Temple Beth Or’s newest spiritual leader, Rabbi Robyn Fisher, who was recently ordained and who with her husband and children is a longtime resident of the area, says she feels blessed and honored to serve the community.
She assumed her role in August of last year when Rabbi Mark Kram retired from the pulpit. It was Rabbi Kram who recommended her.
“She is a very talented, compassionate and professional individual who I think will help to not only sustain but grow the synagogue and hopefully maintain its important place within our community,” Rabbi Kram said.
“There is a real need for a small, down-to-earth, open place of worship for the past 35 years that we’ve been in south Dade, and Robyn has all the skills and energy and focus to continue Beth Or’s traditions and to place her own imprimatur on Beth Or,” he said. “My wife and I are so delighted that she is my successor and we look forward to being a part of Beth Or for many years under her leadership.”
Mel Tenen, congregation president, had high praise for Rabbi Fisher.
“From the start of our search process, we were committed to identifying a rabbi who set high standards for congregational life and would inspire us to pursue them,” he said. “We have found that and many other superior qualities in Rabbi Fisher — a spiritual leader who shows personal warmth and magnetism and connects with people at every stage of life.”
Rabbi Fisher said that she had never really dreamed of becoming a “pulpit rabbi,” but when Rabbi Kram, with whom she had been friends for many years, decided to retire and asked if she would take over at Temple Beth Or, she was flattered. She began meeting with members of the congregation and the timing seemed right.
“Everything fell into place,” Rabbi Fisher said. “It felt like home, a beautiful spiritual home. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced before. I grew up on Miami Beach at Temple Beth Shalom and my children grew up at Temple Beth Om, so I’ve always known large, mega synagogues, and this is sweet, in a home in the middle of suburbia, with three and a half acres of meditation gardens. It’s beautiful.”
She said that she is pleased with and welcomes her new role.
“It’s a huge opportunity, not without its challenges, because this is a small aging congregation that has incredible potential. I feel like I have a purpose here, and that purpose is to breathe new life into it and to find a way to connect it to the larger Jewish community.”
Rabbi Fisher said that Beth Or already had a solid tradition of social justice, of helping those in the area in various ways, and she wants to expand on that.
“There are lots of ways that we can participate in the areas of social justice,” Rabbi Fisher said. “Some of it can be very hands-on, such as feeding the poor or providing clothing or needed medical supplies, whether it’s in Puerto Rico or down south at the Chapman Partnership.
We’ve done ‘milk and honey’ projects like providing food baskets for the elderly during High Holy Days.
“Then there are areas of advocating for social justice within the community. For example, we did a program on human trafficking, and one on the brokenness of our justice system, to try to get signed into law the changes to enable those who are past offenders to be allowed to vote. And we’ve joined PACT, which is a multi-faith gathering of people in the community working to cure social ills.”
Rabbi Fisher is looking forward to an upcoming special event. Temple Beth Or will be having a Tu B’shevat Garden Festival on Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., “Creating Sacred Space” with Jewish learning, cultivating the meditation gardens, art projects to enhance the gardens, lunch and a closing drumming circle. The cost is $20 per person and RSVP is requested.
Temple Beth Or is a Reconstructionist congregation located at 11715 SW 87 Ave., with most of its members living in Kendall, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay.
For information call 305-235-1419, send email to bethortemple@aol.com or visit www.bethormiami.com.
