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One Minute With Rabbi Ron Isaacs

By Libby Barsky
August 29, 2008
 

Name: Ron Isaacs

Occupation: Rabbi of Temple Sholom, Bridgewater and co-director with wife Dr. Leora Isaacs of Temple Sholom's Hebrew  High School

Address: Bridgewater

Family: Married for 37 years to Dr. Leora Isaacs, vice president for program and organizational learning and director of the Learning and Consultation Center at the Jewish Education Service of North America, New York City.

Two children: Son Zachary is an assistant director at Mediavest N.Y., handling media buying for Mars USA; daughter Dr. Keren Lebau is a clinical neuropsychologist at Northwest Regional Epilepsy Group at Overlook Hospital, Summit. She is married to Aryeh Lebau, director of development at TheBody.com. They have a 2-year-old daughter, Mimi.

Hobbies: Music, playing guitar, writing books, collecting Judaic Fine Arts, discovering new board games to play and collecting baseball memorabilia.

Self-portrait: "I love to teach at every level -- preschoolers, elementary school students, and teenagers in our Hebrew High School. I also enjoy teaching teachers in workshops for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and rabbis and cantorial students in the course 'Rabbi as Educator' at the Jewish Theological Seminar in New York City. I cook, so my wife, who commutes to New York, and I can have dinner together."

Motto: "Do justly, love goodness, and walk modestly with God" (Micah 6:8).

Bad habits: "Not taking a day off."

Greatest achievement: "My wonderful family and especially being married to my wife, Leora, who is an outstanding educator. I have also been privileged to serve as rabbi of Temple Sholom since coming here from rabbinical school 33 years ago. During that time I've been privileged to publish 120 books on a variety of topics and have the column "Ask the Rabbi" published in The Jewish State for the past five years."

Favorite TV: " 'Dateline,' '60 Minutes,' and sporting events of all kinds. With a doctorate in Instructional Games from Columbia, in I truly enjoy game shows."

Favorite food: "Barbequed chicken and my wife's homemade mandel bread."

Best childhood memory: "The day as a 3rd grader I realized I wanted to be a rabbi. It was my first year of Hebrew School and my teacher was the principal of the school. It was a really positive experience in a small class. One other member of that class also became a rabbi and his twin brother a cantor."

People don't know that... "During my college years, I was a singer and guitar player in a Hebrew liturgical folk-rock group known as Arbaah Kolote (Voices Four). We toured synagogues and JCC's across the country."

Last book I read:  'Big Russ,' by Tim Russert -- a book about his father. Also, 'The Lord is my Shepherd,' by Rabbi Harold Kushner.

The biggest asset in the local Jewish communities: "The collegiality of the area rabbis, the Jewish educational consortium called Jewish LIFE, the vibrant JCC and the vast array of volunteers who work tirelessly to improve the Jewish community and the community at large."

The biggest problem in the local Jewish communities: "To me, there wasn't one biggest problem, but one problem that needs improvement is working to get all the unaffiliated Jewish families to be a part of the most important institutions -- to join and support the synagogues."

If I had more time, I would: "Travel around the world and attend more sporting events."