Harold Schultz, *Celia Spring, Patricia Ann Turner, Rae Weshnak, Seymour Van-Wiemokly, Barry Robert Wolf
Names to be read on Friday, December 19, 2025
Shabbat Service at 6:00 PM
Lena Attias, Raymond Becker, Frank Bouju, *Mortimer Brandwene, Harry Field, Martin Gale, *George Glasser, *Bobbie Goldstein, Molly Gurevitz, Barbara Johnson, Sylvia Katz, *Richard Klein, *David Lane, David Lewis, *Nettie Morse, Clara Newman, *Ida Reisner, *Bette Halpern Schmelzle, *Pearl Seitz, *Lois Baker Smith, *Herbert Tanzman, *Beth Tanzman, *Ann Weissman
*Names with an asterisk have memorial plaques. To order a memorial plaque, please email or call Jordana in the MRT office. Purchasing a plaque ensures that Kaddish will be said, in perpetuity, at temple services during the week of the anniversary of that person’s death.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE HOURS :
Monday-Wednesday: 10 am – 4 pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 10 am – 2 pm
HOWEVER, if the need arises, our clergy and staff are always available to you. Please contact anyone with their information below.
We strive for a “No Conflict” schedule here at MRT. Please contact the office before scheduling any temple events. This way, each event will be on the calendar, and we can all participate in them.
When making payments or donations to MRT, please consider using PayPal in lieu of checks. It’s a safe, easy way to send money.
Simply go to the donation page of our website (https://monmouthreformtemple.org/donate/) and follow the instructions. Don’t forget to include the reason for your payment by clicking “Add a Note” once you are logged onto PayPal. Thank you!
New! Easy Payment Options
In addition to check, credit card, and PayPal, MRT is now accepting donations/payments via Venmo and Zelle.
You can either scan the QR codes or click the links below.
Very Important: When making your payment, please be sure to include a note indicating what the payment is for. Thank you for your support!
Monmouth Reform Temple 332 Hance Ave. Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
We even have a working fax machine!
(732) 747-9770
MRT Welcomes Children of All Ages!
At Monmouth Reform Temple we recognize how important it is to find other Jewish and Interfaith families with very young children, which is why we host Bagels & Blocks often on the third Sunday of every month. Our program focuses on toddler and preschool aged children and their parents or grandparents.
We are delighted to partner with PJ Library to introduce the excitement and joy of Jewish values and holidays to your little ones. With plenty of free play interspersed, our morning includes time with the Rabbi reading of a PJ Library book, singing songs with our Cantor and song leaders, and the making of a craft. We also perform a quick kiddish before snacking on bagels and grape juice (and coffee for the grown-ups). Because our primary goal is to foster relationships and help young families connect to one another, our program is free and open to the public. NO RSVP REQUIRED – JUST JOIN US AND HAVE FUN!
For Pre-K (4 year old) children and their parents we offer a transitional program named Kesher Kids. The first half hour of each session is combined with Bagels & Blocks. Then the children will head to their own classroom to spend an hour with a teacher following our play-based Jewish curriculum. This program is $100 for the year and open to anyone raising a Jewish child. Registration is required.
All sessions start at 9:30am and run to approximately 11am. We hope you and your little ones will join us to connect and celebrate at these excellent programs!
I came to MonmouthReformTemple in August of 1981 and much to everyone’s surprise I am still here! As the first woman ever to be ordained rabbi by a theological seminary, I always assumed it was my obligation to become the rabbi of a large congregation in a major American city, but the members of MonmouthReformTemple taught me that success does not mean bigger. It simply means are we doing better today than we did yesterday?
I was attracted to MonmouthReformTemple and remained its rabbi for twenty-five years because its members were warm and welcoming, open to new ideas and unafraid of new challenges. They allowed me to be myself, to experiment and be creative, and they were willing to take responsibility for their own Jewishness, one mitzvah at a time. Together we created a temple family based on caring and concern for each other.. From week to week we looked forward to Shabbat and the opportunity to re-connect with God, our people and each other. We embraced the command to study Torah, and most importantly, provided a Jewish presence in our community, joining with others in the task of tikkun olam (repairing the world).
All these characteristics remain at the core of MonmouthReformTemple today. In 2006, I retired and was honored to be given by the temple the title Rabbi Emerita. I continue to be involved, and on Shabbat I enjoy the view from the pew. I look forward to welcoming you at services, and when you enter the sanctuary, I hope you will note the doors that were dedicated in my honor on the occasion of my retirement. They bear the inscription
פִּתְחוּ לִי שַׁעֲרֵי צֶדֶק אָבֹא בָם אוֹדֶה יָהּ
Open the gates of righteousness for me that I may enter and praise God.
