Rockville Centre synagogue in merger talks with Lynbrook Congregation

Members of Central Synagogue of Nassau County were invited to an early-morning congregational meeting last Sunday to learn of the status of talks on a potential merger with Temple Am Echad in Lynbrook.

Packing Central’s Kahn Auditorium, more than 100 people listened as the temple’s president, Ida Weiss Plaia, explained that although a committee of congregants has met with counterparts from Am Echad several times since last spring, she could divulge few details because leaders of both congregations have signed confidentiality agreements.

Plaia did say that the talks were in a preliminary, exploratory stage, and that any merger, if it were to occur after approval by both congregations, would take place in two or more years. The talks began after Central was apparently approached by Am Echad, which is looking to establish a premier Reform synagogue on the South Shore of Long Island. Some Central members are said to feel that a merger would have a positive impact, addressing a need for “human capital.” Such a merger, they say, would create a stronger Reform Jewish presence in the area.

Although a number of questioners seemed to assume that if there were to be a merger, Central would become part of Am Echad, Central’s leadership took great pains to indicate that both locations are being considered. There were also constant reminders that this would be a merger of two temples, not an acquisition of one by another.

During the long town hall-style meeting, committee members were asked where, in the event of a merger, the congregations would worship. After absorbing members from two other South Shore Reform congregations in recent years — Nassau Community Temple of West Hempstead, which closed, and Temple Sinai of Lawrence — Am Echad, which was formerly known as Temple Emanu-el, now has more members than Central’s 280 families, but its facility is smaller.

Central’s members asked whether Am Echad could accommodate extra congregants. Others asked who would be retained as spiritual leaders, what staff would stay on, what arrangements would be made for parking and catering and what might happen if the Central Synagogue building at 430 DeMott Ave. were to be vacated. There has been speculation that because the synagogue is adjacent to the Wilson Elementary School, the Rockville Centre school district might be interested in the property should it become available. When contacted by the Herald, school board president Liz Dion said, “There has been no discussion about acquiring that property. It is completely premature.”

Others at the meeting questioned what might happen to Central’s programs, including its expanding Jacob’s Ladder pre-school, its active Sisterhood and Brotherhood, the scout troops it sponsors and the temple’s religious school. Still others asked about cemetery arrangements and the disposition of the synagogue’s endowment.

Several attendees expressed frustration at the minimal amount of information that the committee was able to share at the meeting due to the confidentiality agreement its members signed, while others said they appreciated the committee’s efforts. Plaia said that discussions between the temples would continue, and that she would share more information with the congregation as it becomes available.