New rabbi’s goal: make Judaism ‘relevant, inspiring, loving’ for all
Leader followed dad’s career path
The new rabbi at Temple Ohav Shalom in McCandless, the only Reform synagogue in the northern suburbs, has a goal — to “make Judaism relevant, inspiring and loving for all.”
That’s how Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt described what has been his motivation since he attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan, where he was ordained in 2014.
While there, he said, “I found myself working on LGBTQ issues, diversity and inclusion in our communities, and how to bring the rituals and traditions once so foreign to Reform Judaism back to our communities in modern and meaningful ways.”
Rabbi Weisblatt, 32, came to Temple Ohav Shalom in July to lead the congregation, which began in the late 1960s as a small group of suburban Jews who wanted to start their own synagogue. For many years, the growing congregation met in various churches and other public venues before buying its own synagogue in 1979.
Rabbi Weisblatt followed in the footsteps of his father, the late Rabbi Jeffrey Weisblatt.
Of Judaism’s four branches — Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist — Rabbi Jeremy Weissblatt has experienced two.
“In the first decade of my life, my family was a part of the Reform world as my father was a Reform rabbi,” he said. After his father’s early death, the family relocated to Philadelphia and joined a Conservative synagogue. “I took time during those teenage and college years to explore not only the liberal movements but almost all of the varied streams that make up the rainbow of the Jewish world,” he said.
A graduate of Penn State University, Rabbi Weisblatt participated in interfaith work as a student there. “Our work helped to lead to the rapprochement between the Muslim and Jewish communities on campus and set the foundation for the strong relationships they maintain till this day. From those days, I felt a calling to serve and knew that for me, there was only one way, one path that truly felt right — the calling of the rabbinate,” he said.
He began his spiritual training at the Conservative Movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan.
Arnie Begler, co-chair of Temple Ohav Shalom’s rabbi search committee, said committee members spent six months looking for a new rabbi before they met with Rabbi Weisblatt.
“He’s very well-schooled after having started his rabbinical training as a Conservative then transitioning over to Reform Judaism,” Mr. Begler said. “He’s a millennial, so he communicates well with older and younger members. He’s very personable, and I find his sermons to be quite interactive and engaging.”
Temple president Ellen Sapinkopf has been particularly impressed with the rabbi’s easy way with people of all ages. “He’s very heartfelt and warm,” she said.
“He’s already proven himself capable of handling everything from baby namings to funerals. I find him to be very caring and charismatic. A real mensch,” she said, using the Yiddish word for a person of integrity and honor.
Since he began serving the congregation, Rabbi Weisblatt has had to comfort people through devastating events, including hurricanes and mass shootings.
“After the hurricanes, he sent out messages telling people how they could donate to help the victims,” Mr. Begler said. “And when he gives his sermon, he’s very good at bringing the world situations into our lives in a very apolitical way. He doesn’t pick sides, but he addresses the issues as they affect us and helps us realize what we can do about them.”
After the mass shooting last month in Las Vegas, Rabbi Weisblatt sent an email to the temple’s members, noting, “Words, for so many, seem to fall so short in moments like these. How to find comfort amidst the tragic loss of 59 lives, and suffering of over 500 injured souls? We begin slowly. We begin with the task of reminding ourselves that each person is not alone. Call a loved one, a friend, remind him, remind her, remind each other, that humanity still exists in our world, that love, that friendship and kindness, were not removed from this world the moment those shots left that hotel room last night.”
The rabbi said he’s looking forward to working with other local faith leaders. He has met with Pastor Jeff Sterling of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Hampton, and the two plan to “strengthen our interfaith partnership,” he said.
He has also been introduced to North Hills Community Outreach, which has long been a partner with the synagogue. “Our doors are open to members of the community, and we are redoubling our efforts to look outward and inward as we strengthen our partnership with the North Hills community,” he said, noting that his adult education classes and services at the synagogue on on Thompson Run Road are open to all.
The rabbi moved to the Pittsburgh area in part because his wife, Marissa, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and loved it here. The couple, now living in McCandless, have an 8- month-old son, Alexander.