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Congregation Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, held its 120th anniversary ad journal dinner March 22 at the shul, where members Mindy and Seth Berman, and Hannah and Abe Feigenbaum where honored.

Rabbi Steven Miodownik said in its 120 years, the shul has had its ups and downs. Overall, the past 120 years have been great for the shul, but in order to maintain that the same effort that helped create what is there today must continue.

"Now, in year 120, we're blessed to be at one of the apexes of our history," he said. "This takes a gargantuan effort and this dinner is the celebration of the effort."

Miodownik said the two couples represent Ahavas Achim in the past, present, and future. They are hard working, dedicated people, who are always there for other people in the community, he said.

"Each of them recognized in their own way that nothing gets done on its own," he said.

Abe Feigenbaum is a constant presence at services and he is truly one of a kind, Miodownik said. Also, he said he feels blessed to be friends with such caring and giving people as the Bermans.

"AA (Ahavas Achim) is unique, in that there's an avenue of entry for every Jew here and we have to maintain that effort after 120," he said.

Mindy Berman said not only is the shul a great place, but the Highland Park community is filled with warm and welcoming people. The members of the temple and the community are very giving and always there for each other, she said.

"I feel like such a sense of home," Mindy said.

Ahavas Achim is full of multi-generational families, she said. The Bermans have friends that are 10 years older them and 10 years younger than them, she said. The Bermans attend bar and bat mitzvahs, baby namings, brises, weddings, and other celebrations throughout the community.

"In Highland Park, all of the shuls get along," she said. "That's what beautiful about this."

It has been a great place for their three children -- Aryeh, who is 8 years old, and their twins Edie and Gavi, who are 5 years old -- to grow up, she said.

Seth Berman said it didn't feel quite right being honored, because for him and his wife they simply don't like being the center of attention. The dinner was really more of a tribute to the temple and how far it has come, Seth said.

"My wife paved the way for us," Seth said. "It's a privilege to make our home in this community."

The Bermans, who have been members of the shul for the past 12 years, have played major roles in helping the shul get to 120. Mindy, after growing up in St. Louis, traveled across the country on behalf of a national Jewish sorority, then spent a year in Washington where she worked for AIPAC, then went to graduate school in Los Angeles, then moved to Atlanta, where she worked one of the largest Jewish Federations in the country. However, she was Orthodox and single and there were very few other people like that in Atlanta, so she moved to Highland Park. It was there she met Seth, started a family, and embraced the Highland Park community.

She served on the board of directors, coordinated the Installation Weekend of Rabbi Miodownik, and was involved with the Youth Committee and the Sisterhood. Seth was vice president of the Ritual Committee from 2002-2004 and is currently serving his second term that began last year. He has also been one of the gabbis in the temple for the past 10 years.

The Feigenbaums, who have been mainstays in Highland Park for six decades, were reluctant to accept being honored, but after a bit of persuasion by members of the shul, they gladly accepted, he said.

"My first reaction is, hey forget about it," he said.

Hannah, who is Hungarian, grew up as a member of Congregation Ohev Emeth in Highland Park. While attending Rutgers University in the late 1940s, Abe began to attend Ahavas Achim with some of his friends from school.

"It was such a welcoming atmosphere, that I stayed," Abe said.

After serving in the army, Abe and Hannah joined the shul in 1954. Abe soon became active and served on the board, he said. In 1973, they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where they maintained their Jewish tradition, but it still wasn't Highland Park, he said. In 1993, they returned to Highland Park and Ahavas Achim and have been here since, he said.

"When I joined, it was the family that joined," Abe said. "It's in our blood."

Throughout his time at the shul, Abe has served as financial secretary, recording secretary, a representative to the Jewish federation, a member of the education committee, and he and Hannah were instrumental in setting up the youth groups at the shul. They have three children: Benjamin, who is married to Florence and lives in East Brunswick with their two children; Josef, who is married to Eti and lives in Beersheva with their four children; and Miriam who lives in Yardley, Pa.

Although he and his wife are members of both Ahavas Achim and Ohev Emeth, Abe attends AA Monday through Friday for minyans, but on Shabbos attends Ohev Emeth simply because it's around the corner from his house.

Nonetheless, he said, "I find [Ahavas Achim] to be much friendlier."

Temple member Michael Wasserman said because of the Feigenbaums' role in creating the youth groups and the youth director in the 1960s, he and his wife were hired as youth advisors. The Feigenbaums and Bermans are two couples that have done a great deal for the shul and for the community, he said.

"They are very sensitive, not only do the right thing, but worry about other people's feeling," Wassermann said.