Staff Writer

He's started a "Shidduch Corner," played folk singer Leonard Cohen's version of the Unetanah Tokef prayer and put out the word to attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey that "we have a seat [at shul] waiting for you."

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld says he's "having a blast" putting together his new radio show, which began airing last month.

Shmoozin' with Shmuel is broadcast Sundays at 9 a.m. on WUST-AM 1120. The first-time radio host, who's rabbi at the District's Ohev Sholom-The National Synagogue, says the show's aim is to "bring out the flavor of the synagogue community onto radio ... bring the community to the people."

"Very few [Jews] go to shul," he said. "We want to pursue them [in] their homes with our message."

In addition to analyzing a prayer one week or playing some Jewish music another, Herzfeld on Sunday brought on a friend "whose b'shert is waiting for him out there" although "we don't know" her name yet, as he told the audience.

During the three-minute interview on "Shidduch Corner," the rabbi urged women to e-mail if they were interested in dating and asked the man such questions as "What can you tell the listeners out there that will make your desirable?"

Herzfeld said Monday morning that he hadn't yet received any requests for dates for his friend, but that he's gotten lots of positive feedback for his show.

Credit for bringing Herzfeld to the radio goes to a 20-year veteran of the D.C. Jewish radio show scene, Estelle Abraham.

Abraham, whose program, Jewish Community Radio, airs Sundays on WUST at 9:30 a.m., had noticed that the show in the half-hour slot preceding hers had been replaced by "filler music." She suggested to Herzfeld that he contact the radio station, which sells airtime to a variety of ethnic and religious programs.

Herzfeld declined to reveal how much it costs to buy the half-hour of airtime; Ohev Sholom is sponsoring the show.

Abraham said she figured Herzfeld would be a natural on the radio, and said she looked forward to hearing the rabbi explore new ideas on the air and find out "what works for him."

"He's energetic ... He's a personality," she said.

Scoffing at the suggestion that the Herzfeld show could be seen as competition, Abraham said, "The more [Jewish radio that] is on the air, the better."

A third locally produced Jewish radio show, Awake, Alive and Jewish, with Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, airs every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on WFED-AM 1050.

Schmoozin' with Shmuel producer Debra Kirsch, who called Herzfeld an "untapped talent," described the show as exciting because it is "raw" with "so much room for growth."

"Anything goes. ... He can play whatever he wants, do whatever he wants," said Kirsch, a former producer at National Public Radio.

In the coming weeks, Herzfeld plans to introduce new features, such as bringing in three people to ask him questions about Judaism and "try and stump me live on the air ‹ it would make Houdini sweat."

District resident Jill Sacks said she's quickly become a regular listener, catching the archived shows on the WUST Web site if she can't listen to the Sunday morning broadcasts.

She particularly enjoys the interviews Herzfeld conducts on the show's "Kibbitzing Corner," from a segment with local philanthropist Mel Cohen about his family and Jewish background to a talk with a bar mitzvah boy about his trip to Prague and the Jewish history in that city.

Sacks, a member of Ohev Sholom, said the radio show projects the same "open" and energetic feeling that Herzfeld provides at his shul, "making everyone feel welcome."

Herzfeld said he just hopes he can bring people "closer to Judaism, teach some Torah [and] make some connections to real people," and show everyone "the fun of Judaism."