A Long History on Broad Street
The Freehold Jewish Center sits on Broad Street in Freehold, New Jersey, serving a Jewish community that traces its roots to the 1880s. By 1909 the community was large enough to rent a small hall on the corner of Main and Court Streets for the High Holidays. Two years later, in 1911, a charter established Congregation Agudath Achim Anshai as an Orthodox synagogue, and members built a small wooden structure at First and Center Streets. The congregation opened its first Hebrew School in September 1914, added a second floor to its building in 1916, and built a mikvah in the basement in 1920.
By the late 1940s the community had outgrown those quarters. After a groundbreaking in June 1947, the congregation dedicated its current home on Broad Street in 1950, enlarging the building in 1973 to keep pace with growing membership. Beyond the synagogue, the Freehold Jewish Center has maintained a Jewish cemetery on Route 33 for more than a century.
Tradition and Caring
Those two words describe the congregation and its members. Freehold Jewish Center presents itself as a vibrant center for the practice and teaching of Traditional Judaism, committed to a traditional pattern of Jewish worship while remaining sensitive to the spiritual needs of its congregants. Members support the State of Israel as the center of the Jewish people and gather around Torah, Shabbat, the holidays, and the milestones of Jewish life.
The same building that holds prayer services also houses a 350-person banquet hall with a full-size stage, kosher kitchens kept separate for meat and dairy, and the Silverman Family Chamber for smaller events and meetings. Walls of stained glass, marble floors, and intricate ceiling details fill the recently renovated entryway, setting a tone that carries through the sanctuary and its glass-wrapped extension.
Rabbi Andrew Schultz
Rabbi Andrew Schultz has spent 25 years as a Jewish communal professional, holding senior roles at BBYO, the Jewish Educational Center, and Yedei Chesed before arriving at Freehold Jewish Center. He earned Yoreh Yoreh Semicha from Kollel Hachsharus L'Rabbanus and Machon Halacha Lemaan Yilmedu and continues advanced rabbinical studies through Lemaan Yilmedu. Rabbi Schultz is a member of MORASHAH, the rabbinical arm of the Union for Traditional Judaism, and the New York Board of Rabbis. He also serves as a certified police chaplain in Fair Lawn and Elmwood Park and volunteers with Chaverim of Bergen County.
Executive Director Tracey Barbour joined the congregation in 2014 after six years with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth County in Deal. A Brooklyn College graduate with a background in film history and communications, she keeps the synagogue office running and is the first point of contact for newcomers and members alike.
The Weekly Rhythm: Shabbat and Daily Minyan
Worship at Freehold Jewish Center follows the traditional Jewish calendar. Kabbalat Shabbat begins Friday evenings at 7:00 PM, and Shabbat morning services start at 9:00 AM on Saturday. The sanctuary fills again for holiday morning minyanim at 9:00 AM for Jewish holidays and 8:00 AM for national holidays, and an evening minyan for a Yahrzeit can be arranged by calling the synagogue office.
Daily minyanim keep the rhythm going through the week. Mondays and Thursdays meet in person at 7:15 AM, while Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays gather at 7:30 AM over Zoom. The Zoom service uses Meeting ID 930 369 7101 and Password 753491, with phone-in options through 301-715-8592 or 646-876-9923 for those without video or audio on their computer.
Learning for All Ages
The Hebrew School has been part of the congregation since 1914 and today welcomes learners of every age and stage. On Mondays at 7:30 PM, Rabbi Schultz leads "Deep Dive Into the Siddur," a class that walks participants through the structure and meaning of the prayer book. The class meets in person at the synagogue and on Zoom.
The Adult Education Committee supplements these classes with Hebrew crash courses in coordination with National Jewish Outreach, Shabbat Across America programming, and Sunday morning sessions held in the Kiddush room. The Sunday series features lectures, films, and discussion on topics ranging from Israeli cinema to family life, and each winter brings scholar-in-residence weekends and other special seminars. Bagels and coffee accompany every gathering.
Sisterhood, Chesed, and Bingo Night
The Sisterhood welcomes women who are members of the synagogue or the wider community, raising funds to support the congregation and running programming that builds lasting friendships. Its Tehillim Group gathers every other month to read Psalms, pray for healing, and recite blessings over food.
The Chesed Committee carries out the mitzvah of visiting the ill and homebound, along with other acts of loving-kindness, and welcomes new volunteers. On Wednesday evenings the building takes on a different feel: bingo doors open at 6 PM, an early-bird game begins at 7:20 PM, and the regular games start at 7:40 PM. Friday mornings at 9:30 AM belong to free Tai Chi classes open to the public.
Outside the building, members stock the shelves at the Freehold Area Open Door Food Pantry. Non-perishable donations are accepted at the synagogue weekdays from 9 AM to 2 PM, and the staff delivers them to Open Door. Gift cards and checks made out to Freehold Area Open Door are accepted as well.
Ballroom, Sanctuary, and the Centennial
The building is also an elegant venue for lifecycle events. Congregants can hold a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, wedding, or Aufruf in the stained-glass sanctuary, and celebrations spill into the banquet hall with its high ceilings, full-size stage, and dance floor. Kosher kitchens make kosher affairs straightforward to plan, and the Silverman Family Chamber offers a bright, AV-equipped setting for cocktail hours or smaller meetings.
To mark its history, the Freehold Jewish Center runs a Centennial Brick Campaign inviting members and friends to purchase inscribed bricks as a lasting tribute to the generations that built and sustained the congregation.