| As the first Reform Jewish Temple on the Main Line we have a rich tradition. Each of the 55 founding families, who gathered in early 1952, wanted to establish a unique religious center which would serve the needs of its members while allowing those members to serve the needs of others.
The Constitution of Main Line Reform Temple
describes our purpose:
". . . to cultivate a love and understanding of our Jewish Heritage; to stimulate a fellowship in the Jewish community and to strengthen the bond of loyalty with the Jewish people everywhere; to bring the Kingdom of God on earth through emphasis on the principles of righteousness and brotherhood in society at large."
The words which follow describe the many aspects of a congregation which cares about its Jewish heritage, fellow Jews throughout the nation and the world, and mankind everywhere.
A Home For All Generations
Early worship for the Congregation took place at the Ardmore Women’s Club with a guest rabbi conducting services. At the end of the first year, Rabbi Theodore H. Gordon became spiritual leader of the Congregation. By the fall of 1954, with a membership of 350 families, Main Line Reform Temple bought from Temple Adath Israel an old Wynnewood mansion which had been converted into a synagogue. As the membership and its needs expanded, it became obvious that a new structure was needed, one that would house both the Temple and its religious school. On September 11, 1960, the current facility was consecrated.
Strength Through Rabbinic Leadership
Rabbi Theodore Gordon, who led the congregation from 1953 to 1972, helped Main Line Reform Temple grow from the fifty original founding families to a congregation of 850 families. Even during his retirement in Florida, Rabbi Gordon has continued to serve several small congregations.
Rabbi Max Hausen, our Senior Rabbi from 1972 to 1996, worked to build a sense of community among a congregation that had grown to 1250 congregational members, while remaining attentive to members’ individual needs. Rabbi Hausen continues to live and work among us.
Rabbi Paul J. Citrin came to Main Line Reform Temple in 1996 from Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rabbi Citrin established a number of new programs to ensure that the Temple met the needs of congregants.
Rabbi David Straus became Senior Rabbi at MLRT in 1998 following a 10 year tenure at Har Sinai in Trenton, NJ and stints at the Fairmont Temple in Cleveland and Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC.
Strength Through Congregational Leadership
Leadership from the pulpit has been matched by the leadership provided from the Congregation’s members. The leadership group is drawn from longtime as well as relatively recent congregants, and changes often to include new faces with fresh perspectives and interests. Leadership is shared by the Temple officers and Board of Trustees, the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood, and a myriad of Temple committees. Over the years, the composition of the Board has been both fluid - with a steady stream of new faces and ideas - and stable enough to remind us of past experiences. In a genuine sense, the Board is the nerve center of our Temple Life.
Part of a Larger Community of Reform Congregations
Main Line Reform Temple Beth Elohim is part of a larger community of Reform congregations, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. "Gates of Prayer," the Reform prayerbook, expresses our spiritual goal: recognition of the traditional principles of Judaism while redefining its essence in modem terms.
Just as Reform Judaism is an on-going faith which seeks to confront the serious dilemmas of our time, so Reform Jews are urged - and empowered - to use their religion to find an ethical and moral direction for themselves.
... A commitment to Judaism as a continuously growing and changing way of life meaningful to all generations... | 