Whenever I go through these doors, I remember that we are partners with God in completing the work of creation. I am grateful for the sense of belonging I feel within these walls, for friendships made here and those yet to be, and for my temple family without whom my life would never be the same.
Cantor Clissold Welcomes YOU!
I grew up in South Orange, the child of artists Jo and Carol Jochnowitz. My journey into music began at age twelve when I started studying classical voice. I was also an active member of Congregation Beth El, where I thrived in religious school and embarked on a six-week trip to Israel at sixteen—an experience that profoundly shaped me.
I attended Columbia High School and UNC-Greensboro while serving as a cantorial soloist at Temple Emanuel, a Reform congregation. It was through this work that I realized my true calling: to become a cantor. In 1994, before beginning my formal studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, I had the opportunity to serve as a substitute cantor at Monmouth Reform Temple. I still vividly remember standing on the bima, feeling the power of the congregation’s active participation—it was as if my hair was being blown back by their energy! That Shabbat, I met Rabbi Priesand (now Rabbi Emerita) and lay leaders who remain an integral part of our temple today. The warmth and dynamic worship style of MRT left a lasting impression on me.
When I officially joined the clergy team in 2002, I was thrilled to find that the same warmth and enthusiasm for Jewish music were still alive. The congregation’s openness to learning, experimenting with music, and embracing both traditional and contemporary Jewish compositions has allowed me to create unique and joyful Shabbat experiences. I deeply appreciate their enthusiasm—whether through participation or simply being present to absorb the beauty of our music.
Yet, my role extends far beyond music. I am incredibly proud to have developed and nurtured many programs, including:
Strong participation at URJ Camps
Visual worship
Live Streaming and technology integration
Torah and Haftarah readers and service leaders
Junior and senior Youth Groups
B’nai Mitzvah preparation
Shir Chadash Band
Adult Purim Shpiel
Volunteer choir
Music and Hebrew education
Adult education
Pastoral care
Life-cycle officiation
If you love to sing, we would love to have you in our choir or band! Our volunteer choir is made up of temple members who enjoy singing, and it is always a joy to make music together. They join me on the bima for MLK Shabbat, the High Holy Days, and Thanksgiving services, bringing an added depth to our worship.
Children at MRT get to know me through religious school and services. I teach all ages and play an active role in religious school, especially working one-on-one with sixth and seventh graders as they prepare to become B’nai Mitzvah. Teaching is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work, allowing me to build meaningful relationships with students and their families. Many of our students continue beyond their B’nai Mitzvah, staying involved through confirmation, Torah chanting, choir, band, and youth group. Their achievements fill me with pride, and I cherish watching them grow as members of our community.
As one of the clergy members at MRT, I also share in the pastoral care of our temple family. Walking through life’s journey together—through both joys and challenges—is a sacred privilege, and I want you to know how much I care.
When you join MRT, you become part of something truly special. As your Cantor, I feel deeply fortunate to be part of this incredible community. My own family considers MRT our extended family, and I have no doubt that you will too. Please stop by, send me a message, or email me—I would love to meet you and hear your story.
For nearly 25 years, I have been dedicated to Monmouth Reform Temple, striving to create continuity of progressive Judaism. Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of growing professionally with our synagogue, a community that values our traditions and deletes my experiments.
As I approach my retirement in June 2026, I reflect with gratitude on the incredible journey I’ve had—collaborating with talented lay people, colleagues and clergy, serving MRT and witnessing the growth and evolution of our community. While this chapter is coming to a close, my commitment to excellence and passion for our future remains unwavering.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me!
The MRT Bulletin
The MRT Bulletin is an exciting colorful array of articles, photographs, and information about your temple written by MRT clergy, professionals and volunteers. Read it and you will feel inspired to be connected to MRT!
If you would like to contribute an article or a photograph to The MRT Bulletin, please contact our Office Administrator Jordana Steinberg (jordana@monmouthreformtemple.org).
The MRT Bulletin is also a great advertising opportunity where every one of our congregants and their friends are prospective customers! Advertising rates are inexpensive AND help support the temple. Please contact Jordana for more information at the above email address.
JUMP START your child’s Hebrew and Judaic education for 2015-16!!!
