Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg welcomed its new rabbi, Rabbi David Helfand, last month.
Helfand came from Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as their engagement rabbi. In his new role at Shaare Torah, he now serves as the synagogue’s sole rabbi.
“There was something about the warmth and the close-knit nature of this community that really excited both myself and my family,” Helfand said. “It was an opportunity that when it came knocking, we gave it some real thought and consideration and decided that it was a place that we could see ourselves growing our own family, being a part of and helping sustain the last 29-plus years of the synagogue’s history.”
Born and raised in Kansas City, Helfand completed his rabbinic training in Los Angeles, California, but lived in Washington, D.C., for two years before his rabbinical training.
Helfand’s familiarity with the DMV area also stems from his brother, Rabbi Corey Helfand, who has served at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase since 2021.
Judith Bernstein, who was on the search committee for Shaare Torah’s new rabbi, told Washington Jewish Week that Helfand “fit the bill.”
Prior to hiring Helfand, the congregation went through various rabbis since the departure of its first and founding rabbi, Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, in 2019. After Blumenthal’s departure, the congregation had several interim rabbis until 2021 when the congregation hired two rabbis — a married couple who left in 2024.
“We had a longtime rabbi, Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, who was with us a very long time and joined the [Rabbinical Assembly] and we had some other rabbis in between, an interim rabbi,” said Bernstein. “I think we finally found a candidate who seems to really fit the culture of our congregation.”
The congregation, according to Bernstein, was looking for a rabbi who can lead services with members of the community, be a teacher within the community and is “down to earth.”
“We have a lot of lay participation [from members] and Rabbi Helfand seemed to really fit, with the personality of a rabbi who’s very, very knowledgeable, very engaging,” added Bernstein. “I think we were also looking for a rabbi who would stay with us for a long time and really feel like part of the community and he’s already felt that. He’s been here for about six weeks and he’s really connected very nicely.”
Helfand told Washington Jewish Week that a highlight of his first month at Shaare Torah has been building relationships with those in the community in the short period of time that he has been there.
“My office is situated right in the heart of our preschool area. So every day, I see kids coming in and out, talking, laughing, singing and playing. I love when they walk by and say, ‘Hi, Rabbi David’ or I see them in the hallways. It’s so, so special,” said Helfand. “I’ve loved just being able to get to know so many people so quickly, whether its on Shabbat morning or teaching a class or visiting people in the hospital or calling people who just need a little bit of love. This is a community of deep care and relationship building and that is a part of my DNA as both a rabbi and as a human.”
While Helfand now embraces his role as a rabbi wholeheartedly, his journey to the rabbinate wasn’t as clear. Before finding his calling in the rabbinate, he had his sights set on a very different career.
“I didn’t always want to be a rabbi. I wanted to go into broadcast journalism and be a sports reporter. Things just kind of fell the way they fell and here I am,” said Helfand. “I get to tell stories as a rabbi and I get to be with people along their journeys in a very similar way to which someone who’s telling a story as a journalist gets to. So, for me, it was the most natural progression on my journey.”
Helfand said that he hopes to engage more young Jews in the community by hosting programs and events like a young professionals Shabbat or a community gathering, such as going to a Washington Nationals baseball game together.
“They’re craving space to be able to be with like-minded people or people that they share values with, or people they can be Jewish with on their own time outside of the walls of the synagogue,” said Helfand. “I look forward to being able to do that over time.”
