Barnert Temple, located in Franklin Lakes, is the oldest synagogue in New Jersey with a long history of teaching and living the core values of Reform Judaism.   We are a welcoming, multi-generational community of 475 family units from 37 surrounding towns.  Our community is connected by the realization that we are part of something larger than ourselves, continually striving to excel at opening doors for ethical and spiritual growth.

Barnert’s mission is to be a sacred community, a k’hillah k’doshah, offering Jewish experiences that are relevant, accessible and meaningful, wherein people of all ages and backgrounds are appreciated and valued, engaged and inspired.  We are guided by mutual respect for one another, a partnership of members, lay leaders, staff and clergy, a love of the Jewish people and Israel, and repair of the world. Our youth education programs open doors to learning and connection through questioning, seeking insights and offering ongoing relevancy. 

The mission of the Barnert Temple Preschool and Family Center is to nurture young children’s curiosity and develop their thinking skills.  In an environment which encourages each child to be an independent thinker, children find freedom to blossom.  Using Jewish teachings as ethical guides and indoor and outdoor nature spaces, our Preschool supports the growth of foundational social and cognitive skills and connects students and their families to the Preschool, to one another, to the Temple, and the larger Reform Jewish Community.

The mission of the Jewish Journey Project (JJP) is to offer students in grades K-7 pathways to Jewish learning and living by uncovering the wisdom of our heritage and the core values of Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chasadim.  Students learn basic Hebrew used in prayer and ritual while simultaneously charting their individual pathway through Jewish learning.  By selecting from a range of joyful, experiential courses, students are immersed in the tenets of Judaism, engaged in the pursuit of social action, and connected to the Temple and the larger Reform Jewish Community as they prepare for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

The mission of the Teen Engagement Program is to prepare students in Grades 8-12 to value and apply Judaism to their lives, as they move on to higher education and more multi-cultural environments.  As students prepare for Confirmation, they apply Judaism’s ethical code to contemporary lived situations.  Teens become further connected and engaged with Judaism, our clergy, their peers and the Temple as they are encouraged to join optional activities including the Madrichim Teen Assistants Program, Barnert’s Senior Youth Group (BarTY), and NFTY, or attend a L’Taken seminar sponsored by the URJ’s Religious Action Center, or spend a semester in Israel at the URJ’s Heller High.

The mission of the Barnert Temple Adult Education Program is to open doors to enhance familiarity with Jewish text and practice, spiritual and ethical exploration, and emotional and intellectual engagement with our Reform Jewish heritage.  Through multiple offerings, participants appreciate the richness of Judaic thought, applying it to life’s challenges as individual and as a sacred community.  The Adult Education Program engages learners in exploring contemporary questions through the lens of Jewish values, while connecting adults who are not linked to Barnert through children.  “Turn it and turn it, for everything is in it.” Ben Bag Bag, Pirkei Avot 5:25