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Message from Rabbi Steve
We live in an age of choices, and by voluntarily
affiliating with Beth Emeth members are acknowledging that the synagogue is
central to Jewish life and community. While countless descriptions of "the
synagogue" have been written over the centuries, one of my favorites is that
of the late Rabbi David Aronson:
"Where, we may ask, will we find an
institution like the synagogue which is concerned with all of the phases of
Jewish life, with all the values of the community?
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Rabbi Steven M. Glazer,
D.H.L. |
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The
synagogue has the potential to elevate the individual, to inspire the home,
to unite the family and to integrate the various Jewish activates which
appeal to the individual. Belonging to the synagogue, husband and wife,
parents and children, old and young, have an opportunity for spiritual
growth and self-expression, individually and jointly.
By belonging to
the synagogue, one transcends mere social identification and is redeemed
from a sense of isolation by an awareness of belonging to a people deeply
rooted in history.
In the world outside, each
of us is treated as a producer, a consumer, a taxpayer, a problem, a
statistic, a donor, a number. In the synagogue each is a personality, an
individual endowed with a spark of the creative spirit of the Eternal - a
Jew not only by the accident of birth but by personal worth. Here the Jew is
challenged to rise to his (or her) potential best, to exemplify the noblest
ideals of his (or her) tradition, to preserve and transmit them to his (or
her) children.
May we be worthy of the synagogue to which we belong!"
Rabbi Steve's Bio
Rabbi Steven M. Glazer received his ordination from the
Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in 1970. His first pulpit was a
120-family congregation, Congregation Beth Israel, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
From 1977-1993, he served as Rabbi at Temple Beth-El, a 700-family
congregation in Birmingham, Alabama. From 1993-95 he served as Senior Rabbi
at Temple Emanuel of North Jersey, overseeing the merger of two synagogues
from Paterson and Oakland, New Jersey. Rabbi Glazer then came to
Congregation Beth Emeth, and the congregation celebrated his 10th
anniversary in 2005 with a weekend of special events
In more than 30 years in the rabbinate, Rabbi Glazer
has developed a number of creative programs that
have enhanced synagogue attendance and participation, helped raise $2
million for a capital campaign in Birmingham, and involved many teens in
summer camping at Camp Ramah in New England.
A gifted teacher, Rabbi Glazer has taught at the Jewish
Theological Seminary and has served as Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity
School and the Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He is currently
Adjunct Professor at George Washington, George Mason and Baltimore Hebrew
Universities and serves on the Board of Overseers of the Seminary's
Rabbinical School, as well as teaching in the Smithsonian Institution's
Resident Associates Program.
Rabbi Glazer received a B.S. in Psychology from
Columbia University (1965), a B.H.L. (Bachelor of Hebrew Literature) in
Talmud and a M.H.L. (Master of Hebrew Literature) from the Jewish
Theological Seminary (1966, 1968), and a D.H.L. (Doctorate of Hebrew
Letters) from Hebrew Union College (1993). In 1996, Rabbi Glazer was awarded
an honorary doctor of divinity degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary
of America for his many years of dedicated service to the Jewish community.
Rabbi Glazer can be reached by calling the synagogue
office at 703-860-4515 or via e-mail to
rsteve@bethemeth.org. |
