|
|||||||
|
Archives |
|||||||
Introducing... Connecticut's new rabbis
congregations all across Connecticut. We introduce them to you here. Rabbi Michael Farbman Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven 150 Derby Ave., Orange / (203) 397-3000 / www.templeemanuel-gnh.org
Where are you from? I was born in Vitebsk, Belarus. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? I have a B.A. in economics and a B.A. and M.A. in Hebrew and Jewish studies. I was ordained in July 2001 at the Leo Baeck College in London, UK, at the time the only European Progressive rabbinic seminary. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? I decided to become a rabbi because I was inspired by the Jewish texts and Jewish traditions - which I was denied as a child growing up in the Soviet Union and therefore only discovered in my late teens. I also LOVE working with people, meeting people, talking to people, and studying with people, so those things came together really well in my choice of the rabbinate as a vocation. What did you do prior to coming to Connecticut? I was assistant rabbi at the West London Synagogue of British Jews. In July 2005, I returned to Russia and was installed as the rabbi of Sha'arei Shalom Progressive Jewish Community in St. Petersburg, where I helped increase the nearly non-existent congregation to a membership of more than 300. The story is the subject of the film, "To Russia with Love," by Israeli documentary filmmaker Asher Tlamlim. Before coming to Temple Emanuel, I was rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C. What do you hope to bring to Temple Emanuel in your role as rabbi? My love of Judaism and my desire to infuse the Jewish experience for everyone who comes through the doors of Temple Emanuel with excitement and positive energy. Temple Emanuel is a very special place with an incredibly wonderful and committed group of people and I look forward to partnering with them in continuing the wonderful traditions that began decades ago, as well as offering new ideas and new energy, continuing to build the kehilah k'doshah, a holy congregation. Do you have a special "extra-curricular" interest or talent? In my teens, I used to be a DJ and I have a relatively large collection of music on my shelves, ranging from classical music to Metallica - so I guess that's unusual. A few years ago, my son, who is now nine, started to roller-skate and asked me to join him, so the two of us scared many tourists in front of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. I am hoping I can pick that up again, as I have really enjoyed it. I also enjoy photography, especially taking portraits of my children and friends. Rabbi Seth Michael Haaz Congregation Adath Israel 8 Broad St., Middletown / (860) 346-4709 / www.adathisraelct.org Conservative Where are you from? I grew up just outside of northeast Philadelphia and attended Congregation Beth Sholom in Elkins Park, Penn. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? I did my undergraduate work at Tufts University, where I received a BA in economics. In addition to my rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in May 2009, I also received an MA in interdepartmental studies in May 2006. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? I believe that Judaism can add much meaning to the relationships in our lives. Jewish tradition has the power to connect families and friends and to help us be aware of our sacred time together. What did you do prior to coming to Connecticut? During my final year of rabbinical school at the Seminary I served as the rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Amsterdam, N.Y. What do you hope to bring to Adath Israel in your role as rabbi? Throughout rabbinical school, I dedicated myself to the development of my pastoral skills. I completed 800 hours of clinical pastoral education in hospital settings and served as a chaplain candidate and commissioned officer in the United States Navy. I hope to bring these pastoral skills to Congregation Adath Israel and to the larger Middletown area to build community and strengthen our prayer and life-cycle rituals. In addition, I am passionate about engaging our congregants in practical theology and how we interact with God in our lives. Do you have a special "extra-curricular" interest or talent? I enjoy table tennis and ballroom dance, and I hope to continue to grow in these two hobbies. Rabbi Claudio J. Kogan Temple Beth Tikvah 198 Durham Road, Madison / (203) 245-7028 / www.templebethtikvahct.org Reform Where are you from? Buenos Aires, Argentina. I live in Guilford with my wife Ana Sverdlick, and our children, 3-year-old Milena Yael, and 6-month-old Ezekiel Yair. