Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, assistant rabbi at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, has been elected the next senior rabbi at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell, Ga.
This new position will be at a Reform congregation in the Atlanta suburb. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}The appointment becomes effective July 1.
“My husband Jay and I are thrilled and we look forward to our new congregational home,” she said. “I’m really excited and looking forward to what the next stage of my life holds.”
B’nai Jehudah President Dan Stolper said “everyone at B’nai Jehudah is proud that we gave Rabbi Shuval-Weiner her start as a rabbi. I know she will be successful leading her own congregation.”
The congregation was informed that Rabbi Shuval-Weiner was interviewing for other positions as a lead rabbi in the January issue of its newsletter, The Bulletin. In that article Stolper noted that the second rabbinic position “is intended to be rotational, both for the health of the congregation and for the professional development of the rabbi, and this is a planned transition.”
“I cannot think of a better candidate to become the senior spiritual leader of a congregation than Rabbi Shuval-Weiner. In her six and a half years with us, she has become a loved and respected teacher, pastor, friend and member of our family. She has every talent and capability to successfully lead a congregation of her own and I know that you join me in supporting her career advancement,” he stated.
In that announcement, Stolper noted that the congregation will thank Rabbi Shuval-Weiner and recognize her service later this year.
Since this was a planned transition, B’nai Jehudah has already posted a job listing for the second rabbi. On Monday Stolper said candidates will be interviewed for the position later this month on the campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Senior Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff and Lisa Schifman, a board member leading the search committee, will conduct the initial interviews; finalists will visit the congregation for further interviews.
“Rabbi Nemitoff recruited Rabbi Neal Schuster and Rabbi Shuval-Weiner; I have confidence that we will be equally successful in this search,” Stolper stated in the newsletter.
Rabbi Shuval-Weiner’s new congregation, Temple Beth Tikvah, was founded in 1987 and is now the spiritual home to 500 families. She will be the congregation’s third rabbi, succeeding Rabbi Fred Greene, who assumed the pulpit at Temple Beth Tikvah in 2006, and Rabbi Donald Tam, who is now the congregation’s rabbi emeritus.
On its Facebook page and its website, a posting regarding the appointment of Rabbi Shuval-Weiner, stated, “It is with great excitement and anticipation that Temple Beth Tikvah looks forward to our partnership with Rabbi Shuval-Weiner and welcomes her to our synagogue and to the Atlanta Jewish community.”
“Her personal commitment to and relationship with her Judaism, her history as an innovative Jewish educator, and her passion for doing whatever she can do to help the Jewish people flourish are all characteristics that let us know that this is a great match for Temple Beth Tikvah. But most of all, we are inspired by the intangibles: Her empathy, her intuition, her curiosity and her compassion.”
Rabbi Shuval-Weiner joined B’nai Jehudah’s staff in July 2008. Rabbi Shuval-Weiner received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, where she double-majored in education and humanities. Additionally, she holds a Master of Education degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, a Master of Jewish Studies and a Master of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College. The rabbi was ordained by Hebrew Union College on May 18, 2008.
Prior to rabbinical school, Rabbi Shuval-Weiner worked in the field of Jewish education for many years. Holding the title of RJE, Reform Jewish educator, she held the position of regional education consultant to the URJ’s Pacific Northwest Council, and specialized nationally for the URJ in the area of children’s and family worship. On a congregational level Rabbi Shuval-Weiner served as lifelong Jewish educator to Congregation Beth Israel in Portland, Ore., for 10 years. She also worked with congregations, day schools and youth groups in Fort Worth, Texas, Tulsa and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. She is mother to five children and is married to a fellow Jewish professional Jay Weiner.
B’nai Jehudah is also continuing its search for a new music director. Last summer Cantor Sharon Kahn took over the new position of chesed/pastoral care director.{/mprestriction}