Overview

• A four-alarm fire engulfed the century-old wooden synagogue just before 3 a.m. on August 8, causing the three-story structure to collapse within an hour.
• Rabbi Yitzchok Lerman, his wife Bina, and their six children escaped unharmed after a fire alarm awakened them moments before flames reached their apartment.
• Firefighters from multiple Bergen County battalions battled intense flames and downed live wires and remained on scene into the afternoon to extinguish hotspots.
• Authorities have classified the cause as undetermined and non-suspicious and have launched an ongoing investigation into the origin of the blaze.
• Congregation Beth El leaders have secured temporary worship spaces and initiated fundraising campaigns to support the synagogue’s reconstruction.