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? My degrees are: MD 1995, University of Buenos Aires; Master of Hebrew Letters 1998, Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano [Latin-American Rabbinical Seminary], Buenos Aires; Master of Hebrew Letters 2002, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, Oh.; Master of Education in Educational Administration with specialization in Jewish education. Master of Bioethics 2009, University of Pennsylvania. I was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 2003. I became a certified mohel in 1997 at Bikum Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? One of the rabbis who was very influential in my life was [Norwich, Conn. native] Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer. In the early '60s, after being ordained at Jewish Theological Seminary, he moved to Argentina and changed and revitalized Jewish life there. He came back to the U.S. in 1985 and helped revive Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan as its rabbi. There was no minyan then, and today there are two services every Friday night. In Argentina, he fought for human rights and social justice, and every rabbi from South America was touched by him directly or indirectly. He built the seminary in Buenos Aires, Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano [Latin-American Rabbinical Seminary]. One of the conditions for enrolling in the seminary is that you have to have another degree. I chose medicine, and was studying both at the same time from 1987 to 1998. In 1993, I came to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to do a medical internship. I met a rabbi from Argentina who encouraged me to visit Rabbi Meyer at B'nai Jeshurun. I had an aliya and when he heard my accent, he invited me to meet with him. In three hours, he inspired me with his thoughts and teachings, and I went back to Buenos Aires knowing that I would become a rabbi. Rabbi Meyer passed away later that year. There are two rabbis at B'nai Jeshurun who are my mentors. What did you do prior to coming to Connecticut? In Buenos Aires, I was rabbi at Chana Senesh from 1992 to 1997, Beth Israel from 1997 to 1998, and Hebrew Congregation of Lomas de Zamora from 1998 to 1999. During that period, in the morning I went to medical school, in the afternoon I went to rabbinical school, and at night I went to my congregation. After ordination, I served at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, N.J., first as a rabbi-educator for three years, then as associate rabbi for three years. I also served as chaplain with the New Brunswick, N.J. police and fire departments. What do you hope to bring to the congregation in your role as rabbi? I want to bring energy and to revive Jewish life on the shoreline. The word "vacation" comes from the French word "vacances," which means free time or enjoyable time. My goal is to make 365 days a year a nice and enjoyable time for the Jewish community. Do you have a special "extra-curricular" interest or talent? I love to swim. Over the last 24 months, I lost 60 lbs. through swimming and better eating. I want to start to encourage the Jewish people that it's important to eat well and pay serious attention to our lifestyle. In May, I finished my degree at the University of Pennsylvania in bioethics. Today there are so many medical advances to continue life and so many discussions around end-of-life issues. If we are wise, we can make those moments as far away as possible, we can push our end of life if we know what to eat and how to exercise. I want to be inside the Yale community and expand my interest in bioethics, especially as part of the ethics committee at the hospital. One of the things I want to emphasize is that, as a mohel, a doctor, and a rabbi, I will search for the best for the Jewish people. This is my priority. How can we inspire the kids to be Jewish today? Even though I love medicine, I put as a priority my rabbinical career. Rabbi Elly Krimsky Young Israel of Stamford 69 Oaklawn Ave., Stamford / (203) 348-3955 / www.yistamford.org Orthodox Where are you from? I grew up in Brookline, Mass. Even though Stamford is on the southern tip of Connecticut, one of the many appeals of Stamford was returning to my New England roots. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? My parents both grew up in the New York area in strongly Jewish but not very religious homes. They were both studying in Boston, met, and chose to live an observant lifestyle. They committed to providing my siblings and me with a Jewish education. As such, we all attended and graduated from Maimonides Day School. We all had the opportunity to study in Jerusalem after high school and we all received our Bachelors degrees from Yeshiva University (YU). While studying at YU, I was privileged to spend three years studying with the sage Rabbi Dovid Lifschitz of blessed memory. For one year his grandson was my study-partner. During my stay at YU, I was very involved with New England Region NCSY [formerly National Conference of Synagogue Youth] and I knew that knowing more Torah would aid me in being a better NCSY advisor. I majored in political science. I was very interested in U.S.-Soviet relations, as my father's father (my namesake) and all of his siblings came from the Ukraine. I had visited the USSR twice and even met some cousins there, who were completely assimilated. On the one hand I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in international relations, yet on the other hand, I was interested in continuing my outreach work and rabbinical studies at RIETS, the YU rabbinical seminary. After debating back and forth, I chose to move to Washington, D.C. to attend the Elliot School of International Relations at The George Washington University and obtained a job running Greater Washington NCSY. During my first semester of grad school in D.C., the Soviet Union collapsed, which caused me to re-think my career goals. I guess it was the equivalent of making a living selling flat-earth globes during the times of Columbus. I called my mentors back at YU and they encouraged me to study for the rabbinate in Washington. I eventually received three private ordinations, the first of which was in Jerusalem on the afternoon before Tisha B'av in 1997. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? There are multiple reasons. Much of my affinity for the rabbinate stems from my very strong relationship with my rabbi growing up in Boston, Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger. Although I came from a smaller synagogue, our shul yielded a very high number of rabbis. I believe this can be attributed to the influence of the Halbfingers. I was privileged to grow up in a home where my parents revered our rabbi and rebbitzin; where our Shabbos table only spoke glowingly of them. As I grew older and got involved in NCSY in high school, I think I fell in love with outreach. Part of that stems from my general affinity to meet people and be with people and another strong part derives from my desire to share the Judaism I love and cherish. Also, because my curve ball was just not good enough to make the Red Sox. What did you do prior to coming to Connecticut? While in Washington I became the adult education director at Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah in Potomac, Md. When I finished my rabbinic studies, the synagogue promoted me to part time assistant rabbi, which became a full-time position as the synagogue grew. I left Beth Sholom to assume a position back at Yeshiva University, as the assistant director of Jewish Career Development and Placement. In a certain sense, I became a rabbi in a professional sense to many other rabbis. What do you hope to bring to Young Israel of Stamford in your role as rabbi? I think that a rabbi and a congregation are a "shidduch," a match, no different than a man and his wife. The synagogue needs to hire the right rabbi, but the rabbi needs to find the right congregation as well. My wife and I are very excited about our new "match" with the Young Israel of Stamford. While we have our personality and goals, so do the synagogue and the community. When a couple gets married, each has to learn to adapt to the other and learn how to make the other better. I look forward to learning from the congregants I will be privileged to serve, and I hope that my enthusiasm for Torah and Judaism will rub off on them as well. Do you have a special "extra-curricular" interest or talent? For me, music is very important. It's really the window to the soul. I used to play keyboard professionally in Jewish wedding bands. I used to tell people that you will not remember the main course at your wedding, nor the number of side-dishes at the smorg. But you will remember the lively dancing, the cerebral tunes as you walked down the aisle. When we got married, I told my wife that my only input to the wedding ceremony was bringing a band I loved. I can't exist without humming, singing or music accompanying me throughout my day. Will you be retaining your role at YU? I will. My supervisors are very supportive of my re-entering the rabbinate. My position at YU cannot be confined to a 9-to-5 job. At the same time, much of what I do - communicating with rabbis, synagogue search committees and presidents - can be done remotely. I am proud to be an employee at the Center for the Jewish Future, which I believe stands at the forefront of U.S. and international Orthodoxy. But at the same time, I have craved for the intimacy of the personal relationships and community-building of the pulpit. Rabbi Chagie Rubin Young Israel of New Haven 399 Whalley Ave., New Haven / (203) 776-4212 / www.yinh.org Orthodox Where are you from? East New York in Brooklyn, then my family and I moved to the Lower East Side. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? For elementary school, I attended the main Lubavitch yeshiva on Bedford Ave. and Dean St. in Brooklyn. After that, I went to Rabbi Jacob Joseph School on the Lower East Side, one of the oldest Jewish day schools in the U.S., through high school. I studied at rabbinical college in St. Louis, then at Yeshiva Gedolah of Montreal for seven years, where I received my smicha. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? My first love is Jewish education. Originally, I was able to channel that love by teaching children and serving as principal in several Jewish day schools. Along the way, I also developed an interest in teaching adults and becoming involved in the rabbinical field. In 1979, I did a post-smicha year in Israel with my wife. That year, the Israeli economy went into a downspin, with 700-percent inflation, and we found life very difficult. Kollel Yad Shaul in Johannesburg, South Africa was looking to expand its kollel [community outreach arm], and in 1981, we were invited with several other families to teach and study there. In 1984, I became principal of Shaarei Torah, a day school opened in 1978 that is still in existence. In the 16 years I was there, it grew from 50 to 300 kids. Before I left South Africa in 2000, I handed over the school to the Ohr Sameach organization, which continues to maintain it to this day. I also founded a Jewish high school and in 1993, I registered