Lakeland Synagogue Welcomes New Spiritual Leader
Posted By richards on August 31, 2014
Rabbi Bertram Kieffer has relocated to Lakeland to lead the Jewish congregation at Temple Emanuel. "I'm trying to use what's contemporary, a sense of modernity, to find a way our traditions can be internalized by the next generation," Kieffer said
In the movie "The Jazz Singer," a rabbi's son disregards his father's wish that he become a cantor, who sings the prayers in a synagogue. Instead, the son turns to the stage and becomes an entertainer, only at the end to return to the synagogue to sing for God rather than for popularity.
It's a story that Rabbi Bertram Kieffer knows personally. He, too, was a rabbi's son who pursued a career as a popular singer and actor, only to return to the synagogue. Now he has turned his talents and experience to lead the oldest synagogue in Polk County.
In August, Kieffer became the new rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Lakeland, and the former entertainer promises to inject a bit of liveliness into Shabbat services.
"As rabbi, I get to use all my experiences. I've created pop services where the words are in Hebrew but the music is popular. I have a Beatles service, I have a Sinatra service, I have a Feelin' Groovy' Shabbat, with music from the '60s. It's quite joyful, with music we enjoy," he said.
Such creative license is all in the interest of passing on Jewish traditions by making them relevant, said Kieffer, who says he is "this side of 60," without saying which side.
"I'm trying to use what's contemporary, a sense of modernity, to find a way our traditions can be internalized by the next generation. How can we continue the work of past generations? We redefine it so it's user-friendly," he said.
Kieffer has arrived just prior to the High Holy Days, and despite his penchant for innovation, he stresses that the services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are solemn occasions that will be conducted in the traditional way. He promises, "There will be beautiful music," some of it sung by himself and some as duets with congregation members.
"The holidays are about introspection. We want to make changes in our lives. The secular New Year is about parties and frivolity. Ours is about our relationship with God," he said.
It took Kieffer awhile to combine the two worlds he knows the ancient Jewish tradition in which he was raised and that of pop culture. He was the middle of three sons, whose father was a rabbi in Westbury, N.Y., on Long Island. Both his brothers became rabbis as well, but in his 20s, Kieffer's dream was to become a star.
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