History or comments

Once Orthodox, this Reformed congregation is still located in its home of more than 100 years.

Temple Beth Hillel – Beth Abraham is a Jewish synagogue in the town of Carmel, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It was built in 1901 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Built in a classical vernacular style, the synagogue is a rectangular, 2 1/2 story common bond brick structure with corner and central pilasters. It rests upon a stone foundation and is surmounted by an asphalt shingled mansard roof with eyelid dormers. All windows in this unit are round arched with radiating mullions.

The Beth Hillel Synagogue is of local significance for the following reasons. Architecturally the Synagogue is of a classical vernacular type of the period. Furthermore, it is the only extant structure associated with the first Jewish settlement of Carmel and thus the religious and local history of Cumberland County. It is the only Reform congregation in the Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, Cape May County region.

Cumberland County, New Jersey once had sizeable Jewish population which dwindled in post-World War II years. Only three synagogues remain in the county. Temple Beth Hillel is a result of a 2008 merger of Beth Hillel and Beth Abraham which renewed the collective spirit of the joint communities. Beth Hillel was formerly an Orthodox congregation but since the merger has become more liberal, allying itself with the Reform movement.