Newly ordained Rabbi Nathan Weiner will be installed as Congregation Beth Tikvah’s (Beth Tikvah) rabbi on Sunday, Dec. 4.
Newly ordained Rabbi Nathan Weiner will be installed as Congregation Beth Tikvah’s (Beth Tikvah) rabbi on Sunday, Dec. 4.
The celebration will begin with refreshments at 4 p.m. at Beth Tikvah, 115 Evesboro-Medford Road in Marlton, followed by the Installation Ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities, will be the keynote speaker.
Weiner graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) in June and shortly thereafter took the baton from Rabbi Gary Gans, who had been Beth Tikvah’s first full-time rabbi for over 30 years. Gans will continue to serve the congregation as Rabbi Emeritus.
Weiner has and continues to make his mark on Beth Tikvah. While a student at the RRC, he had been the congregation’s rabbinic intern for five years. During this time, he developed a strong connection with Beth Tikvah and established an innovative new style Jewish education program for grades K-10 called the Tikvah Learning Community, which is in its fourth year.
Since becoming Beth Tikvah’s rabbi, Weiner created a robust Shabbat program with the addition of a monthly “Rebbe’s Tisch” on Friday nights, after the traditional service.
He has introduced a bi-weekly LiveStream program at lunchtime on Thursdays, where Weiner takes to the airways — often with a guest — to share Torah, to update people on the goings on at Beth Tikvah, and to open up another avenue of community engagement.
He leads a Saturday morning Adult Torah Study before the morning service and has begun to teach Hebrew reading to adult learners.
He carves out his schedule to include one-on-one time with congregants for meals and coffee to get to authentically know them.
He also continues to try to grow Beth Tikvah’s membership while keeping it the warm and intimate community it has always been.
Raised in the Conservative Movement, Weiner taught Hebrew during college. After graduating, he became the director of teen education at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Va. It was during his tenure there that he began to focus on the importance of building Jewish community.
He is an accomplished author of Jewish educational materials for both Behrman House Publishing and the Center for Jewish Ethics at the RRC.
Originally from Brockton, Mass., Weiner attended The George Washington University in Washington, DC to pursue a degree in human services. He graduated cum laude with departmental honors. Currently living in Collingswood, Weiner is also a collector of Jewish books, an avid automobile enthusiast and a big Boston sports fan.
