PEABODY — Temple Tiferet Shalom welcomed a new rabbi, Evan Sheinhait, to its community on Jan. 1.
“With that comes all the expected workings of a rabbi, leading services, providing pastoral care and ritual, support for families and members, helping with the religious school,” Sheinhait said.
Not only is this his first week as rabbi, but it is also the first week in a new building for the temple. Because the temple is still in the process of moving, Sheinhait will hold his first Shabbat on Friday evening over Zoom.
It has been an “exciting time” for the community, he said.
“It’s a new rabbi, new building, new year. It’s kind of a very destined time because everything’s happening all at once,” Sheinhait said. “It’s been really great to start meeting people, building relationships within the community.”
He said there is a lot he wants to accomplish as Temple Tiferet Shalom’s rabbi.
“I’m really hoping to bring Temple Tiferet Shalom into the next chapter, to be a center of Jewish life on the North Shore and to bring vibrancy and opportunities to the Jewish community, that the entire community to engage with and feel supported through this institution, as they mark various moments in their lives,” Sheinhait said.
Before joining Temple Tiferet Shalom, he earned a master’s degree in Hebrew literature from Hebrew Union College in 2018 and received his rabbinic ordination in 2019, according to the temple’s website at templetiferetshalom.org.
“He then served as the Peter J. Rubenstein Senior Jewish Educator and Reform Hillel Rabbi at Brandeis University through the conclusion of the 2021-2022 academic year, growing the Reform Jewish participation substantially,” the website said.
Sheinhait grew up in Framingham where he was very involved in the community at Temple Beth Am.
“He also has strong connections to the city of Peabody, with many family members in our community. Rabbi Evan and his wife, Micaela, are new parents welcoming a son at the end of 2022,” the website said.
Sheinhait said he decided to become a rabbi while earning his undergraduate degree at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he discovered what leadership in the Jewish community looks like.
“I have always loved the Jewish community and they supported me through my highs and lows,” Sheinhait said. “A rabbi forms community around core values and then turns those values into action with the community, and for me, that was just the light bulb moment of, ‘This is what I want to do with my life.’ I want to help people connect with and engage with their Jewish identity.”
