Congregation Ohav Emeth is located in the geographic center of the Highland Park / Edison observant community in New Jersey. Our membership spans the range of halacha-committed Jews, with an attitude of achdut (unity) and religious tolerance.
With our neighboring (walking distance) community of Edison, we are a large and still growing community that has all the necessities and conveniences of modern Jewish life. Completely enclosed by an Eruv, the Highland Park community has a mikvah as well as two Yeshiva Day Schools and two Yeshiva High Schools. Highland Park also offers a glatt kosher butcher/deli, a Chinese restaurant, a grill-type meat restaurant, a bakery, a Pizza/Middle Eastern dairy restaurant, Dunkin’ Donuts, and several ice cream stores all under the supervision of the Vaad HaRabbanim of Raritan Valley.
Highland Park has easy access to all major New Jersey roadways and public transportation, and is less than an hour’s commute from NYC
The Synagogue
Congregation Ohav Emeth, founded more than 75 years ago, is a vibrant Orthodox synagogue located in the geographic center of the Highland Park / Edison observant community in New Jersey and in the religious center of American Orthodoxy. We have a beautiful building just off of Raritan Avenue, the main business street of Highland Park.
Our membership of more than two hundred families spans the range of halacha-committed Jews, with an attitude of achdut (unity) and religious tolerance. Our demographics include people from all over the world (the East Coast, Middle East, Midwest, Deep South, and even the Great White North are all well represented), business people and academics, artists and doctors, singles and marrieds, many grandparents who have followed their grown children to our community, and very many children, b’li ayin hara. [ Flag of Israel ] We share a love for Medinat Yisrael and a serious commitment to Torah study for every age and gender and at every level. We take seriously Ahavat Yisrael, tolerance, avoiding Lashon Hara, and taking care of all needy Jews.
Rabbi
Our Rabbi Emeritus, Rav Eliezer Kaminetzky, inculcated in our synagogue family the motto of “Ma hu rachum, af ata rachum” — our mandate to imitate the Divine attributes of mercy and kindness. Rabbi Kaminetzky and his wife Aviva taught through word and deed the centrality of Torah learning in our lives.
Our new Rabbi, Rav Eliyahu Kaufman, and his wife Debby have embraced these values with new vitality and have re-energized our commitment to these goals.
Shul Life
O.E., as we locals affectionately call our shul, buzzes with activity. Shiurim are held every day of the week, including a teenage Beit Midrash on Monday nights, a women’s shiur on Tuesdays, several regular gemara classes and frequent speakers. We host English classes and classes on Yahadut for recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Ohav Emeth is also the home for local special interest groups such as parents of learning-challenged children, and a Shomer Shabbat cub-scout pack is based here as well.
Minyanim are held daily, including three Shacharit minyanim, Mincha and Ma’ariv b’zman, and a winter-season late Ma’ariv minyan. Every Shabbat and Chag has both a hashkama and “regular” minyan to accommodate every family’s needs. Shabbat morning youth groups for our children, as well as a teen minyan, help train our next generation in the art of communal prayer.
While many community services are shared with other orthodox congregations, we offer a wide range of activities for all age groups. Social activities planned by our sisterhood and congregation run the gamut from theater outings, to art auctions to championship softball teams. Our innovative mishloach mannot program has raised many thousands of dollars, saved untold calories and has been widely copied. The Ohav Emeth welcoming and hospitality committees instill a sense of the warmth and inclusiveness that our synagogue strives to project.
The Community
Together with its neighboring (walking distance) community of Edison, Highland Park is one of the most vibrant, growing orthodox communities in the New York metropolitan area. Home to a full range of community services, Highland Park has yeshivas, a mikvah, an eruv, kosher food establishments, a Bikur Cholim, a Chevra Kadisha and a host of other services.
Highland Park is located close enough to New York City so that it is an easy commute by train, bus, or car. Many residents are affiliated with two large local medical centers: Robert Wood Johnson and St. Peter’s Medical Center. (Please call the Bikur Cholim if you need help coping with a hospital stay.)
Several kosher food establishments, the Mikvah and the Eruv are under the supervision of the Vaad Harabbanim of Raritan Valley, made up of the rabbis of all the seven orthodox shuls in the area. A large and active NCSY program is supported by three of the local shuls: Ohav Emeth, Ahavas Achim and Ohr Torah.
If you’re thinking of passing through or looking for a place to live, give our office or hospitality committee a call. Stop by for minyan, have a nice kosher meal, look around the neighborhood — you’ll love the small town atmosphere.