A former assistant to Rabbi Fred Neulander has written the first insider account of the scandal that rocked South Jersey with tales of adultery, betrayal and murder.

But the book by Rabbi Gary Mazo is not a tawdry tell-all about Neulander, who faces trial on charges that he arranged the Nov. 1, 1994, slaying of his wife, Carol. It details the spiritual journey of Mazo and members of Congregation M'kor Shalom, the Cherry Hill temple founded by Neulander in 1974.

The book also offers a sometimes unflattering portrait of Neulander, who was once Mazo's mentor. And it sharply criticizes law enforcement officials and media members, saying their actions in the sensational case were often insensitive to Jews.

Some M'kor Shalom members have criticized the book. But Mazo says he wrote it to show how the embattled congregation, bound by ties of faith and community, overcame adversity.

"My hope is that anyone who has endured any sort of a crisis or tragedy can find a message here that helps them. That would be the only important thing for me as a rabbi," says Mazo, who left M'kor Shalom in 1999 for his current post at a Cape Cod, Mass., synagogue.

The slim paperback, which includes several sermons among its 172 pages, shuns "all the salacious details that would surely have put the book on the best-seller list," Mazo notes.

Indeed, other than members of the Mazo and Neulander families, the book identifies no one by name.

"I think the lesson I was trying to teach could get lost if people got caught up in the who's who. And I didn't want to hurt anybody," says Mazo, who notes Jewish law forbids gossip.

The rabbi says he rejected two lucrative offers from large publishers seeking explicit accounts. Instead, he took a $1, 100 advance from Rising Star Press, a small California publisher that agreed with his religious emphasis.

The title - And the Flames Did Not Consume Us, A Rabbi's Journey through Communal Crisis - refers to the biblical account of a burning bush, in which God appeared to Moses.

Mazo spent nine years at M'kor Shalom, rising from associate rabbi to senior rabbi. Neulander resigned in February 1995, when the public learned he was a murder suspect and had engaged in extramarital affairs.

Authorities contend Neulander had his wife beaten to death at their Cherry Hill home so he could continue an affair with Elaine Soncini, a former Philadelphia radio personality. Two men, Leonard Jenoff of Collingswood and Paul Daniels of Pennsauken, last year admitted their role in the killing.

They are expected to testify against Neulander when his capital murder trial begins in September. Mazo, 37, also is expected to testify for the defense and the prosecution.

In his book, Mazo expresses grief for Carol Neulander and compassion for her three grown children. He recounts saying a ritual prayer over Carol Neulander's battered body, then breaking the news of her death to her youngest son a short time later.

His views seem mixed toward Rabbi Neulander.

Mazo describes the rabbi as a charismatic speaker and teacher who drew the attention of attractive women. He also says Neulander, who is short but powerfully built, could be an angry, intimidating man.

"No one knows for sure what goes on inside another person' s mind, but here's my best guess," says Mazo, adding Neulander is innocent unless proved guilty. "The intimidation he was able to inflict on others through his intellectual and physical power eventually led to arrogance, perhaps to narcissism; perhaps to hubris. He went beyond the rules that applied to lesser people - the ego trap that has destroyed so many charismatic leaders.

"He acted on the fantasies and betrayed the trust of thousands."

Mazo also criticizes investigators and reporters, saying their actions sometimes hurt temple members.

He suggests law enforcement officials repeatedly leaked news and scheduled events to publicize the Neulander case around the time of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Mazo points to September 1997, when Camden County Prosecutor Lee Solomon held a grand jury investigation two weeks before the Jewish holidays.

"There was no compelling reason to schedule the proceedings at that time," writes Mazo, who testified before the grand jurors. He speculates that Solomon, who is Jewish, was trying to show he was not biased in favor of the rabbi.

Solomon rejects that view. "I have to do the job that I took an oath to do, without concern for what Rabbi Mazo or anyone else may think of me," he says. "I did it for the right reason."

Mazo himself has faced criticism, including some rebukes from M'kor Shalom members, says Carl Goldman of Rising Star Press.

He says an order for 25 books came earlier this year for a book fair at the Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, then was promptly canceled. Robin Rudofker, a spokeswoman for the JCC, declined to comment.