Senior Rabbi David Steinhardt retired after 31 years from B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, the largest conservative synagogue in South Florida. Photo provided
By Janis Fontaine
When Rabbi David Steinhardt of B’nai Torah said goodbye to his congregation of 1,400 families, he said goodbye to thousands of friends he knew by name.
Harold Jacobsohn of Highland Beach and his wife, Beatriz, became B’nai Torah members even before Steinhardt arrived in 1994, but for the last 31 years, the man Harold Jacobsohn calls “the people’s rabbi” has been their rabbi.
“We respect him tremendously as a rabbi and as a personal friend. He’s been there for our family during our joys, and he was there with a hug that felt genuine and was a great source of comfort in a moment of sorrow,” Jacobsohn said.
For births and bar mitzvahs, weddings and funerals, Steinhardt served without restraint before he retired at the end of June after 42 years as a rabbi. He knew people’s most intimate stories but never shared the details.
“We are pleased with the way he has led the congregation through difficult times and always served the community socially and spiritually,” Jacobsohn said. “He handled COVID extremely well. What I most admire is his deep insight into the soul of his community and people individually.”
Steinhardt has faced myriad challenges leading the largest conservative Jewish congregation in South Florida and has witnessed tremendous growth in the population and prosperity of the Jewish community in Boca Raton. He’s especially proud of his work with Cathy Berkowitz, the synagogue’s longtime education director, in redesigning and revolutionizing the after-school program, bringing in computers and the arts, and charting students’ growth and progress. As a result, attendance soared.
“Small ideas perpetuated into big programs,” Steinhardt said. “Like TLC with Summer Faerman. I take great pride in that.”
TLC — Tzedakah, Learning, and Chesed — began in 2012 to turn the concept of the “mitzvah of tzedakah,” one of the most important components of synagogue life, into tangible acts to help others. Led by Steinhardt and Faerman, hundreds of volunteers perform acts of service like feeding the hungry and working with the mobile shower ministry with their Christian partner, St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church.
Steinhardt will continue his interfaith work, performed alongside the Rev. Andrew Sherman of St. Gregory’s, in retirement. “The interfaith work is really who he is,” Sherman said by phone.
The two men met 20 years ago when Sherman was conducting his first Christmas Eve service at St. Gregory’s. “I noticed a Jewish man sitting in the back enjoying the music, so I introduced myself and we agreed to meet for coffee. We started connecting and we resurrected the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association. He and I have been coworkers and colleagues ever since,” Sherman said.
Today, the Gentile and the Jew are best friends.
“I love him so much!" Sherman said. “He’s a true mensch, as they say. I’ve always responded to his warmth, but our friendship and our mutual work, like feeding the homeless, has blossomed.
“For 20 years our vision has been the same: to bring the community together. One of the gifts of Boca Raton is the diversity of the religious community, our Christian and Jewish members as well as a growing Muslim population and presence. We believe if we can model in Boca Raton what a conversation that doesn’t compromise your religious integrity might look like, we can help spread that message to other communities. We are fellow children of God, and we can serve together, connecting and affirming our community. We know this is possible. We feel if we model it in Boca Raton, we can show that to the world.”
There may be no better model for interfaith understanding than David Steinhardt.
A rabbi is a rabbi for life, but now Steinhardt, 72, becomes a “rabbi emeritus.” He’ll continue to serve his congregation as he’s needed, but he’s ready to make time for himself and for his family, and spend summers in cool green spaces around the Berkshires in Massachusetts with his wife, Tobi, five children and seven grandchildren.
“It was a huge decision, but the timing was right,” he said. “This is very unique work, and it puts you in a special place. It’s very public. I get a lot of adulation as a virtue of the role.”
In reality, the love and respect he’s given have been largely earned. Helene Ballen of Highland Beach, who worked alongside him, said the rabbi has a rare ability to make people feel “seen and heard and understood. He knows our stories and he knows how to comfort us. He takes on everyone’s hardships, but he doesn’t let it weigh him down. I hope people know how hard he worked and how much he cares. He’s the heart of our congregation.”
That came with long hours, and Steinhardt is ready for a life without working weekends and nights or being on call. “I want time to pursue personal interests. I plan to spend time outdoors. I plan to spend more time taking care of myself, and by that I mean pursuing a spiritual life with more time reading and at study, and more time traveling with my wife.”
Steinhardt is confident B’nai Torah will continue to thrive.
“The synagogue is better than it’s ever been,” he said.
Jewish life in South Florida continues to grow and Steinhardt’s interfaith work will be critical to its success.
“I’ll continue to have conversations with leaders and write and learn more about the theology of our differences, to study pluralism,” he said.
Put 700 people in a room and tell them the word of God and each will hear something different, Steinhardt says. “People hear it based on their own backgrounds and learning. We need humility to see that there are other perspectives.”
The reaction to his departure has been “quite beautiful,” Steinhardt said. “People understand working as a rabbi for 42 years is a long time.”
If he could leave one message for his congregation, perhaps it would be this: “Never stop learning. Learning is fundamental to Jewish life.”
As he looks to what’s next, Steinhardt said, “I look at the future with guarded optimism. We’re from a tradition of suffering and we’ve always come through. The near future is going to be really challenging, We have to remember that autocracy does not help democracy. Equal rights and freedom and justice — that stuff is being challenged. But the pendulum will swing, so there’s reason to be optimistic.
“We’re facing a great challenge. We need voices and visionaries. We need to find the people who are working to make life better among our educators and scholars and in the arts. Give them the support they need.
“The truth is, everyone is afraid. Huddle close. But never give up hope.”
A successor has not been chosen, but Steinhardt will continue to assist the congregation as a “rabbi emeritus.”
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com
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