By Sarah Kuper
Although he was born into a Jewish background, Barry Leff never had the desire to be a rabbi.
“For some, becoming a rabbi is a lifelong dream – but it wasn’t that way for me,” Leff said.
In fact, after his bar mitzvah as a young man, Leff said he didn’t enter a temple for more than two decades except for family celebrations.
“To me, Judaism was an old man with a long beard sitting up in heaven passing judgment. It didn’t make sense or resonate with me.”
Now, Leff is the interim rabbi at Temple Beth-El in the Highlands.
It was his relationship with his now ex-wife that drew him back to the faith.
“My wife converted and when she began reading and studying, I decided I should start reading what she was reading and I fell in love with the Torah.”
Leff did not turn to Judaism just because it felt familiar. As a young man, he explored Buddhism, meditation and martial arts.
But, ultimately, taking a second look at Judaism changed his life.
Leff left his successful 20-year career as the vice president of marketing for a semiconductor company in California to go back to school and pursue a career as a rabbi.
“Christians talk in terms of a ‘calling’ but Jews don’t. But for me, it did feel sort of like a calling,” he said.
After his rabbinical training, Leff led congregations in Canada and Ohio. In 2007, he and his family moved to Israel, where he returned to the business world while championing human rights and serving as chair of the executive committee for the Schechter Rabbinical School.
Leff moved to Birmingham three months ago and said the Magic City has pleasantly surprised him.
“It’s not that I had low expectations, I just didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t expecting it to be so hilly and green. I also didn’t expect all the good food around.”
The interim position at Temple Beth-El attracted Leff because he missed the congregational element of being a rabbi but he wasn’t ready to permanently settle back in the U.S. after his time in Israel.
“It’s hard to make a living as a rabbi in Israel. It is different here because the synagogue is a center of the community. It’s often a school and it serves many functions. In Israel, a synagogue is just a place to pray.”
Now, with the Jewish High Holidays happening throughout October, Leff is looking forward to leading his new congregation more than ever.
“Rosh Hashanah is a time of reflection. It is the Jewish New Year – a time to step up prayers before Yom Kippur.”
Yom Kippur happens 10 days after Rosh Hashanah and is also known as the Day of Atonement.
One element of observing Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast from food and drink – even water.
Because services can go on for several hours, Leff said the fast is a challenge.
Leff’s tenure at Temple Beth-El is uncertain. Unlike in other religious congregations, the interim rabbi at a temple almost never becomes the new permanent rabbi.
“It is actually against the rules of the rabbi association,” Leff said.
But, he will be leading the congregation through a visioning process to help leaders identify what needs to come next for the temple.
For more information on Temple Beth-El and High Holiday services, visit templebeth-el.net.
