Rabbi Samuel Dov Berman, RJE, DM

Biography

I am the son of survivors and was born in Bamberg, Germany in a displaced person's camp. My Rabbinic Smicha was granted by the Mesifta Adat Wolkowisk. I received investiture and was granted my Doctorate in Music from Hebrew Union College and my Reform Jewish Educator title from The Title Granting Commission of the URJ. I have served congregations of all sizes from 2100 to 140 families in the United States and Canada. I am happily married to my wife, Dale.

Growing up in St. Louis, I attended an Orthodox shul where I sang in the choir and studied with the old men. I was learning by doing; Prayers and rituals were not just book learning. I remember with fondness the times I led my family throughout our house looking for chametz before Pesach. Davening for me was leaving the intellectual world behind and soaring to another plane of emotional rapture while getting closer to God. This raw spirituality; I call on today as I lead congregational worship.

While singing is my passion, education, both formal and informal is my vocation. As an adjunct instructor at the Baltimore Hebrew University and at the University of Maryland, I found these adult learners especially attentive.

I have always enjoyed the camaraderie and excitement of being on national commissions and professional boards. I was thrilled to be a part of the Reform Pension Board for many years, where I enjoyed fellowship experiences with the leaders of our movement. There I found the opportunity to learn about the financial world very gratifying.

I have made many personal connections with members of different faith groups through active participation in interfaith organizations. As the Senior Chaplain for the Ocala Police Department I am there to add spirituality to our city's first responders. As president of The Interfaith Alliance of Marion County, I have initiated public forums that bring faith groups closer together. As the president of the Greater Ocala Ministerial Association, I help make the Jewish community presence felt.

As an experienced, effective and impassioned counselor, I teach communication skills and conflict resolution processes. I have been a speaker presenting seminars to businesses and civic groups on the importance of creating spirituality and finding passion in the workplace.

As a young parent, I wanted my children to attend an arts camp for the summer. When I couldn't find an existing program, I started one myself and served as the director. I also became an instructor for Parent and Youth Effectiveness Training.

I invite you to our hamish service at Temple Beth Shalom. Please introduce yourself to me when you are there. In addition to welcoming the Jewish residents of Ocala and interested non-Jews, we welcome intermarried families. Non Jewish parents are offered the opportunity to show their support for their children when they become B'nai Mitzvah.

A Jewish Outreach program is an exciting opportunity to help people come to Judaism on their own terms. We all travel different roads in search of our own religious identity. Some travel the roads developed by different flavors of Judaism or other religions. I teach people to appreciate Jewish values and ideas so that they continue to grow and live a Jewish life. I welcome questions on personal conversion to Judaism and regularly schedule classes. Fringe people, just like the fringes of the Tallit, need to be wrapped around us and cherished.

I perform interfaith marriages as a teaching tool and as a retention device. I help couples create a process whereby they themselves can develop answers when questions of belief and practices become an issue. I recently finished facilitating an exciting and congenial interfaith dialogue group. We studied about Jewish beliefs, rituals and history and we learned how our non-Jewish class members view Judaism through their own belief system. I look forward to continuing classes like this.

For fun and relaxation, I read Sci-Fi and Fantasy books. I find the personal escape and interesting philosophies of other worlds fascinating.

My wife and I are very proud of our children and all they have accomplished. My son-in-law, Brian Michael Bendis is a very successful writer. My son, Daniel is an excellent advertising/web designer, working on a writing career. My daughter Alisa holds a masters' degree in education and is a successful negotiator and business manager. They all live in Portland Oregon and I look for any opportunities to visit. Oh by the way, did I mention our granddaughter Olivia, whose magnetic personality attracts us to the Portland area?

August 2008

Nurse Nancy greeted me with a, “Well hello Rabbi Berman” in her best Paula Deen southern accent. She was an experienced technician in the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) lab at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. “And how are we doing this fine morning?” she asked with what I detected a genuine concern for my well-being. I made an off hand comment since I had just been poked, prodded, shaved and attached to a heart monitor. After I signed the proper papers she said, “Now this is going to taste awful but we need you to swallow this whole thing” was the well memorized script she used as she fed this really awful gelatinous goo that Paula Deen would have never served at her table.

Before I went under I was asked to open my mouth and a worse smelling and tasting anesthetic was sprayed down my throat. The results of the test proved that the heart murmur I acquired at birth had led to the necessity for an aortic valve replacement and on the same day a heart catheterization resulted in the need for a single bypass. So the operation is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30th early in the morning.

As I lay in bed waiting to recover from the TEE and heart cath, Nancy visited me and asked if she could share a prayer with me. I said yes and as she held my hand she recited, “May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord’s countenance shine upon you; May the Lord’s countenance shine upon you and grant you peace." I said that was very beautiful and I asked if she would mind if I sang it to her in Hebrew. She nodded yes and after I did it she had tears in her eyes as she kissed me good bye and wished me a healthy outcome.

While beautiful moments can happen, you also realize that you are often a carbon unit that needs fixing and that modesty will be thrown to the wind. A case in point is when a urologist instructed his female associate to check my prostate and must have been told not to be gentle.

Dale and I were able to spend some wonderful time with our kids and grandchildren this past month. Our new granddaughter Sabrina was born on December 24th and joined our family when our daughter Alisa and her husband Brian picked her up in Ethiopia in June. She is as cute as her sister Olivia was at that age.

Some things in life can be scheduled and some things sneak-up on you and scream for your attention. Health issues are always a priority and must be handled in a timely way. I know that some members of Temple Beth Shalom are undergoing their own health challenges and my own allows me to understand more fully the impact of having to deal with them. We are tested to confront our fears and deal with the reality of our mortality.

With deep faith and the recognition that we must be fully involved in our healing we face our issues. My belief is that I will be teaching Torah within hours after my operation.

My hope and prayer is that whenever any of you face these kinds of health issues that you be able to view it as a journey toward health. There may be many stumbling blocks put in front of you and hurdles you must jump before the experience is over but always keep God in your heart and look forward to a complete healing.

Shalom,
Rabbi Sam