Two Decades of Leadership at New York's Oldest Congregation Recently, Rabbi Gideon Shloush ’93YC, ’96R became the 63rd president of the New York Board of Rabbis (NYBR). (His formal installation is scheduled for June 6.) In many ways, his ascension to the NYBR presidency is the culmination of how his family history and his sojourn at Yeshiva University conspired to put him on his life’s journey. Rabbi Shloush is the spiritual leader of Congregation Adereth El, located in the heart of Murray Hill, Gramercy Park and Kips Bay. The synagogue is New York’s oldest congregation on the same site, dating back to the Civil War era. But it wasn’t a job he ever sought. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that it sought him out. When he attended Yeshiva College, he majored in economics because, at that time, “I had a genuine interest in business.” He had several internships in real estate and retail, and even went on to get an MBA at Baruch College, where he studied in more depth his interest in entrepreneurship, one of the more leading-edge topics in business schools during the 1990s. Yet while attending Baruch he also earned semicha [rabbinic ordination] at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), continuing a long tradition of Jewish study on both sides of his family. His father, Rabbi Eliahu Shloush, is a respected Rav and scholar; his grandfather, Rabbi David Shloush, is Chief Rabbi of Netanya; and his great-grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Shloush, was Rosh Av Beit Din and Rosh Chevra Kadisha of Jerusalem. He is also the great-grandson of Rav Meir Vaknin zt”l, the long-time Chief Rabbi of Teverya. Rabbi Shloush's mother, Dr. Rita Shloush, was the founder and Head of School of Yeshivat Rambam in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1991 to 2009. In 2000, she was awarded the prestigious “Pras Yerushalayim,” The Jerusalem Prize for Religion and Communal Leadership by the President of the State of Israel. Though he didn’t know it at the time, life was hedging his bets for him by having him keep one hand in the secular world and one in the religious. Studying business, as much as he enjoyed it, also made him realize that “I was not ready to enter this world; I wanted to keep learning because I loved that rhythm of studying Torah for half the day and secular studies for the other half.” Earning semicha and getting the MBA was the perfect combination. In 1996, Shloush got a call from the YU Career Center asking him if he’d be available to work as an assistant for Adereth El’s long-time leader, Rabbi Sidney Kleiman, who was 82 at that time. (He died at the age of 100 in 2013.) Shloush, tutoring students while attending Baruch, often crossed paths with the rabbi, and it was Rabbi Kleiman who had called the placement office looking specifically for Shloush to be his assistant. It seemed like the perfect set-up: Kleiman was not looking to retire and Shloush was not necessarily interested in entering the rabbinate, and they would both benefit from working together. However, a week before the High Holidays, Kleiman had to have emergency quadruple by-pass surgery, and suddenly Shloush found himself plunged into leading the historic midtown congregation. A year later, Kleiman suffered a stroke, which incapacitated him for service. Soon afterward the congregation passed the torch to Shloush, and he has been with the congregation for the past two decades. For Shloush this is an extremely meaningful position. “The synagogue is in the center of Manhattan, has an extraordinary history and welcomes guests from all over the world. We are always hosting a diverse mix of people such as Roshei Yeshiva, ambassadors at the UN, visiting tourists and students studying in nearby universities.” He even met his wife, Bonnie, through the synagogue, and together they now have a beautiful family. Under his leadership, the congregation has flourished. There are a wide variety of Jewish learning programs, lecture series, children's services and social events bringing in large groups of young singles and families. There is even an on-site preschool and Sunday school. Membership has tripled, a magnificent Beit Midrash has been built, the building underwent a major restoration, and the congregation celebrated its 150th anniversary. All of this has led to Rabbi Shloush playing a leadership role in the wider Jewish community. For instance, in 2002 Rabbi Shloush was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). The following year he was appointed as the Director of Rabbinic Learning and Enrichment at the RCA. In this capacity, he is credited with creating and overseeing the Rabbi Steven M. Dworken Continuing Rabbinic Education program, which offers a wide variety of Torah learning and professional development opportunities for nearly one thousand member rabbis around the world. And now the presidency of the NYBR, an organization numbering more than 750 rabbis representing all of the denominations throughout the tri-state area. Their official mission is to “foster fellowship, provide educational enrichment, and rise above theological differences to strengthen and defend the Jewish community while advancing educational, religious, and social values.” He finds this mission completely in line with the kind of leadership he has tried to practice for the last several decades. “Through the NYBR, I will be able to engage hundreds of Jewish leaders of every denomination to address causes where there is common ground, such as support for the State of Israel and opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.” Rabbi Shloush looks back at his years as a student at YU with great fondness. “I drew great inspiration from honorable people and pillars of YU such as Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Zevulun Charlop and Rabbi Israel Miller.” He has also kept up an active relationship with YU. For the past decade he has served as the Coordinator of Professional Rabbinic Education & Internships at RIETS ensuring a smooth transition for rabbinical students from the Beit Midrash to the professional rabbinic world. He is also an adjunct professor at Stern College for Women where he teaches Bible and Jewish Studies. Reflecting on the years that have transpired, Shloush said “we plan and God laughs.” He even noted, with a chuckle, that in gematria [Jewish numerology], the value of the letters in Adereth El and the letters in his last name are exactly equal. But it seems a good laughter, a gentle laughter, one that has been a source of blessing for him and his community.