700 pack new temple

A new flavor, a new energy, a new excitement: This is how people described the first observances of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur at the new South Shore Reform Congregation of Temple Am Echad in Lynbrook.

“It was a terrific feeling to speak to them,” said Rabbi Glenn Jacob of the estimated 500 to 700 people who filled the sanctuary on each of the holidays. “They seemed to create their own energy. They were all excited to be there.” Shuttle buses ran from various parking lots in Lynbrook to the new synagogue.

Jacob said that the newly formed congregation, which combined Temple Sinai of Lawrence and Temple Emanu-El of Lynbrook this summer, comprises about 500 families. “This [holiday] attendance was a surprise,” he said, acknowledging a downward trend in previous years. “Their joy in being together added a whole new flavor to the holiday.”

“Our new rabbi is a wonderful presence,” said congregant Sandy Alexander of Merrick. “He is a kind, warm man with a lot of good plans for the future.”

Jacob’s holiday sermons focused on tying and sealing the emotional elements that go into a merger, and melding new missions and new goals. “Universal themes for our new congregation,” he said.