Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, 90

Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, 90, of Cherry Hill, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom for 44 years, died of complications of a stroke Sunday at Virtua West Jersey Hospital in Voorhees.

In the 1940s, a group of families established Beth Sholom, a Conservative congregation then located in Haddon Heights. Rabbi Lewis came to the congregation in 1948 as a student rabbi and never left, said his daughter Orah Lipsky. The congregation then had 50 families. When he retired in 1992, it had 1,000 families and had moved to larger quarters in Cherry Hill.

Rabbi Lewis was proud that Temple Beth Sholom had the warmth of an Orthodox synagogue and the intellectual rigor of a Reform synagogue, said a friend, Rabbi Joseph A. Brodie. In the 1960s, he advocated limiting Beth Sholom's membership because he was concerned about his ability to give personal attention to every family. Though the congregation chose to expand, he continued to establish an intimate bond with families, his daughter said. "He loved interacting with people," she said.

Rabbi Lewis wrote articles for Jewish Magazine and the Encyclopedia Judaica. He was the author of two books, So It Isn't Perfect and What's Your Glory. He was past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly and vice president of the World Council of Synagogues. After becoming rabbi emeritus, he taught adult education at Temple Beth Sholom until four years ago.

A native of the Bronx, Rabbi Lewis earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree in education from City College of New York. He was a teacher in New York City and then was principal of the Brighton Beach Yeshiva in Brooklyn. There he met Sarah Einhorn, a teacher at the school. They married in 1944.

Rabbi Lewis earned a master's degree in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, where he taught for 10 years. He was ordained in 1948.

Starting in 1956, he led youth tours to Israel under the auspices of United Synagogue Youth. In 1967, he spent a yearlong sabbatical in Israel and traveled to Egypt to retrace the route of Exodus. The Six-Day War had ended months earlier and he sent reports back to the Catholic Star Herald in Camden.

"Where else but in America," a newspaper columnist later wrote, "would you have a rabbi writing stories from a Moslem country for a Catholic newspaper while risking his life?"

Rabbi Lewis last traveled to Israel five years ago, his daughter said. He was interested in politics and Zionism, she said, and he enjoyed liturgical and modern Hebrew music.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Rabbi Lewis is survived by a son, Rabbi Shalom Lewis; daughter Gilah Sietz; and seven grandchildren.

The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. today at Temple Beth Sholom 1901 Kresson Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Cedar Park Cemetery, Emerson, N.J.

Memorial donations may be made to Temple Beth Sholom.