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President's Corner

... coming soon

Rabbi's Corner

In the coming week we will begin reading from the last book of the Torah, the book of Deuteronomy.  Deuteronomy is the most humanistic book in the Torah and is told from the point of view of Moses. Moses chooses to share a specific narrative in order to convey a message of how the people should forge a new life in Eretz Yisrael.

This narrative of reflecting on the past and identifying hopes for the future is a wonderful moment for me to begin my relationship with you, the lifeline of Degel Israel Synagogue. I look forward to hearing your narrative of the rich history of your community and to learn about the moments that have been significant in forming your individual and collective identity.  I am also excited to forge ahead with each of you to create new significant moments and establish new meaningful relationships.

Just as I am hoping to learn about each of you, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of my narrative.  I grew up in Los Angeles, California with my parents, two sisters, and two beloved dogs and I attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  I have spent the last five years working in many diverse pulpits, pastoral care situations and educational environments.  I was blessed to have spent the past year as rabbi to the wonderful congregation in Gulfport, Mississippi. This fellowship offered me new insight for the need for rabbis around the world to work in places with small Jewish populations that are filled with individuals whom have large open hearts ready to embrace Judaism. The other position I continue to hold is the rabbinic intern at the Columbia University and Barnard College Hillel.  I am spending this summer working as a chaplain at the Columbia Presbyterian Children’s Hospital and Millstein Hospital.  Each day I am challenged to find God and faith in the faces of the sick and I feel privileged to be able to be present with families in crisis.

In addition to my professional work, I spend much of my time focused in the areas of nutrition and fitness.  I love to cook and have even taught a few healthy Jewish cooking classes around New York City and Mississippi.  I spent a period of time working for Weight Watchers and I am currently training for my first marathon!

Just as I have chosen specific moments to convey my narrative, I look forward to our narratives converging. There are scholars who state that the book of Deuteronomy is the most humanistic of all of the books in the Torah.  It is the book that shares details of relationships and has a clear message of how Moses hopes the past will inform the future of the Israelites.  My hope is that in the coming year we will engage in reflection on the past of Degel Israel Synagogue and begin to weave the future together.

Warm Regards,

Rabbi Rosenberg