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While other Orthodox synagogues moved across the bridge to Highland Park and Edison, Congregation Poile Zedek lives on in the former Jewish metropolis of New Brunswick -- due in large part to dedicated individuals like those honored at its 108th Anniversary Dinner.

Life was in the air on Sunday night at the Regency Jewish Heritage Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Somerset, as 108 is six times 18, or "chai," the Jewish number that represents life. With the holiday of Hanukkah approaching, another theme was light, or the illumination Poile Zedek infuses into the lives of community members, perhaps most notably the religious, social, and financial assistance it provides for Russian Jews.

Rabbi Abraham Mykoff said that such illumination, a trademark of Poile Zedek's mission and an ongoing source of its accomplishments, wouldn't be possible without the hard work of honorees Hy and Anat Appelbaum, Joel and Rhoda Paul, Dr. Robert Berkowitz, and Hanna Idesis.

"All of them have this devotion, and dedication, and determination to see that yahadut (Judaism) flourishes," Mykoff said.

Idesis, recipient of the Ahavat Chesed Award, said she didn't know anything about Judaism when she left Russia for East Brunswick 20 years ago. But through personal lessons with Rabbi Eli Kogan, and now Thursday night Torah classes in Russian with Kogan, which she organizes at Poile Zedek, Idesis discovered that "Torah somehow was inside of me. I started to feel that it was something I belonged to."

Over this past year, Idesis has also organized Poile Zedek's efforts to ship thousands of pounds of clothing to needy families in Israel. Like the other honorees, Idesis described just how much Poile Zedek owes its success to Mykoff, its longtime leader.

"He accepts everybody," Idesis said. "He is like our father Avraham. It's not a coincidence that his name is Avraham."

"To work with these Russian people, I will tell you, it's a hard job," Idesis added, making it clear that as a Russian herself, she knew that and could say it.

Hy Appelbaum, also a member of Congregation Ohav Emeth in Highland Park and Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, is a certified public accountant who has volunteered to be Poile Zedek's treasurer for more than 10 years. His wife Anat, a lawyer, has given members of Poile Zedek free legal advice.

"They truly are poile tzedek (workers of justice)," said Ohav Emeth Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman, evoking Poile Zedek's name while he introduced the Appelbaums as the Guests of Honor.

Hy said he has always been humbled to support Poile Zedek's outreach to unaffiliated Jews and anyone else in need of assistance.

"In truth, it is our honor to be able to assist Congregation Poile Zedek in its holy work of strengthening Torah Judaism," Appelbaum said.

The Paul family's reach as far as helping the Jewish community extends far beyond any particular synagogue, Mykoff said as he presented them with the Community Service Award. Joel H. Paul and Associates services Jewish and other nonprofit community organizations across America, and locally, Joel founded the Orthodox Forum of Edison/Highland Park and served on the Mayor's Education Task Force of Edison.

Paul recalled that when he came to the Edison/Highland Park community as just a visitor for a Shabbat in 1988, he was moved by how each synagogue announced the special occasions of the other. After the Pauls, members of Ohr Torah, settled in the area, their notions of the community's unity were only strengthened. As proof, Joel noted that many people at Sunday's dinner were members of multiple local congregations.

Berkowitz, who now lives in North Brunswick, is a lifelong member of Poile Zedek and has served on its board of trustees for the past five years. Dr. Ira Gang, who presented Berkowitz with the Keter Shem Tov Award, recalled that when he first came to Poile Zedek, he asked Berkowitz where he should sit in the sanctuary, hoping to be out of the rabbi's line of sight -- and Berkowitz promptly pointed him to a seat right in front of the rabbi.

"Wherever he is, I know I'm one row behind," Berkowitz said of Gang, Poile Zedek's recording secretary.

Berkowitz, whose parents joined Poile Zedek in the 1940s, said he took pride in how the synagogue has stood firm in New Brunswick despite changes in the community.

Indeed, Poile Zedek's challenges are primarily demographic, explained Danny Ravitz, the synagogue's president for the past eight years. As the Orthodox Jewish community and its synagogues migrated to nearby Edison and Highland Park, Poile Zedek, whose building is on the National Register of Historic Places, remained in its founding city and traditionally marketed itself through features like low membership costs, which are still only $150 per year, Ravitz said.

"We are doing whatever we can so that people can become members, and we want people to join our community and join our synagogue to keep it viable," Ravitz said.

Poile Zedek's history wasn't lost on the administration of Regency Jewish Heritage. When Mykoff approached Administrator Marty Bengio, Bengio didn't hesitate to lend his facility to the congregation for the dinner free of charge.

"We are giving back to the community," Eli Mirlis, an assistant administrator at Regency, said.