Beth El is a wonderful community. It has been my privilege to be a part of it for more than twenty years and to be its spiritual leader the last five.
My leadership philosophy is simple. I learned most of it from my days at Hillel.
- Offer the richness of the Jewish tradition in as many ways as possible
- Build a big umbrella that can include people with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints
- Offer alternatives for services/education/ socializing, one size doesn’t fit all
- Do everything with quality
Beth El is my community and it provides all I could ever ask in caring and concern, not to mention intellectual stimulation. I hope you will find the same in it. Sometimes that happens automatically, but sometimes you have to do some reaching out yourself. I promise you that we will reach back.
Biography
Rabbi Bill Rudolph has been with Congregation Beth El since 1983. He served on a part-time basis most of that period, during which he was Associate International Director of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. He was elected as Beth El's Rabbi in 2001.
At Beth El, Rabbi Rudolph has been instrumental in the creation of the Community Torah Institute, several new Shabbat services including the Early Morning Shabbat Minyan now in its 22nd year, a host of inreach activities including a burgeoning seniors program, the Taste of Beth El, our Jewish Presbyterian Dialogue, the concept of a programmatic theme for the year (for 5767 it is Shemirat HaNefesh V'HaGuf / taking care of our souls and our bodies) and the It's Wednesday clergy email. He took a leadership role in Beth El's multi-faceted response to Middle East crises in 2002 and 2006, including two $1 million dollar rallies for the Israel Emergency Campaign. He is recipient of Federation's Matthew Simon Rabbinic Leadership Award. He currently sits on the Federation Board, its Planning & Allocations Committee, its Rabbinic Cabinet, and its Missions Committee, and co-chairs the Affinity Division of the Annual Campaign.
Rabbi Rudolph is married to Gail Fribush, who coordinates the Middle Years Program at the Julius West Middle School in Rockville. He is the father of three children: Dan, Sara and Marc. He has two grandchildren.