it with Cambridge University in England, which had a local office, to establish an internationally recognized diploma and allow students to earn college credit during senior year. I focused on education and fundraising, establishing a scholarship fund to make Jewish day-school education available to all. I also was part-time rabbi at Yeoville Hebrew Congregation from 1995 to 2000. When we returned to the U.S. in 2000, I served as principal of Cincinnati Hebrew Day School, then at Hillel Academy in Denver, and also lectured extensively under Aish Denver, which really provided a lot of fulfillment. In 2005, Yeshiva Gedolah of Bridgeport offered me the position of fundraiser, and we wanted to come back east. While in that position, I expanded the yeshiva's classes around the state, and taught classes at the Young Israel of New Haven. When Young Israel decided to go from a full-time to a part-time rabbi, I applied for the position. I also serve as principal of Hillel Academy in Fairfield. What do you hope to bring to the congregation in your role as rabbi? I want to use Young Israel as a launching pad to offer classes all over New Haven. I want to make the synagogue a synagogue without walls. I will focus on the needs of the congregants -- that's number one. Anything I can do to assist them in their lives, that is my first and foremost duty to them. I will help to maintain synagogue and services, event though the neighborhood is challenging and make sure we can have services all the time. I want to assist people to grow in their Judaism - how much is their choice, but I want to offer the beauty of learning Torah and sharing it with them. I'm not judgmental or there to force them to do things, but to work with them in their respective comfort zones, and let them know that they can continue to grow in their Judaism, no matter what their age. I want to use Young Israel as a way to reach out and teach Torah wherever there is any opportunity, through other Jewish organizations, JCCs, people's homes and offices, other synagogues. Wherever people would like to learn something about Judaism, Young Israel can reach out to the New Haven community as a whole. I'm not just focused on Young Israel, and that's not what the synagogue wants me to do. Do you have a special "extra-curricular" interest or talent? I'm a Superhero fan and a Trekkie. I've been teaching "Superheroes and the Jewish Connection" at Merkaz, the Community High School for Jewish Studies in Bridgeport, and will also offer the course at Makom Hebrew High School of Greater New Haven. I always felt there were Jewish ideas and themes in Superhero stories, because all the writers were Jewish in the early days, and many of the plots and ideas were consciously and subconsciously infused with Jewish themes and concepts. I'm a wild New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs fan. And I agree with Yogi Berra, who said, "If there's a fork in the road, take it." I believe that in each situation, you have to do something. I'm a guy who has to make a decision; I can't let things remain in limbo. Rabbi Brahm Weinberg Young Israel of West Hartford 2240 Albany Ave., West Hartford / (860) 233-3084 / youngisraelwh.org Orthodox Where are you from? Montreal, Canada. What is your educational background? Where were you ordained? After graduating high school, I studied at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Efrat, Israel. I earned my undergraduate degree from Yeshiva University (YU) in history and Jewish studies, and continued on at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, simultaneously earning a Masters degree in Jewish education. I was ordained in 2008. I spent last year at YU, where I started a Masters degree in modern Jewish history. Why did you decide to become a rabbi? I've always worked well with people. I enjoy teaching, feel passionate about Judaism, and wanted to impart it to others. I also want to help people. Being a rabbi allows you to be involved in many different areas - pastoral hospital visits, teaching, and coaching people through difficult and joyous moments. What did you do prior to coming to Connecticut? I was a rabbinic intern at Congregation Shaare Tefilla in Dallas and at Great Neck Synagogue on Long Island. What do you hope to bring to the Young Israel in your role as rabbi? Excitement, involvement of people, increase learning and involvement in daily services. I'd like to help create a warm, caring space, making us a part of the larger community. More to come Several new rabbis were not available to be interviewed for this article. We will introduce them in a future issue. They are: Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation, Southington Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin Congregation Ahavath Achim, Fairfield Rabbi Ari Weiss Congregation Agudas Achim, West Hartford |
|||||||
Enter your comments here. The Jewish Ledger invites you to post your thoughts and comments on the story above. Please be sure to include your full name, city of residence and your email address if you wish your comments to be considered for publication in the print edition of the Jewish Ledger. If your comments are selected for inclusion in our print edition, an editor must contact you for confirmation. Thank you for reading the Jewish Ledger! |
|||||||
|
|
