{"id":48130,"date":"2025-12-19T01:59:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48130"},"modified":"2025-12-18T08:38:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T16:38:08","slug":"new-rabbi-settles-into-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/new-rabbi-settles-into-post\/","title":{"rendered":"New rabbi settles into post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria\u2019s Congregation Emanu-El welcomed Rabbi Elisha (Eli) Herb as its new spiritual leader at the beginning of September, marking the next chapter for the historic shul, Canada\u2019s oldest synagogue in continuous use. He takes over from Rabbi Harry Brechner, who served the community for the past 24 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Herb, a 2016 graduate of the Hebrew College Rabbinical School, joins Emanu-El after serving for nine years as the rabbi for Temple Beth Shalom, a Reconstructing Judaism synagogue in Salem, Ore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Rabbi Elisha (Eli) Herb is Congregation Emanu-El\u2019s new spiritual leader. (photo from Emanu-El)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Victoria community has been really wonderful,\u201d Herb told the Independent<\/i> earlier this month. \u201cIt feels like I found a niche, and that feels great. I love the people here. And I love Victoria. The\u00a0<\/span>island is amazing. I\u2019m enjoying being here immensely.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Emanu-El board announced that they had chosen Herb this spring, following a seven-month selection process, it notified members that a two-thirds majority in a closed ballot was required to confirm the new rabbi. The motion to hire Herb passed with 97% of the vote.<\/p>\n

Since late summer, Herb said he has been learning from the community and hearing from people at Emanu-El about what they find satisfying about the synagogue and what they would like to see changed or enhanced. He wants \u201cto listen more than lead right now,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomething exciting for me is, in general, that people love Emanu-El. They really like being here, and want more. I like the request for more \u2013 more social connections, more diversity in programming, more programming,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Emanu-El has a reputation for supporting progressive causes, labeling it as a \u201clefty shul,\u201d in Herb\u2019s view, does not fully reflect the range of perspectives held by members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur membership is a big spectrum of backgrounds, orientations, ideologies, and so forth,\u201d he said. \u201cThe community I\u2019m experiencing is really much more about developing and strengthening the relationships they have to each other and trying to be a positive presence in Victoria as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Oct. 7, 2023, strong opinions within the Victoria Jewish community emerged, often pitting members against one another and leading to a fracturing of relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of judgments have been made absent a direct relationship, and that\u2019s very painful. It feels important to me that some healing goes on,\u201d Herb said. \u201cCompared to where I was in Oregon, it feels like it\u2019s been much harder for people here because of the schisms \u2026 within the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herb is an active social media user, with videos on YouTube about the weekly Torah reading and posts on the Emanu-El WhatsApp and Signal groups about Jewish art, jokes, music, poems and other insights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not edgy or politically motivated. It\u2019s I saw this and it touched me, so I\u2019m sharing it with you. This made me laugh, so I\u2019m sharing it with you,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One aim as rabbi, Herb said, is to increase commitment to the practice of Judaism and to enhance people\u2019s relationship to God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have this idea of connecting people with the people of Israel and with Torah and with Hashem,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, in terms of actual programming, mostly right now, I\u2019m responding to needs rather than directing things, I would say. That\u2019s my philosophy. I need to get a lay of the land and know who I\u2019m working with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herb stressed that he feels fortunate to be in Victoria.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be here, partly because of the nature of this community and the nature of the people who are involved, but it\u2019s definitely also Victoria and Vancouver Island,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to serving as a rabbi, Herb has been an outdoor educator, with certification from the National Outdoor Leadership School in the United States, and a river guide for the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education in Monticello, Utah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Brechner is stepping down as spiritual leader of the congregation, he remains an active member of the community and now holds the role of rabbi emeritus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I have grown this community, it\u2019s also grown me,\u201d said Brechner, before leaving his post. \u201cThe people I\u2019ve met, the joy and pain I\u2019ve had entr\u00e9e to and the relationships I\u2019ve developed all inform how I understand our place in the world as a Jewish people,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope Rabbi Eli has a similar experience. I know I\u2019m handing our synagogue into very capable and caring hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Brechner received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his significant contributions to interfaith connections, social justice and community dialogue in British Columbia. Earlier this year, he was awarded an honourary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City for his more than 25 years of distinguished service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRabbi Harry is a gem,\u201d said Ilana Stanger-Ross, president of Emanu-El. \u201cWhile deeply grounded in tradition, he has always\u00a0<\/span>embraced a progressive vision that inspires action and nurtures deep community \u2013 things we are known for in Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Dec. 21, Emanu-El will celebrate Hanukkah with its annual menorah lighting in Victoria\u2019s Centennial Square, starting at 5:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sam Margolis<\/b> has written for the<\/i> Globe and Mail, the<\/i> National Post, UPI and MSNBC<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victoria\u2019s Congregation Emanu-El welcomed Rabbi Elisha (Eli) Herb as its new spiritual leader at the beginning of September, marking the next chapter for the historic shul, Canada\u2019s oldest synagogue in continuous use. He takes over from Rabbi Harry Brechner, who served the community for the past 24 years.\u00a0 Herb, a 2016 graduate of the Hebrew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24287,1332,5103],"class_list":["post-48130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-elisha-eli-herb","tag-emanu-el","tag-harry-brechner"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}