Monmouth Reform Temple’s new rabbi seeks to make world a better place

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

When Rabbi Jonathan Roos decided to pursue a rabbinical career, the spirit of tikun olam was a motivating force in his decision. He wanted to contribute to making the world a better place through the efforts of caring people drawn together by like-minded interests.

On July 1, Roos became the new religious leader of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls (a formal installation ceremony will take place in November). His predecessor was Rabbi Sally Priesand, the country’s first female rabbi, who is now the temple’s rabbi emerita.

Roos felt the spirit of tikun olam the moment he entered the temple building, he said, and credits Priesand, who was rabbi there for 25 years, and the members with putting the concept into practice.

Roos grew up in Randolph, Mass., and was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in May 2002. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and prior to his ordination, he was pursuing a PhD at the University of Maryland. While working on his degree, he taught social studies in a private school in New York City. But he felt the strong influence of tikun olam.

“I saw teachers and mentors doing this, and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Roos. “When it came down to making the world a better place, I couldn’t escape that impulse and the desire to be a part of the solution.”

He began to question whether becoming a professional with a PhD was the best way to respond to that impulse. He conferred with a friend and fellow student who had similar feelings, and the two concluded that the rabbinate might be the place where Roos could fulfill his dream. Both men left the university program: Roos began to prepare for a rabbinical career, and his friend chose the life of an Episcopal priest.

Before making his final decision to alter his course of study, however, Roos also spoke with Rabbi Ken Weiss, head of a Reform synagogue in Washington, DC, where Roos had been teaching in the religious school as part of his doctoral program. Weiss, now a Hillel rabbi in Houston, proved to be an inspiring mentor.

“We talked on a regular basis, and as a result, I knew what path I had to take,” Roos said. “But there were so many open-ended questions: Was this really the right course of action? But after talking to Rabbi Weiss as often as I did, I came to understand that the struggle with questions is part of what rabbis do. Rarely was everything completely squared away.

“I then knew I had made the right decision,” Roos continued. “I had grown up in a committed family, and I saw synagogue life and the good works that were done there. When I left the University of Maryland after three years, I knew that hands-on teaching and study in a synagogue environment was what I was meant to do. The layers of spirituality addressed bigger questions.”

After entering HUC, Roos spent his first year of study in Jerusalem from 1997 to 1998. The Middle East peace process was under way, and the prevailing spirit in the city was that all things were possible, he recalled.

After returning to the United States, Roos became a student rabbi at a synagogue in Parkersburg, WV, and at another in Selma, Ala. After his ordination, he spent four years as associate rabbi of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany, a 170-year-old synagogue that encompassed 1,000 families. But his goal was to become the senior rabbi of a congregation with between 300 and 400 member families.

Enter Monmouth Reform Temple.

“There was an immediate connection when I came to talk to the people here,” he said. “I knew it would be daunting to follow Rabbi Priesand; I had studied about her in school and was well aware that she was a prominent figure in Jewish history and the Reform movement. But I have the same commitment to social action, teaching, and study. She had a great relationship with the congregation, and the congregants have a great relationship with each other. It seemed like a good community to step into.”

Roos said he believes that life presents all kinds of challenges, both large and small. Judaism is an important tool to use in finding solutions and coping with the challenges, he said.

“Operating solely on intuition and emotion leaves us without an important roadmap — you need more to face complicated issues,” said Roos. “Something that is grounded in tradition and shared with a community of people can help us understand the right way to go.”

The spiritual, historical, and cultural aspects of Judaism are powerful principles to which individuals can turn for guidance, he added.

Roos has developed a four-part list of what a synagogue can and should be. The first is a place of sanctuary, or a safe place in which people can feel comforted and untroubled. Next is a house of study, where congregants can continue to learn about themselves, their history, and their culture.

The third item is the synagogue’s role as a place where the spirit of tikun olam can grow and flourish. And number four is a spiritual center that helps people feel close to God and the things they think are most important and transcendent in their lives.

While Roos, his wife, Elizabeth, and their two sons, Noah, eight, and Ariel, six, continue setting up their new home in Red Bank, he has had the time to observe how Monmouth Reform Temple fits into his list.

“This temple has a solid foundation on which it can continue to operate,” Roos said. “The commitment to social action is strong, and it was that type of commitment that made me first consider becoming a rabbi. There is also a deepening spirituality here that is bringing people together. It will be an adventure for my family and me to be part of all this, and as an individual and as a family enterprise, we are committed to this congregation for the long haul.”