Congregation Sharri Sholom Records

The records of the Jewish Community Center of South Brunswick, Congregation Sharri Sholom, span the years 1955 to 1979, with the bulk of the documents falling between 1970 and 1979. This organization, founded by poultry, dairy and general farmers in a (formerly) rural section of Middlesex County, New Jersey, existed from 1942 until it merged with two other, similar organizations in 1981. For at least the later years of its existence, the group was affiliated with the Conservative movement of Judaism.

Congregation Sharri Sholom's records are sparse, with the most substantial series being the MINUTES, 1955-1957 and 1973-1979, and the GENERAL FILES OF PRESIDENT ALVIN BAZEL, 1973-1979. Together, these series provide insight into the many and varied activities of the Congregation and its president. The FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS, 1974-1979, include copies of federal returns, entitled Organization Exempt from Income Tax, which were filed by the Congregation, as well as a small quantity of correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service concerning administrative matters. Other financial records included pertain to bingo operations and document the amounts of money raised from this activity, together with a controversy surrounding an application for a license renewal. The FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS have been weeded for privacy reasons, but because the information was not recorded in any other form, a list of the Congregation's employees, extracted from discarded W2 forms, was created. This list can be found in the Appendix to the finding aid. Other Congregation records consist of a few items of MEMBERSHIP RECORDS, 1972-1973 and undated.

Records of the Congregation's Sisterhood are also included in the collection and primarily date from the early 1970s. Two years of MINUTES, September 1970-June 1972, provide insight into an active group. This activity is further evidenced by a 1972 GUIDEBOOK and TORAH FUND AND RESIDENCE HALL CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS, 1970-1974. The MEMBERSHIP FORMS provide valuable personal information from 1972 and unspecified periods both before and after the group changed its name in 1970 from the Ladies Auxiliary to the Sisterhood. Completing the Sisterhood's records are CALENDARS, 1959/60-1966/67 with gaps, a few pre-1970 PRESS CLIPPINGS and four PHOTOGRAPHS, 1972 and undated.