Temple Beth Am

Rabbi Gordon L.
Gladstone, D.D.

Rabbi Gladstone is the
spiritual leader of
Temple Beth Am, in
Bayonne, New Jersey.
He received the
Bachelor of Arts degree
in Philosophy from the
University of Cincinnati
in 1968. The Hebrew
Union College - Jewish
Institute of Religion
awarded him the
Bachelor of Hebrew
Letters degree in 1972,
and the Master of Arts in
Hebrew Letters degree
in 1973. He received the
Doctor of Divinity degree
from Hebrew Union
College in 1998.
Following ordination in
1973, Rabbi Gladstone
served congregations in
Middletown, Ohio and
Fargo, North Dakota
before coming to
Bayonne in 1984. He
has also served as a
prison chaplain in
Jackson MI and
Lebanon OH.

The rabbi has been
President of the
Bayonne Interfaith
Clergy Association
since 1990, and has
served on committees
of many Jewish and
civic organizations. He
was recognized for his
efforts by the New
Jersey General
Assembly and New
Jersey State Senate in
1991, and is currently
the Senior Rabbi of
Hudson County.
Rabbi Gladstone and
his wife Anita have two
adult sons, Joshua and
Jesse. Joshua is
Senior Marketing
Producer for the NY
Mets for MLB.com.
Jesse is a recording
engineer at a Manhattan
recording studio.

Selichot
We Jews experience time in many ways.
There is the time of our lives -- what happens to us
moment by moment, day by day, year by year.
There is a kind of time we call history -- which we
perceive unfolding as a story told from a
particular perspective and point of view.
And there is also sacred time -- the cycle of life
viewed through the filter of tradition and the prism
of ritual observances.
Originally, sacred time was quantified by the
annual cycle of springtime planting, summertime
tending, and autumn harvesting of crops, followed
by a fourth, barren season. Once, our People were
semi-nomadic herdsmen, tending flocks and herds.
Then we settled down and became farmers,
tending the fields. Eventually, we became city-
dwellers but we never set aside our agricultural
calendar. Rather, we put an historic overlay on
many of what were originally agrarian nature
festivals.
Sacred time begins with the coming Aseret Yemai
Teshuvah -- Ten Days of Repentance we call the
High Holy Days. In sacred time we challenge the
apparent and the inevitable -- what "has been"
and what "is today" -- and seek to find our way
to a better will be back to His way.
But before then, during the Hebrew month of Elul,
is a time to prepare ourselves for the coming Holy
Days. If we make the effort, then Elul will provide a
strong foundation for our teshuvah -- our
repentance and spiritual renewal.
So, let us prepare. Let us ready ourselves to hear
the shofar’s sound, calling us to renew our lives
and mend our world.
The Selichot service is held on the Saturday night
preceding Rosh Hashanah, unless Rosh Hashanah
falls on the Monday or Tuesday following the
Saturday night, as it does this year. In that event,
the Selichot service is held one week earlier on
Saturday night.
Midnight was the traditional hour to recite Selichot
-- Penitential Prayers. The hour was chosen
because the Psalmist wrote: "At midnight I will rise
to give thanks to Thee" (Ps. 119:62). In recent years,
our synagogue has recited Selichot at 10:00pm.
Having observed other local synagogues successes
with an even earlier hour, we have moved our
service to 8:00pm.
Selichot is one of the single most spiritual moments
of the entire Jewish year. Ask someone who has
been part of the congregation on Selichot night.
On this special night, join us for our Selichot service
at 8:00pm on Saturday evening, September 20th,
2008.