Great Neck Synagogue Blends Tradition, Community — And New Vision For Future: 'Rightsizing'

GREAT NECK, NY — Temple Beth-El of Great Neck continues to serve as a cornerstone for the local Jewish community, bringing people together through holiday celebrations, cultural events, and shared traditions.

For Purim, the Reform synagogue organized volunteers to put together and give out ‘shalach manot,’ otherwise known as Purim gifts. Members of the congregation packed more than 100 Purim baskets, each containing the traditional holiday treat of the hamantaschen.

Rabbi Brian Stoller, who has led the congregation for four years, described Purim as a holiday of festivity, joy, and celebration. He added that Temple Beth-El’s role extends beyond its members, emphasizing a deep commitment to the broader Great Neck community.

Founded in 1928 as the first synagogue in Great Neck, Temple Beth-El has long prioritized community engagement.

"Our members have a strong sense of belonging," he said. "And we have a strong sense of commitment and responsibility to the community."

That commitment is reflected in the temple's outreach, which includes supporting food pantries, providing students access to school meals, and much more. The synagogue partners with the Gold Cold Arts Center, also located in Great Neck, to produce Jewish cultural arts events that are open to the wider public.

"A sense of participating is part of our Jewish expression," Rabbi Stoller said, adding that people from across LI attend events at TBE. "We established our synagogue as a hub for Jewish cultural arts experiences."

Executive Director Stuart Botwinick said that TBE has many events, including a speaker series to educate and inspire its members.

In addition to its cultural programming, Temple Beth-El is adapting its physical space to better align with its mission. Executive Director Stuart Botwinick said the synagogue is in the process of selling part of its building to a private Jewish school while renting back space as needed.

The decision, he said, reflects a broader shift among synagogues built decades ago with more space than they regularly use. He said they only used the large amount of space for holidays.

"[The space is] larger than every synagogue on Long Island. We are happy for another Jewish organization to use it," he said. "We are rightsizing our space and choosing to invest our resources in programming and people."

Botwinick emphasized that the move is intentional and forward-looking.

"It's very deliberate," he said. "It's very thoughtful, and it really honors what the basis of a synagogue in the Jewish community is about."

The synagogue plans to reinvest in programming and community initiatives.

"We're monetizing the value of the space," he said. "Instead of investing our dollars to keep and maintain that space, the plan is to use the resources to do better programming and do more for our community."

For Stoller, the mission remains clear.

"Temple Beth-El and other Jewish institutions like us offer pathways to meaning, purpose, connection, and community," Rabbi Stoller said. "These are things that people on Long Island, people in America — people everywhere — need at this time in our history more than ever.

We're very proud to have such a dedicated congregation of people who are committed both to the legacy of this historic institution and to its future, because they believe that what we do here matters."