Jehiel Orenstein z"l
Rabbi Emeritus

Our beloved rabbi emeritus passed away on May 5, 2013. On July 1, 2005, Jehiel Orenstein became Rabbi Emeritus of Beth El, after 35 years as it's spiritual leader. He was ordained as a Rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City in 1961 and received the Lawrence Prager award for outstanding scholarship in medieval Hebrew literature. He also was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from JTS in 1987.

Rabbi had long been involved in activities in support of the State of Israel, in Jewish communities around the world, and in our own community. He served as chaplain of the New Jersey State Police, and was president of the Maplewood-South Orange Clergy Association and of the Rabbinical Assembly of New Jersey. He was also one of the founders of the South Orange-Maplewood Interfaith Holocaust Service, now in its 35th year.

He was married to Sylvia Mowshowitz Orenstein, an attorney and former professor of Russian literature. They have three children--Aviva, a law professor; Raphael, a doctor; and Debra, a rabbi in Emerson, NJ, as well as six grandsons and a granddaughter.