Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 15, 2012 Franklin Lakes Temple Emanuel of North Jersey welcomes new rabbi by Frank J. McMahon On Aug. 1, Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, located on High Mountain Road in Franklin Lakes, welcomed Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser and his wife, Dr. Ora Horn Prouser. Temple Emanuel, which is located across from the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve, is an egalitarian spiritual community affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Prouser replaces the previous Temple Emanuel spiritual leader, Joshua Cohen, who left the congregation in June to accept a teaching position in Israel. An accomplished spiritual leader and educator, Prouser has had a distinguished career in teaching and pastoral service on pulpits in Connecticut and New York. He has served continuously as a pulpit rabbi since his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City in 1988. He served on the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s international youth and education commissions for 12 and 20 years, respectively; represented the Rabbinical Assembly to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the 1990s; participated on the rabbinic court overseeing conversions in the Abayudaya community of Uganda in 2003; and is currently a member of the Joint Bet Din of the Conservative movement. Prouser was the first rabbi to receive national certification as a bereavement facilitator from the American Academy of Bereavement, under the auspices of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondolet. He has held active roles with the Boy Scouts of America and the National Eagle Scout Association since the 1990s, and will be serving again next summer as chaplain for several hundred Jewish scouts at the National BSA Jamboree. A prolific writer, Prouser has published articles on biblical translation, Jewish law, and the Conservative movement, and a biography on the Vilna Ger Tzedek, a Jewish martyr burned at stake in 1749. Prouser described the hallmarks of his work as “ambitious standards for youth education, a participatory approach to communal worship and adult learning, building fruitful and friendly relationships across Jewish denominational lines and with other faith communities, and my personal commitment to Jewish study and writing.” Prouser comes to Temple Emanuel from a part-time (continued on page 16) Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser