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During the summer of 1990, Dr. Haim Baruh was the young president of Highland Park's Congregation Etz Ahaim, a synagogue with declining membership, no rabbi, and finances in disarray. The one thing the shul really couldn't afford, Baruh recalled, was hiring a lackluster leader.

After an international search that yielded many well-meaning candidates, one stood out so much that he earned a unanimous vote from the search committee. With his emphasis on education and his desire to make peace at all times, Rabbi David Bassous "seemed to understand all of our problems before he met us," Baruh said.

Eighteen years later, Bassous has transformed Etz Ahaim from a shul that barely held services twice a week to one with three daily minyanim, adult education classes almost every day, five Torah scrolls, and a growing pool of young members celebrating more bar and bat mitzvahs each year.

"I'm happy to say that what we saw with Rabbi Bassous in his interviews is what we got," Baruh said on Sunday at Etz Ahaim's Chai Journal Dinner, which celebrated the 18 years of service, and counting, of Bassous and his wife Clara.

As Middlesex County's only Sephardic synagogue, Etz Ahaim has helped preserve Sephardic heritage in Central Jersey. Of all the shul's accomplishments over his 18 years there, Bassous told The Jewish State that, "No. 1 is we survived."

After receiving an engineering degree in England, Bassous attended various yeshivot in England and Israel and received ordination from the Shehebar Sephardic Center in Jerusalem. From there, he led Congregation Beth Hamidrash in Vancouver, Canada, from 1986 to 1991.

Bassous also serves as Early Childhood Judaic director at Magen David Yeshivah in Brooklyn. His wide array of classes at Etz Ahaim, including Ben Ish Chai, Mishnayot, Rambam's Mishneh Torah, and the seasonal eight-part "Classes for the Masses" series, have earned the synagogue a reputation as a center for Jewish learning in Highland Park.

Whether speakers at Sunday's dinner knew Bassous from Etz Ahaim, Magen David, or elsewhere, most stressed Bassous' humble demeanor. Joel Levy of Highland Park, master of ceremonies for the evening, said he once asked a rabbi what it takes to become a rabbi, and instead of answering that it takes mastery of halakha, the rabbi said it takes being "in awe of every person that you meet."

"If that is true, don't we have a rabbi, ladies and gentleman?" Levy told the crowd. Levy said that when the rabbi and rebbetzin greet somebody at Etz Ahaim, they do so with a smile and without ever being judgmental.

"It's just 'welcome, come and pray with us'," he said.

Levy compared the soft-spoken nature of Clara Bassous to a lion in the jungle, which is able to stay quiet but still keep others in line.

"I believe that's why our Rebbetzin Clara Bassous doesn't say very much," Levy said. "She doesn't need any words to get the job done."

Levy's daughter Rachel recalled how Clara taught her the meaning of enjoying Jewish culture and tutored her in Hebrew after school without ever accepting a penny in return. "One could always feel her heart and soul was put into it all," Rachel said.

During a video presentation, attendees turned back the clock by watching footage from Bassous' installation luncheon in August 1992, as longtime members cheered when they saw themselves. The video also included well wishes for the rabbi and rebbetzin from Bassous' mother in London, his brother in Israel, and four of his children in Israel.

Bassous told the crowd that since he doesn't have any family in the U.S., "all of you are parts of our family."

"The secret of success of any rabbi, of any leader, is the community behind him," Bassous said.

Bassous said it is hard for him to perform funerals every year for longtime Etz Ahaim members and see a "beautiful generation of beautiful souls that pass one by one." Still, Bassous said the shul's active members ensure that he is much more fortunate than rabbis who only see congregants at "hatch, match, dispatch," or births, weddings, and deaths.

Baruh said that since the video of Bassous' installation was shown, he had to give a different speech than he did 17 years ago, but that in many ways the speech would be the same. That's because in good times and bad times, Bassous' demeanor has been constant.

"His faith and his dedication do not change," Baruh said. "His gentlemanly manners do not change."

Putting an 18-year rabbinical tenure at one synagogue into perspective, Rabbi Dr. Baruch Hilsenrath, principal of Magen David's elementary school, recalled when he injured his neck this past summer. Hilsenrath told his acupuncturist he got hurt by lifting nine suitcases, and the acupuncturist replied: "next time, try [lifting them] one by one."

"Eighteen years is not 18 years," Hilsenrath said. "Eighteen years is one by one."

Rabbi Chaim Shaul, spiritual leader of Magen David Yeshivah Synagogue, said that when he sees Rabbi and Rebbetzin Bassous, he understands exactly why people who have yirat shamayim (fear of heaven) are always listened to.

"He leads by example, he gives of himself selflessly, totally dedicated to the success of others around him," Shaul said.

Shaul said he was amazed and humbled to see that when he walked into Etz Ahaim, he saw a mezuzah to his right, and to his left the stunning list of classes and minyanim Bassous organizes seven days a week, from morning to evening.

Solomon Bitton, who along with Bassous co-founded Ben Porat Yosef, a Sephardic yeshiva day school in Bergen County, said that Bassous' vigor, wisdom, and sense of humor helped the school grow from 27 children in a synagogue basement to a thriving institution with more than 150 students.

"He recognized, with us, that the Sephardic community wasn't being serviced, and that a school would fill that void," Bitton said.

In his early to mid 20s, Levy said he came to Etz Ahaim on a whim and learned from Bassous that "there was more to Judaism than rules and 'don't'." Levy went on to meet his wife Yvonne while taking classes at Etz Ahaim, forming one of the many couples that have met under Bassous' watch, he said.

"His fingerprint is on all of us," Levy said of Bassous.

Levy, who with his wife owns the Family Martial Arts Academy in Highland Park, said there are two unique things at Etz Ahaim that weren't present in previous generations -- many rabbis and many black belts. Among other community leaders who contribute to Etz Ahaim, Rabbi Moshe Silver teaches a rabbinics class there on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Rabbi Jacob Krief gives a "haftarah of the week" class on Shabbat.

"There's a rabbi under pretty much every bench in the sanctuary," Levy said. "I think it's a great testament to the environment that has been fostered [by Bassous]."