|
|
July 2, 2004
BT finds rabbi, stability
Claudio Kaiser-Blueth brings an international flair.
KYLE BERGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Since Rabbi Martin Cohen left Beth Tikvah Synagogue in August 1999,
the religious leadership at the Richmond Conservative shul has been
about as stable as a Hollywood marriage.
Without any professional leading their pulpit for the first year,
Beth Tikvah engaged the services of Cantor Daniel Leeman for a year
and a half while the search for a full-time rabbi continued. Left
with an empty pulpit for another several months, in the summer of
2002, the shul hired Rabbi Barry Leff, fresh out of the Jewish Theological
Seminary in New York. Unfortunately, only a year and a half after
joining Beth Tikvah, Leff announced he would be leaving Richmond
for a larger community in an American city.
Just as the congregation was starting to feel like the underdog
shul that couldn't catch a break, Beth Tikvah recently agreed to
terms with a veteran rabbi who, along with a five-year contract,
brings a sense of stability and high hopes for the future.
At the end of August, the 250-family congregation will officially
welcome Rabbi Claudio Kaiser-Blueth and his wife, Susy.
Rabbi Kaiser-Blueth's interest in the Richmond community started
several years ago when his oldest son, Yonatan, married a Beth Tikvah
member. He was the rabbi at Temple Beth Zion-Sanai in Lakewood,
Calif., when he and his family visited Richmond for the wedding.
On that visit, they made a strong connection with the community
and the city.
"Since the days of my son's wedding, my wife Susy and I have
received a warm and welcoming reception at Beth Tikvah, making this
a very important element of attraction," the rabbi explained.
"I encountered young families with a strong desire to find
spiritual, religious and educational answers within the temple,
and wanting to work together with the rabbi."
As he prepares for the move north of the border, Kaiser-Blueth looks
forward to using his experience to help build a synagogue comprised
of "serious, active and committed Jews who gather to pray,
study and live their Jewishness with passion and love."
"I would like to create the bridge between the synagogue and
the Jewish home, thus bringing back to the home what it always was
and should be: the most important Jewish institution," he said.
Kaiser-Blueth is the definition of a veteran when it comes to rabbinical
leadership. After receiving his semichah (ordination) from
the Conservative movement in Jerusalem in 1973, Kaiser-Blueth began
his career as a teacher at a Jewish day school in Liam, Peru, while
also serving as the rabbi at a congregation there. In 1976, he moved
to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he served a congregation of 2,000 families,
before moving to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he was the rabbi and
principal of the Jewish community centre of Puerto Rico.
In 1983, Kaiser-Blueth moved to Los Angeles, where he spent four
years as the rabbi of the Sephardic Hebrew Centre, before committing
the next 15 years of his career to leading Temple Beth Zion-Sanai.
While in the Los Angeles area, Kaiser-Blueth was also a lecturer
at the University of Judaism, where he taught rabbinical students
and day school educators.
From this vast array of experiences, Kaiser-Blueth said he has gained
a greater appreciation for value of Jewish life and traditions.
"My personal background has given me the ability to understand
and grasp why we are going through moments of apathy and even indifference,"
he told the Bulletin. "This helps me to be at the same
level with my fellow Jew and walk together out of this situation
into an active committed Jewish life.
"To love and care, to listen and have empathy, to share and
transmit the pearls of our tradition, to change what can be changed
and help others in finding their place within God's world and within
our Jewish people, are my strengths," he said.
As Beth Tikvah welcomes the Kaiser-Blueth family, they say goodbye
to Leff, his wife, Lauri Donahue, who wrote for the Bulletin,
and their family. Rabbi Leff is looking forward to his new role
with Congregation B'nai Israel in Toledo, Ohio, but he said he will
certainly miss many aspects of his time in Richmond.
"The last two years have been a very positive experience,"
he said. "As my first pulpit, it was sort of like a residency
after medical school; after having had all the training, I was really
applying what I learned.
"I've learned a lot [at Beth Tikvah] and I think I've grown
a lot, both as a rabbi and as a person, as a result of my experiences
here."
Leff said his legacy at Beth Tikvah is the "community of learners"
that has been coming together almost every Shabbat afternoon and
Tuesday evenings to study. He said he will miss the community he
has bonded with through teaching, sermons and lifecycle events.
A special Shabbat Oneg in Leff's honor will be held this Friday
evening, July 2, following the services at Beth Tikvah.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
^TOP
|
|
