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Catching up with Rabbi Bruce Dollin and the HEA

Rabbi Bruce DollinRabbi Bruce Dollin is coming up on 17 years as the senior rabbi at the Hebrew Educational Alliance, serving 925 member families. Rabbi Dollin began his rabbinical studies at the University of Judaism, and received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC.

He attended the University of Santa Clara, receiving his undergraduate degree in psychology.

Rabbi Dollin and his wife, Tammy, have four children, Yoni, Shai, Kivi and Aviva.

ALTHOUGH his congregation may be anything but small, Rabbi Bruce Dollin has always sought to create a community where every individual feels valued and encouraged to explore his or her Jewish connection on a personal level.

Dollin describes his congregation as a Conservative egalitarian synagogue on the traditional side. The large number of families does not affect the close-knit community feeling that Dollin uses to describe his congregation.

With new educational programs always underway, Dollin aspires to be a spiritual guide for congregants through simchas and misfortunes alike, while bringing them a personal sense of tradition and connection.

Rabbi Dollin hopes that the greater Jewish community can find ways to reconnect to its Jewish identity and works to engage Jews through a direct, personal approach.

Q: What are some new programs at the HEA?

A: A new program we are proud of is Nashira, a Friday night instrumental Shabbat service that has been very well received.

This service uses a variety of instruments and singing and dancing and it is a lot of fun and a full start to Shabbat.

We also have a new program called JConnect, which reaches out to young adults 25-40 one by one to see their interests and backgrounds. We then try to bring them together for programs with social, cultural and religious content.

Q: What is your main goal as a congregational rabbi?

A: I look at my job very differently now than I did at the beginning of my career. My rabbinate now is probably more person directed. I see the importance of reaching people one by one and seeing what they are and then, together, help them move to a deeper connection to Jewish life.

My goal now is to engage people in Jewish life, in whatever way moves them — it  could be classes, it could be services, cultural or social programs — and give every member the feeling that they have a place in the Jewish community.

Q: What is the hardest part of your job?

A: The hardest part is juggling all the different daily commitments.

The intensive pastoral work that confronts me every day to reach out and provide for many people can be challenging.

The rewarding piece of the pastoral work is that people invite me into their lives at very private and powerful times in which I hope to bring them a sense of tradition.

Q: How do you share your political views inside the synagogue?

A: I am very careful how I share my political views; for the most part, I believe I keep partisan politics off the bimah.

There are those in the community who will say, “I form my opinions, the rabbi forms his and the rabbi doesn’t have a greater insight than the congregation.”

I reserve the right to speak about Israel from the bimah, and sometimes that has political overtones in terms of how we support Israel and the importance of supporting Israel.

I will speak my mind on that issue and I do that frequently, but on issues like immigration or the budget or other partisan issues, I tend to stay away from those.

Q: What is your favorite Torah portion?

A: It is so hard to choose one, but one I was thinking of this past week was Shalach from the book of Numbers where Moshe sends out spies to the land of Israel. Ten of the 12 spies come back and report, “We were as grasshoppers in our own eyes.”

This is a very poignant point that we as Jews can sometimes lack confidence in our own abilities to succeed in the world and as individuals.

From the Torah’s perspective, that lack of confidence is sinful. We need confidence in ourselves and in G-d in order to move ourselves forward and move the world forward to a better place.

Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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