Pulpit Rabbi once more, Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb reflects on tenure at Shomrei Emunah of Baltimore

Posted on October 29th, 2009 by JewishByte

JewishPress by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb - It is rare for someone who has left a career to have the experience of returning to it, even temporarily, and to have the opportunity to re-taste the triumphs and frustrations of the past.

Yet that is what happened to me this past summer when, after having left the pulpit rabbinate eight years ago, I re-entered it for a period of two months, a period that included Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Allow me to share with you a little bit of my story, and to use my brief experience as an occasion to reflect upon some of the issues that concern the Orthodox Jewish community, particularly that sector which is known, however inaccurately, as Modern Orthodox.

For a number of years – thirteen, to be exact – I served as the rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah of Baltimore. Shomrei, as it is referred to in the Baltimore community, was, during the time I served there, a congregation of about four hundred families. It has since grown, and has expanded its physical facilities and programming extensively.

It is the Shomrei I remember that I refer to in this essay, for though it has remained essentially similar to what it was while I was there, it has also changed in some exciting ways.

I left Shomrei near the end of 2001, eight years ago, when I was summoned to assume the professional leadership of the Orthodox Union.

I became the OU’s executive vice president on January 1, 2002. Since then, I have been deeply immersed in this very different position, expending my energies not just on a single congregation and its pulpit, but on a large organization with many diverse programs and with national, even international, concerns.

This past summer, I stepped down from the Orthodox Union’s administrative leadership. I remain with the Orthodox Union as executive vice president, emeritus, with different and interesting responsibilities, allowing me time for other pursuits, including lecturing, writing, and consulting.

How surprised I was when, almost immediately after the announcement was made that my position with the Orthodox Union had changed and that I was now somewhat of a “free agent,” I was approached by the lay leadership of the Young Israel of Woodmere, in Nassau County, New York, and asked to serve as an interim rabbi for the months of August and September. I received other such invitations, but this one was particularly intriguing.

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