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Keeper of the Flame
by Cate Murway
Synagogue buildings are physical witness to the Jewish presence. Sadly, population changes and economic realities sometimes mean that the future of synagogues, particularly in small communities, has been increasingly in doubt. But it is vital out of respect for its history and for the sake of future generations, whose heritage it will become, to keep cherished records of its existence. Fortunately, the capacity for resilience has been woven into the fabric of Judaism over thousands of years.
The beloved Bristol Jewish Center, Congregation of Avath Achim, founded in 1904, was the first observant Jewish congregation in Bucks County, an extended family devoted to their heritage and traditions. Its small, intimate, friendly, energetic, and inviting adult community had helped its members find a larger purpose in everyday experience. It advocated Judaism's core values, always growing in spirit and community, and it touched lives with the warmth and wisdom of Jewish learning.
In June 2015, sadly following a merger with Reconstructionist Congregation Kol Emet in Lower Makefield, the conservative BJC synagogue shuttered its doors after 111 years.
A shul, in the end, is not a human being to grieve over, for whom one says kaddish and sits shiva. What survives of it cannot be defined. Sorrow over the closing of the synagogue needed to be tempered. The synagogue always felt like home. It had a good run.
The former century-old synagogue has been skillfully converted into Bucks government offices used by the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority.
“It was my home away from home. I had friends there, very good friends. It was totally full at High Holidays.” It was important to my growing up and my identity. I felt very attached,” Dr. Bernard Saul Sobel, D.O./psychiatrist shared.
His father, Dr. Julius Sobel, D.O. [mother, Anna Brodsky Sobel, R.N.] had once been the President of the synagogue.
USN Veteran Alan J. Vogenberg, BSPharm, RPh, FASCP, former treasurer and caretaker of the BJC, unselfishly assumed the position of “keeper of the flame”. He felt it was his responsibility to keep the BJC alive!
Alan had a lofty mission: to perpetuate the Jewish journey of engagement with God and take the sacred, precisely handwritten Torah into the next chapter of the story of generations.
Jewish history is, in many ways, a recurring cycle of crisis and renewal, constant re-creation.
“Kol Emet has a younger congregation and provides more services, such as a Hebrew school, a Sunday school, and activities that Bristol’s older congregation could no longer provide”, he explained.
Alan called the Abrams Hebrew Academy and left a message for the Head of the School, Rabbi Ira Budow. When the Rabbi returned from his Boston trip, he listened to Alan’s message, “It will be worth your while to call me.”
Documents and photos related to the former Bristol site were donated to the Jewish Archives in the library at Temple University and the balance of the sanctuary fixtures went to Abrams Hebrew Academy in Yardley, where a small-scale sanctuary has been installed for use by staff and students where the BJC can live on a smaller scale.
Bristol contractors recreated the BJC sanctuary with love and great workmanship. They included the donated comfortable, plush chairs, and the eternal light that hangs over the Ark of the Covenant, memorial plaques from the early 20th century, and commemoration plaques for contributory good deeds, along with bookcases and books.
Alan confirmed, “Rabbi Budow is a wonderful man, and a great, enthusiastic educator. The students excelled during the pandemic and enrollment has increased. It’s the kids, the students; it’s the children!”
The BJC Torah still lives at the Abrams Hebrew Academy in Yardley thanks to the forward-thinking, innovative Jewish leaders, rooted in the past, conversant in the current, and visionary for the Jewish future, who zealously planned for the BJC community that had been the magnet for the longest time for anyone who was Jewish.
The Torah truly is a tree of life, a living document that unfolds over generations and millennia, joining other souls where not only hands are joined, but experiences and hearts.
Circa 1955 [5730] Hebrew year, the BJC Confirmation class donated the Torah scroll in honor of the kids. The Confirmation class names were written on paper which was attached to the handles.
In 1970-1972, letters were written to the Confirmation classes with their names in Hebrew and English.
Larry Golden, the President of the Jewish cemetery in Albuquerque contacted Alan regarding the distinguished Roger Alan Wagman, Esq., a longtime resident of Albuquerque who had recently died, to find out his Hebrew name for his tombstone.
His parents, the late Jacob I. “Jack” and Florence [Glazer] Wagman, proprietors of Wagman’s Dry Good Store, were members of the BJC.
Roger’s wife had kept the letter that Alan had sent to Roger requesting donations for the little Torah repairs and it was that which validated that his Hebrew name was Chaim Avraham.
“The little Torah reached back in time to solve this mystery”, confirmed Alan.
Rabbi Budow acknowledged, “This Torah really can be used by anyone. It’s very unique and can be used as a travel Torah for ceremonies in other locations, and during celebrations, and because of its size, it offers an opportunity for younger children to hold the Torah. The kindergarten room kids were dazzled and they were appreciative that they were able to walk with the Torah. Alan did an amazing job. I love Alan and his wife. They are special people; not many people like that. He is one of a kind!”
Memories and mitzvah outlast place.
Recommend a “Spotlight”. E-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com
Rabbi Budow & the Kindergarten children
w/ the Bristol Jewish Center’s Torah.
Bristol Jewish Center
BJC info @ Kol Emet
the "Little Torah" on the BJC bimah
