Blog

It is with great pleasure and excitement that the Board of Trustees announces the engagement of Rabbi Benjamin Sharff as our next Senior Rabbi!
Rabbi Sharff comes to us from Upper Nyack, New York, where he has served as the Rabbi of The Reform Temple of Rockland since 2016. Since his rabbinic ordination in 2004, Rabbi Sharff has also served six years as Senior Rabbi in the Baltimore area at Har Sinai Congregation, and as Assistant/Associate Rabbi in Tucson, Arizona at Temple Emanu-El from 2005-2010.

Rabbi Sharff's rabbinic leadership is as deep as it is wide. Having served as Senior Rabbi to two different congregations and having been trained as a URJ Religious Action Center Brickner Fellow in Social Justice, Rabbi Sharff brings new ideas for congregational engagement, innovative Shabbat experiences and involvement in our larger Jewish and secular communities. Rabbi Sharff is excited to collaborate with Rabbi Berezin, Cantor Alexander, and Rabbi Azriel, as well as the staff and lay leadership to usher in a new chapter of Temple Israel’s storied history.

Our Search Committee was fortunate to receive a significant pool of well-qualified rabbinic candidates. We evaluated 11 candidate resumes; our committee chairs spoke with 10 of those rabbis, and the Search Committee held virtual interviews with 8 of those candidates. The committee worked hard to select our three finalists, including Rabbi Berezin, and all three had comprehensive, in-person interviews. Throughout this process we have been inspired by the incredible women and men of our movement’s rabbinate who took time to share their experiences and wisdom with us. Rabbi Sharff emerged from an impressive field, to whom we are grateful for the time and effort they all gave to us. Though Rabbi Berezin was not selected, we continue to be so incredibly grateful to her for her time, talent, skills, and warmth that she continues to provide to the community.

Throughout his entire interview process, Rabbi Sharff continued to impress the Search Committee and others with his wisdom, warmth, wit and genuine interest in Temple Israel and our congregants. He was engaging during informal conversations as well as while teaching, and all our interactions were infused with his authenticity and humor. Members of Temple Israel's staff, past presidents, and Rabbi Emeritus Azriel, as well as Jewish Federation and Tri-Faith Initiative leaders were all able to feel Rabbi Sharff's focused attention and gracious presence during his in-person visit. 

Temple Israel's bylaws require that the Congregation ratify the decision of the Board of Trustees. To fulfill this responsibility, we invite you to attend a Congregational meeting on Sunday, February 12, at 11:30 am. We will have the opportunity to hear from Rabbi Sharff at this meeting. We hope you join us to participate in this important process in the life of our Congregation.

I want to thank Search Committee Co-Chairs Susie Norton and Geoff Silverstein for their diligence and leadership in leading the committee and our Congregation through this important process. Their hard work and thoroughness were essential to our finding Rabbi Sharff.

Rabbi Sharff and his wife, Joy, have three children: Emily (16), Noah (13), and Alex (9). Rabbi Sharff quickly fell in love with our community during his visit. He and his family are excited to join us before his tenure starts in July. We look forward to welcoming all of the Sharffs to Omaha and into our Temple Israel family!

Warm Regards,

Troy Meyerson