Rabbis set precedent in Loudoun
By Holly Hobbs
Finding a full-time rabbi is no easy task, especially when it's your first time looking.Just ask the leadership of Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation and Congregation Sha’are Shalom. Loudoun’s two Jewish synagogues spent more than a year each looking for a full-time spiritual leader.
Starting July 1, both synagogues will have one. Rabbi Jesse Gallop, 28, and Rabbi Michael Ragozin will set precedent in the county by holding the title of Loudoun's first full-time rabbis.
Both rabbis were ordained in May and have spent time with their future congregations.
“I really like the people,” said Rabbi Ragozin, 35, who is moving from New York to Leesburg later this month with his wife, Sarah, and 9-month-old daughter Liora. He will preside over services at Congregation Sha'are Shalom in Leesburg. “There's a tremendous volunteer energy within this community.”
Rabbi Gallop, 28, is moving from New York to Washington, D.C., with his 7-month-old miniature pinscher, Reina. He already has begun work at Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation in Ashburn, but his official start day is also July 1.
“These people are warm good-hearted people who care,” he said, which was a reason why he wanted to work at Beth Chaverim.
The congregations initiated their searches independently of each other, but the timing is not a coincidence, the synagogues' leaders said.
“I think the fact that both congregations are getting rabbis is definitely indicative of the growth of Northern Virginia's Jewish population,” said Lorraine Davis, Congregation Sha'are Shalom's president. “Our congregants have been drawn to Loudoun for the same quality of life reasons as other population groups. We are a part of the increasing diversity of the county.”
Part of the struggle to find a rabbi is the expense of hiring one, said Marshall Medoff, president of Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation.
Because both the congregations are small – about 150 families each -- the expense to the congregation is significant, he said.
The other difficult part of the rabbi search is finding someone who suits the congregation, Medoff said.
“We knew that the people [of Beth Chaverim] would come to the table with some very strong opinions” on what they wanted from a rabbi, Medoff said.
Congregation Sha'are Shalom used a similar method to find a rabbi who was a good fit, surveying its members for the qualities they wanted from their spiritual leader.
“In addition to allowing us to look at ourselves, these responses provided the basis of our search in that we developed a description of the ideal rabbi for our community,” said Davis.
She said Sha'are Shalom's rabbi search began two years ago.
Ultimately, the result of each congregation's search is a first for Loudoun.
Medoff said, “There are a lot of Jews here. It's time we started providing that population with the services they need.”
Beth Chaverim has been at its synagogue in Ashburn for about a year, while Sha'are Shalom has had its synagogue in Leesburg for about four years. Before being established at their current locations, the congregations relied on the hospitality of schools, other churches and other Jewish congregations outside of Loudoun County.
Leadership from Beth Chaverim and Sha'are Shalom said the congregations have now settled in their locations and are better able to afford a full-time rabbi.
Medoff said: “When we knew we were moving into a new home, we took that opportunity to look into hiring a rabbi.”
Of their roles in the Jewish community, rabbis Ragozin and Gallop said their focuses are on the congregants.
“I think connecting with people in a spiritual context means understanding them,” Ragozin said. “It's about using your experiences to help.”
Gallop said, “For me, being a rabbi is helping people better understand their journey in life. Often people run around living their lives day-to-day ... it's not to tell people how to live their lives, but to give them advice.”
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com