- Around Town
- Around Town - September-October 2011
- Around Town - New Hope Receives FIDELIS Charitable Foundation Gift
- Our Pick - theWforum
- Ask The Experts
- Ask The Experts: William Kilbride, Owner Critelli & Kilbride Realtors
- Ask The Expert - Rockwell Dentistry
- Ask The Expert - Alexandra Freer
- Bay Wellness
- Bay Wellness - Making Weight Loss a Family Affair
- Bay Wellness - Don't Forget
- Bay Wellness - Genital Warts
- Buyers Guide 2011-2012
- Buyers Guide 2011-12 - Federico’s Landscape Design
- Buyers Guide 2011-12 - Tommy’s Coal Fired Pizza
- Buyers Guide 2011-12 - Allure Plastic Surgery Center
- Cover Story
- Woman on a Mission, Senator Ellen Karcher: Wife, Mother and Senator of NJ
- Lights, Camera...Cooper!
- Tor Miller Band
- Daytripper
- Daytripper: Central Park Zoo
- Day Tripper: Crayola Factory
- Day Tripper: Grounds For Sculpture
- Fall Guide
- Fall Guide - Kids Enrichment
- Fall Guide - Pumpkins, Hayrides, & Orchards
- Fall Guide - Kids Party Entertainment
- Featured Artist
- Featured Artist - Leah Passafiume
- Featured Artist - Franco Minervini
- Featured Artist - Tim Dorland: A Glass Act
- Gift Guide
- Gift Guide - Thompson Center for Plastic Surgery
- Holiday Gift Guide - Wireless Digits
- Buyers Guide 2011-12 - Dickstein Associates Agency
- Health, Wellness & Beauty
- Health - AMG Family Dentistry
- Health - Atlantic Medical Imaging
- Health - Kensington Court
- Newsletter Articles
- The Home - KRFC
- The Home - EcoSystems Fence Co
- Spotlight - Allure Plastic Surgery
- Our Picks
- Company Profile - Chamlin, Rosen, Uliano & Witherington, Attorneys at Law
- Our Pick - Vianney Institute of Learning
- Our Pick: Mr. Handyman
- People On The Move
- People On The Move - Larissa Shulman
- People On The Move - Cynthia Scott
- People on the Move: Rabbi Shira Stern
- The Bay
- The Bay - $1 Million Emergency Department Expansion Opens
- The Bay - Healthier Heart
- The Bay - National Stroke Awareness Month
People On The Move - Rabbi Michelle D. Pearlman
10/31/2010 - By Christine Burke Eskwitt
EACH DAY IS AN OPEN DOOR
Since her arrival at Monmouth Reform Temple in July, 2010 from Newton, Massachusetts, Rabbi Pearlman has filled his sacred space with her refreshing combination of personality traits and talents. She’s a working mom (she and her husband Drew have two daughters - Madeline and Noa - ages 7 and 3), a social and environmental activist participating in the Crop Walk and looking at new green initiatives, starting with the synagogue’s own carbon footprint), and point person for efforts to make Monmouth Reform Temple even more welcoming to new families and individuals.
“MRT is already incredibly welcoming,” says Rabbi Pearlman, “with an active congregation and dedicated leadership, but we are yearning to open our doors even wider, to provide a space where people feel even more comfortable and connected as they explore and celebrate their Judaism.”
The 345 families in this reform congregation come from all over Monmouth County, says Rabbi Pearlman. “They define themselves as a family, with all the challenges and benefits that poses and they share a strong past and a solid future ahead.”
MRT has a strong history to build on. It hosts the renowned Monmouth Festival of the Arts, which will celebrate its 41st show April 9 to 13, 2011. It also participates in interfaith dialogue with other houses of worship. And its legacy in contemporary Judaism is remarkable; it was the first congregation to be led by a pioneering female rabbi. Rabbi Sally Priesand, who in 1972 was the first woman ordained as a rabbi, led the Monmouth Reform Temple congregation for twenty-five years.
Rabbi Pearlman follows the teaching that when two come together and words of Torah pass between them, God’s presence on earth is made manifest. These openings, or portals, can occur in temple, in a meeting room, a hospital room, a classroom, or anywhere where people come together in Torah study, worship, community service, art or food.
Monmouth Reform Temple has several new and welcoming portals. A new program - Bagels and Blocks - is designed for children 2 to 4 years old and their parents. A congregation member is preparing to launch Chai Life, a program for couples in their 20s and 30s. “We are also looking at programs targeting older adults,” says Rabbi Pearlman. “Retired couples, empty-nesters, people who now have the time to give back.”
For Rabbi Pearlman, who holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois respectively, music was a portal to her calling as a rabbi. Her love for music and Judaism converged during the five years she served as Cantorial Soloist and Musical Director of Congregation Koh Ami in Chicago, an experience which led to her graduation from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 2005. Rabbi Perlman began to lay the foundations of her rabbinate at the Union of Reform Judaism, focusing on youth work, outreach and membership. She served as the Director of Youth and Informal Education (New Jersey Council) and also as the Project Coordinator in the National Department of Outreach and Synagogue Community.
Rabbi Pearlman believes that there is much work to be done to bring a vibrant, innovative and relevant Judaism to a new generation but that there is much joy and yes, even fun, to be had. “At Monmouth Reform Temple, we want to be on the front line of creating ways for people to experience the joy of getting to know one another, of doing important things together in the community, and having fun. Worship and study, community outreach and social action lead to personal satisfaction and the joy of making a difference.”
“Joy is an important principal,” she says, “the joy of this wonderful diverse tradition, the joy that we’ve survived, and that we have so much to celebrate.”
Rabbi Pearlman’s Installation Service and Special Oneg will take place on Friday, November 12 at 7:45 p.m. To learn more about Monmouth Reform Temple, call 732-747-9365 or visit www.monmouthreformtemple.org.
STATS
FAVORITE MUSICAL GROUP
Ben Folds Five
FAVORITE MOVIE
“Amadeus”
PET PEEVE
I like to encourage individuals with minds that are closed to take a new look at the world
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Elie Wiesel, Rabbi David Ellenson, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Advertisers
Powered by eDirectory™