New Beginnings at East Brunswick Jewish Center

As Rabbi Ezra M. Finkelstein installed his son, Rabbi Joshua Finkelstein, into the on Sunday, he presented the congregation with a quotation from Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.”  The newly installed rabbi has heeded his father’s advice, charting out a life for himself over the years that follows a path devoted to faith, family and learning.

On Sunday, Dec. 18, the East Brunswick congregation welcomed Rabbi Joshua Finkelstein into their community and lives with a ceremony that honored the rabbi’s achievements, but more importantly, looked toward the future—the beginning of a new relationship between rabbi and congregation.

The Rabbi began his service at EBJC on Sept. 1, but before coming to East Brunswick he served as rabbi in Bergen County at both the Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes and the Congregation B'nai Israel in Fair Lawn. 

“Our loss is truly your gain," Rabbi Arthur D. Weiner of the Jewish Community Center of Paramus said to the packed synagogue.

Rabbi Weiner has known Rabbi Finkelstein for 31 years, and expressed gratitude at being able to help usher his friend and colleague into a new chapter of his life, as well as the congregation’s.  “Today we affirm that we have called upon him to lead,” he said.

Rabbi Finkelstein received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was awarded a Kohn Foundation Fellowship for the advancement of doctoral studies in the field of Midrash, and received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Columbia College of Columbia University in New York.

During the ceremony, a letter was read aloud from Rabbi Bill Lebeu, past vice chancellor and dean of The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary, congratulating Rabbi Finkelstein on his installation and praising the rabbi’s deep commitment and devotion to his work.

It’s a devotion that spans generations—Rabbi Finkelstein is a fifth-generation rabbi whose grandfather, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, was chancellor at the Jewish Theology Seminary.  Rabbi Joshua Finkelstein undoubtedly possesses yichus, distinguished family lineage; his grandfather was sent by John F. Kennedy to attend the installation of Pope Paul VI and was invited by President Nixon to deliver a sermon in the White House.  But when Rabbi Finkelstein delivered his installation address, he didn’t focus on his grandfather’s fame; instead, he nostalgically recalled the man he grew up with—the man with whom he spent many Shabbats, the man who inspired him.

Rabbi Finkelstein also referenced his father, recounting a time during his position as a teacher at a Hebrew high school in Great Neck, N.Y., when a student asked him about his heroes.  The answer was clear: his father, Rabbi Ezra M. Finkelstein, Rabbi Emeritus of the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, N.Y.  Earlier in the evening, however, Rabbi Ezra M. Finkelstein made a point to recognize his son’s accomplishments as autonomous achievements.

“He does not need my stamp of approval," he said.

The importance of family and community was a major focus in Rabbi Finkelstein’s address.  He said he has been making an effort to meet as many members of the congregation as possible, and stressed the value of a sense of togetherness and unity, through times good and bad.  He individually thanked the people who have helped him recognize his goals, and made a point to address his wife, Elana Gershen Finkelstein, and his three children, Sarah, Eli and Rebecca.

After the ceremony, members of the congregation socialized over an impressive spread of food, coffee, and desserts, while The Avi Maza Orchestra provided musical entertainment.  During conversation, one congregation member, Steve Weinberg, stated that as a relatively new member of the synagogue, he was extremely pleased to find such a strong sense of community. 

This sentiment is sure to continue—when asked what he felt was most important to bring to the East Brunswick Jewish Center, Rabbi Joshua Finkelstein was direct and to-the-point: “A love of Torah, a sense of God’s presence, and helping the general community.”