Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Congregation Beth El

God’s in the ghettos and slums

 Rabbi Phillip Graubart worries, “Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews?”
Rabbi Phillip Graubart worries, “Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews?”
Place

Congregation Beth El

8660 Gilman Drive, San Diego

Membership: 550 families

Pastor: Rabbi Phillip Graubart

Age: 52

Denomination: Conservative

Born: Long Branch, New Jersey

Formation: Jewish Theological Seminary, New York

Years Ordained: 23

San Diego Reader: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

Rabbi Phillip Graubart: I’ll say two things. One concern I think you will find most rabbis have is the future of the Jewish people. We have a lot of concerns about demographics. Are we really perpetuating ourselves here in America and to some extent in Israel? Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews? I’m also concerned with giving guidance and comfort to people in their daily lives — trying to be the best pastor and rabbi I can be so people can better get through their particular circumstance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: What is the mission of your congregation?

RG: One of our most important missions is outreach in general to the Jewish community, to become relevant, important, and interesting to all Jews, no matter where they’ll be — so that Jews will have a reason to connect to Judaism, teach their children and create Jewish families…. Among the things that embody our outreach — and we try to be as creative and broadminded about how we define Judaism as possible — we offer traditional modes of worship that all synagogues offer, including Sabbath and daily services using the traditional modes in Hebrew and the traditional prayers. But we also try to be creative. We have yoga, hikes on Saturday, bike rides together, and lots of social events and ways for people to connect with each other to build a community.

SDR: Where is the most surprising place you found God?

RG: When I lived in New York City, I worked at a homeless shelter for a while as a volunteer…. Rabbi Abraham Heschel said you really see God and have a feeling for God’s presence anywhere but especially when he would take walks through slums and ghettos, wherever there was the most human misery, and yet they were human beings caring and comforting each other. That was a powerful experience for me — people totally down on their luck, drug addicts, alcoholics, people with nothing. I was able to connect with them. The way they supported each other was to me miraculous and one of the most powerful expressions of God’s presence.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

RG: My personal view, which is certainly colored by Jewish teaching — and I should tell you there’s not really a consensus in Jewish teaching on that question — but I have a strong belief in the afterlife — in heaven. You go and you’re with God. Somehow there is a judgment and there is a form of coming to terms with the bad things we’ve done, and also the good things we’ve done. It is an ultimate reality different from our own in which we’re with God. I’m comfortable calling that heaven. You have hell in Judaism but it’s downplayed in our Jewish texts. It’s more like a period of time where you’re coming to terms with your sins…. It’s not so much fire and brimstone as it is an understanding of all the terrible things you did and a pure sense of embarrassment, shame, and sorrow…. But what’s important to me is that you get past that — it happens and then you move on to heaven.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

 Rabbi Phillip Graubart worries, “Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews?”
Rabbi Phillip Graubart worries, “Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews?”
Place

Congregation Beth El

8660 Gilman Drive, San Diego

Membership: 550 families

Pastor: Rabbi Phillip Graubart

Age: 52

Denomination: Conservative

Born: Long Branch, New Jersey

Formation: Jewish Theological Seminary, New York

Years Ordained: 23

San Diego Reader: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

Rabbi Phillip Graubart: I’ll say two things. One concern I think you will find most rabbis have is the future of the Jewish people. We have a lot of concerns about demographics. Are we really perpetuating ourselves here in America and to some extent in Israel? Does what we do still have relevance to people enough to create the next generation of Jews? I’m also concerned with giving guidance and comfort to people in their daily lives — trying to be the best pastor and rabbi I can be so people can better get through their particular circumstance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: What is the mission of your congregation?

RG: One of our most important missions is outreach in general to the Jewish community, to become relevant, important, and interesting to all Jews, no matter where they’ll be — so that Jews will have a reason to connect to Judaism, teach their children and create Jewish families…. Among the things that embody our outreach — and we try to be as creative and broadminded about how we define Judaism as possible — we offer traditional modes of worship that all synagogues offer, including Sabbath and daily services using the traditional modes in Hebrew and the traditional prayers. But we also try to be creative. We have yoga, hikes on Saturday, bike rides together, and lots of social events and ways for people to connect with each other to build a community.

SDR: Where is the most surprising place you found God?

RG: When I lived in New York City, I worked at a homeless shelter for a while as a volunteer…. Rabbi Abraham Heschel said you really see God and have a feeling for God’s presence anywhere but especially when he would take walks through slums and ghettos, wherever there was the most human misery, and yet they were human beings caring and comforting each other. That was a powerful experience for me — people totally down on their luck, drug addicts, alcoholics, people with nothing. I was able to connect with them. The way they supported each other was to me miraculous and one of the most powerful expressions of God’s presence.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

RG: My personal view, which is certainly colored by Jewish teaching — and I should tell you there’s not really a consensus in Jewish teaching on that question — but I have a strong belief in the afterlife — in heaven. You go and you’re with God. Somehow there is a judgment and there is a form of coming to terms with the bad things we’ve done, and also the good things we’ve done. It is an ultimate reality different from our own in which we’re with God. I’m comfortable calling that heaven. You have hell in Judaism but it’s downplayed in our Jewish texts. It’s more like a period of time where you’re coming to terms with your sins…. It’s not so much fire and brimstone as it is an understanding of all the terrible things you did and a pure sense of embarrassment, shame, and sorrow…. But what’s important to me is that you get past that — it happens and then you move on to heaven.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Next Article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader