Rabbi Howie Stein: The exit interview

Rabbi Howie Stein has been a fixture in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community since finishing rabbinic school in 2009 and moving here with his wife, Debbie Swartz, for her job with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Stein worked at several different synagogues, including Temple Hadar Israel in New Castle and Temple Beth Israel-Shaare Zedek in Lima, Ohio, before serving as rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel in White Oak.

With the closure of the suburban Reform congregation last month, Stein was again looking for work — but won’t be unemployed for long. He was recently named the rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Roanoke, Virginia.

As Stein, Swartz and their 12-year-old daughter, Yona, prepare to leave Pittsburgh, the rabbi spoke with the Chronicle about his time in the city and what the future holds.

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The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How does your family feel about leaving Pittsburgh?
We’re all going to miss Pittsburgh, the community and the people we’ve become close to. My daughter is nervous and excited at the same time. There’s a lot of big changes happening but she’s looking forward to a new adventure.

Can you talk about some of the highs and lows of your time in the city?
I’ve certainly participated in a range of community activities. Whether it was teaching at Tikkun Leil Shavuot, interfaith dialogue groups, serving in a freelance capacity, officiating at funerals and my first wedding. I’ve read Torah at Beth Shalom for the last 11 ½ years. My daughter started coming to minyan with me before she could walk. Being able to share, even when somebody’s at a place of loss — it’s been an honor to be able to bear witness to that and help them through the process of burying a loved one. Those, and the connections we made were the highs.

I think the low was wanting a full-time position and not finding the right place. I wanted a full-time position for a while, and it’s finally worked out.

It’s interesting that you attend minyan at Beth Shalom because you are a Reform rabbi.
I think that my path has walked along the line between the Reform and Conservative movements. I think those boundaries are not as clear-cut as people within the organizations like to think of them as being.

My father grew up in the classical Reform mold, my mother with a secular, cultural Jewish identity. Both had very strong identities. My path has been more traditional. Growing up in the Reform movement, I have a strong affinity for the movement, for the people who make up the movement, even as my personal practice has hewed more Conservative. I’ve gone back and forth and that’s served me well in most of the congregations I’ve served because they’ve had congregants from all different backgrounds. I’ve been able to reach out to all of them in different ways.

Is that a plus, that Pittsburgh has a lot of fluidity between movements?
Absolutely. Tonight is Shavuot and we’ll have a wonderful community event that brings together people from across the denominational spectrum, and people who aren’t necessarily affiliated but are attracted to the event. In Pittsburgh, we see the joke that belonging to more than one synagogue is de rigueur. But I think that fluidity — the boundaries being porous — is true everywhere, whether people want to admit it, or not.

What are some of the lessons you’ll take away from your time in Pittsburgh?
The idea that community transcends any one institution, of working with the unaffiliated, knowing that when they suffer a loss there’s a need to connect with the tradition — I think that has been a very powerful experience for me. And, knowing that there can be good relations between Jews and non-Jews despite the many challenges that have popped up over the years.

What excites you about your new position?
We’re excited to start a new adventure. I’m excited for this opportunity, and my family is excited for it, as well. Had there been the right position in Pittsburgh, I think we would have stayed but we have no reservations about leaving to pursue this new opportunity.

What will life be like for you in Virginia?
My daughter will go to public school, there’s no Jewish day school. I think that’s part of the adventure for her. It’s a smaller city than Pittsburgh. It has two synagogues, one Reform, one Conservative. There’s a nice mix of people in the community who have been there for several generations — they came 30 years ago, thought they’d stay five years and are still there. People have also come recently because, like Pittsburgh, the economy has revived in the post-industrial age. Virginia Tech’s medical school is in Roanoke so there’s a trauma center, a cancer center and a cardiac center.

And what will you miss about Pittsburgh?
Certainly, the people. Roanoke has a cultural scene but it isn’t like Pittsburgh. It’s a smaller Jewish community, so I’ll be one of a few rabbis instead of a large cohort. We’ll miss Pittsburgh but we’re looking forward to the future. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.