Growing Glen Cove temple installs new rabbi

Irwin Huberman, the former publisher of a newspaper in Canada and a speechwriter for members of the parliament, is adding another profession to his resume: rabbi.

Huberman became the new rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Glen Cove during a 21/2-hour ceremony May 16. The afternoon blended ancient tradition with modern flair.

"It has been said that the joining of a rabbi and a congregation is like a marriage," said synagogue official Bill Friedlieb, who headed the selection committee that chose Huberman. "Well, we've been engaged to Irwin for three years."

Huberman started at the Conservative synagogue in 2006 as a part-time spiritual leader and in 2007 accepted a full-time position. His appointment as rabbi followed completion of his studies and ordination.

During his time at the synagogue, the congregation has grown from 150 families to 210.

"There is a synergy between him and the congregation, and that's shown through," said synagogue president Richard Lazarow, who was also on the selection committee. "We were losing members over many years, and the turnaround is because we changed."

An innovative approach

Huberman, 56, is credited with implementing such new ideas as adding live music - traditional and modern renditions of the psalms - to Friday night services, creating educational programs for adults that discuss different views of the afterlife, and accompanying congregants to hockey games where they eat kosher hot dogs and wear yarmulkes decorated with team emblems.

"I think he's made an amazing journey, and I'm so happy to be part of it," said congregation member Cynthia Bletter-Morris, 51, of Glen Cove. "There is a lot of new spirit - he's brought a sense of belonging and pride."

Huberman acknowledged the special bond between himself and the congregation - which Lazarow said is the oldest synagogue in continual operation on Long Island - in his remarks at the end of the installation: "It takes a village to raise a rabbi, and I thank you for raising me."

During the installation, blessings were said in Hebrew and English, and the national anthems of both the United States and Canada were sung.

Several younger members presented the ritual Kiddush cup to remind Huberman not to forget his commitment to the youths. The cup then passed to Lazarow, who spoke about the importance of being attentive to all congregants, and then it was passed to Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkrantz, who had traveled from Israel for the ceremony.

Past presidents of the synagogue stood around Huberman as he received a new prayer shawl and Ehrenkrantz officially installed him with a blessing.

Then Huberman and his congregation engaged in a responsive reading in which both agreed to learn from and respect each other.

The ceremony ended with a musical finale as Huberman paid tribute to his grandparents with a song he had written. He sang and strummed his acoustic guitar before the crowd of more than 250, which included synagogue members, Glen Cove Mayor Ralph Suozzi and guests including Huberman's relatives from Canada.

Huberman was born in Montreal and began religious leadership at 13 when his father, Leon, began traveling too much to help lead services at their Orthodox synagogue. In 1995 he joined Beth Shalom congregation in Edmonton, where he became synagogue president, lay leader and bar and bat mitzvah teacher. "The theme of Judaism has always run through my life," he said.

His wife's prediction

In 2004, his wife, Patte, returned from a conference that featured a video on "second-career rabbis" and predicted that her husband would soon be making the transition. One year later Huberman began attending the Academy for Jewish Religion in Riverdale, a Bronx seminary that specializes in training second-career rabbis. He commuted from Edmonton, and then Toronto, before moving to Riverdale in mid-2006.

Later, guests walked into a reception area where an adjoining room displayed artwork from the congregation's youngest members; each child was asked to write why they liked Huberman. One drawing contained uneven crayon letters reading: "I like Reb. Irwin because he always checks on me." Lexi Stoffi, 6, of Sea Cliff looked up at her drawing while munching on a piece of watermelon.

"It's nice to have a rabbi that cares so much about the kids as he does the adult members," said Andrea Stoffi, 45, Lexi's mother.