Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg
Senior Rabbi, Ohef Sholom Temple
rabbi@ohefsholom.org
A few words about my vision for Ohef Sholom Temple. . .
As a rabbi and a human being, I live by my daily declaration in the Sh'ma, that I serve God and my community with the fullness of my heart, my soul and my mind. So, the success of my rabbinate has been based on my love for Jewish traditions, wisdom and values and upon my respect for the dignity of every human being. With compassion, openness, flexibility and humor, I intentionally choose to meet others where they are, to connect with them personally, and to draw them nearer to Judaism and a to Jewish way of life and practice.
My love for Judaism and the Jewish people comes from my roots in a wonderful and varied Jewish home. My father, a Holocaust survivor, and my mother, a sabra, imbued in me not only an amazingly rich cultural and ethnic Jewish identity and a love for the state of Israel, but also a tremendous responsibility to do all that is within my capacity to strengthen our people everywhere. They modeled for me the need to speak out against injustice wherever it exists, to create opportunities for education, and to foster a love for Judaism among Jews and non-Jews alike.
During my many years in the rabbinate, I have been blessed with wonderful opportunities to actualize the values I have described. I have worked collaboratively with co-clergy and professionally with temple staff and lay leadership in three unique synagogues. One of the things that attracted me to Ohef Sholom Temple, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Westchester Reform Temple was their shared commitment to transforming their educational programs and worship opportunities and to creating truly welcoming and caring communities in which congregants and clergy share in the sacred and just endeavors of taking care of the community's needs. To recruit, engage and retain the youngest to the most mature members of the congregation, I work hard to develop and sustain dynamic, vital programs. I am most effective as a teacher, a preacher and as a life cycle officiant, where I am able to make profound and enduring connections and to allow people to appreciate life's blessings and prevail over its challenges.
Today, I am priveleged to lead and grow with Ohef Sholom Temple as its senior rabbi. In partnership with the congregation's leadership and members, I do the sacred work of teaching and learning with children, adults and families, and of sharing Judaism's wisdom as it applies to our daily lives and the world around us. I work determinedly to reach Jews by birth, Jews by choice and inter faith families to create a community where each of us participates actively in Jewish life. I embrace worshiping together as one community, joyfully and meaningfully reaching and inspiring congregants through a range of relevant and challenging sermons that convey Judaism's teachings to people of all ages. With our members, I develop hands-on social justice programs where we can act upon our commitment to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Finally, I am blessed to be a true part of our congregants' lives at each of their significant life passages as counselor, guide, teacher and friend, as their rabbi.
My husband Marty Mandelberg shares enthusiastically in my love of Judaism and my commitment to the Jewish community having spent his adult life in its service. Like me, he also has a passion for teaching young people in religious school and enjoying the fellowship of temple life through activism in Men's Club, Sisterhood and other communal associations. At Ohef Sholom, we are grateful that both of us have found a sacred community where we can be full participants, partners and leaders in this vibrant and caring congregation.
I welcome the opportunity to meet you and to work and grow together with you for many years to come.
