Clergy

Rabbi Joshua Chasan
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As a child and younger man, Joshua Chasan understood Judaism as a call to mend the larger world. Raised in a home in which Jewish cultural identity was taken very seriously, while Jewish religious thought and practice were viewed as old world illusions, Joshua discovered traditional Judaism after studying 19th century American Christianity for a doctoral dissertation. After working as a typesetter and then director of a social service organization serving older people, he continued his studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was ordained in 1987.

After serving four years as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, New Jersey, Joshua andhis family settled in Vermont in 1991, from which time he has served as rabbi of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue. He arrived at OZ during a time of transition, when the synagogue's membership was growing to include a large number of "immigrants" to the Green Mountains. Over the past decade, he has endeavored to create a synagogue environment that is respectful of the rich heritage of more than a century of Burlington Jewry, while helping to integrate newer arrivals who have a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds.

Known for both his social activism and his conviction that Judaism is a spiritual path very much for our times, Joshua often can be found at Ohavi Zedek's evening minyan (7 pm, Sunday through Thursday), sharing in the communal spiritual practice that he understands to be the heart of Jewish peoplehood. Having come to religious Judaism as an adult, he delights in introducing others to the everyday spirituality of Judaism.

Joshua and Kathy Comstock Chasan were married in 1982. They are the parents of Zev and Ari, and Joshua's son Cavan lives in Burlington as well. What he loves most about Vermont is the accessibility of the water and the woods, particularly the Intervale in Burlington.

What he loves most about Ohavi Zedek is the synagogue's potential to model a Jewish way of living that is both traditional and unequivocably inclusive of all people. "We need everybody here," he says. "The world truly is smaller, and it's a wonderful time for Judaism, grounded as it is in the historic culture of our people, to embrace a universal vision that really can be fulfilled."

Associate Rabbi David Steinberg
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Rabbi David grew up in New York City, where he attended Orthodox Hebrew schools, and Suffolk County, Long Island, where he became Bar Mitzvah and then served as a regular Torah reader at a Conservative synagogue. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. in music, 1983) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1987). He practiced law in Portland, Maine from 1987-91, during which time he was very active in USCJ-affiliate Temple Beth El as a Hebrew school teacher, cantorial soloist, Brotherhood co-president and Board member.

At the age of 30 he decided to give up law practice to study at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he was ordained in 1997. He served as spiritual leader of Congregation Sons of Israel in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania from 1996-98 (first as a student rabbi, later as a "full-fledged" rabbi), and as Hillel director for Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges in 1998-99. He arrived in the Champlain Valley in August 1999, beginning a six-year stint as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh, New York.

2005 was a big year for Rabbi David, with his Vermont civil union and Jewish marriage to Peter Blackmer (a seventh-generation Vermonter), and his move to Ohavi Zedek to take up the newly-created post of associate rabbi.

Rabbi David serves as Principal of Ohavi Zedek's Hebrew School. His other major role is to serve as the congregation's Cantor and principal torah reader, which includes working with bar and bat mitzvah students on the musical and liturgical aspects of their preparation. In addition, he acts as OZ's liaison to the Vermont Chai School (a joint project of Ohavi Zedek and Temple Sinai open to students in grades eight through twelve) and assists Rabbi Joshua in providing rabbinic coverage as needed.

Rabbi David's personal interests include running, viola playing, reading Canadian fiction and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle.