Rabbi Israel Dresner graciously donated over 1100 books on Jewish history and writings from his vast personal collection to Temple Beth Tikvah (TBT) for the establishment of a library and a lecture series for the benefit of the congregation and the greater North Jersey Community.

TBT then proudly established the library two years ago in honor of Rabbi Dresner’s contributions to our House of Hope, its congregants, and the Jewish community for some twenty-five years as its Rabbi and then as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in January 2022.

Upon Rabbi Dresner’s death, the library was renamed the Rabbi Dresner Memorial Library. Since April 2022 Arthur Barchenko, chairman of the committee, along with the volunteers, Beryl Paul, Lynn Cooper, Barbara Goldstein, & Debbie Stone, have retained the services of librarian Wendy Marcus to make the dream a reality. All the books are now on shelves and have been sorted into subject categories. Information about each book has been entered into a computer.

The committee has continued the Lecture series with participants from religious, educational, and cultural institutions within the area, including The Gross Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, The Jewish Historical Society of Northern New Jersey, & The YMCA / Federation of North Jersey. Further, we are working on programs in conjunction with the Wayne Public Library which is part of a consortium of libraries in the three northern counties.

An Advisory Board was established including the Directors of the above noted institutions and leaders within TBT to establish programs for future years.

Through inclusive intergenerational programming and initiatives, we continue to foster understanding and inclusivity for our children and grandchildren. We are now asking for your support with a gift to the Rabbi Israel S. Dresner Center Fund honoring or memorializing a loved one and at the same time building on Rabbi Dresner’s legacy – his dream of Tikkun Olam – making the world a better place.

To make a secure donation online, go to: tbtwayne.shulcloud.com/member. Once signed in, select the “Pay My Bill/Donate” button on the home page. From there select the Donation button and then click the type and choose the Rabbi Israel S. Dresner Center Fund. Non Members can select “Contribute” from our website and make secure donations through our Shulcloud portal as well.

To donate by mail, mail a check to: Temple Beth Tikvah 950 Preakness Avenue Wayne, NJ 07470 Attn: Rabbi Israel S. Dresner Center Fund

All contributors will receive a library card stipulating they are a patron of the Library.

Thank you ,
The Rabbi Dresner Memorial Library Committee:
Arthur Barchenko, Lynn Cooper, Barbara Goldstein, Beryl Paul, and Debbie Stone

To learn about the lecture series click here.