Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Congregation Adat Yeshurun

Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter worries about “the distancing of people from God.... In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil.”
Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter worries about “the distancing of people from God.... In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil.”
Place

Congregation Adat Yeshurun

8625 La Jolla Scenic Drive, San Diego

Membership: 280

Pastor: Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter

Age: 53

Born: Brooklyn, New York

Formation: Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Rabbinical College, Baltimore, Mishkan HaTorah Yeshiva, Jerusalem

Years Ordained: 29

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter: I usually spend a few hours preparing. I start thinking about it during the week, and I wake up early Saturday morning and usually put it together. The sermon is always looking at scripture in the sense that we read a portion of the Bible each week and focus on that or a particular high holiday we might be celebrating. I use that and apply it to either something that’s a pertinent message for life in general or a particular event that’s happening. It’s not just an explanation of the text but an explanation with an eye toward application.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Sponsored
Sponsored

RW: It’s all ultimately the same message. If you boil down every sermon and all of life, it’s all ultimately the same: Build a relationship with God, perfect yourself, and make yourself the best you can. There are a hundred thousand ways to get to that same place, but it’s all basically going there. God is the center of our lives, and the purpose we are put here on Earth is to perfect ourselves.

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

RW: The main concern — and there are a lot of little concerns — but if you put them together and boil them down to what’s common among them, it’s the distancing of people from God, which manifests itself in an environment that lacks religiosity, and the pulling away from synagogue and from religious service and traditional observance. In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil; it’s all a pulling away from God and what God wants in the world.

SDR: Why Orthodox Judaism?

RW: It’s not like I choose this as opposed to another religion. I was born Jewish, and the Bible we believe is the word of God. And God says that those who are born Jewish have to serve God. He has a plan for the entire world — and for the Jewish people he has one plan and for the rest of the world he has another plan. It’s all ultimately to serve God.

SDR: What is the mission of your congregation?

RW: Our mission is to build a community of people who are excited and enthused about Judaism and that in themselves are strengthening their own Judaism and are inclusive of others to bring them closer to Judaism. It’s a complete package — from the friendliness and openness of the services and the joy in worshipping, to the classes — a lot of classes and educational things.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

RW: The quick answer is we go through a passage of cleansing; and after the passage of cleansing, we go to a place called the world of souls, where souls are gathered. And these souls are gathered where they wait until the end of time, the world to come. That’s a very quick answer, leaving out all the details. There is also the possibility of being given a second chance, for souls to come back in and [be] reborn into a body. It’s an opportunity for everyone — or anyone who hasn’t perfected himself, which is most of us. So, there will be a need to reenter the world.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter worries about “the distancing of people from God.... In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil.”
Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter worries about “the distancing of people from God.... In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil.”
Place

Congregation Adat Yeshurun

8625 La Jolla Scenic Drive, San Diego

Membership: 280

Pastor: Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter

Age: 53

Born: Brooklyn, New York

Formation: Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Rabbinical College, Baltimore, Mishkan HaTorah Yeshiva, Jerusalem

Years Ordained: 29

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter: I usually spend a few hours preparing. I start thinking about it during the week, and I wake up early Saturday morning and usually put it together. The sermon is always looking at scripture in the sense that we read a portion of the Bible each week and focus on that or a particular high holiday we might be celebrating. I use that and apply it to either something that’s a pertinent message for life in general or a particular event that’s happening. It’s not just an explanation of the text but an explanation with an eye toward application.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Sponsored
Sponsored

RW: It’s all ultimately the same message. If you boil down every sermon and all of life, it’s all ultimately the same: Build a relationship with God, perfect yourself, and make yourself the best you can. There are a hundred thousand ways to get to that same place, but it’s all basically going there. God is the center of our lives, and the purpose we are put here on Earth is to perfect ourselves.

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

RW: The main concern — and there are a lot of little concerns — but if you put them together and boil them down to what’s common among them, it’s the distancing of people from God, which manifests itself in an environment that lacks religiosity, and the pulling away from synagogue and from religious service and traditional observance. In the world, it manifests itself in terror and evil; it’s all a pulling away from God and what God wants in the world.

SDR: Why Orthodox Judaism?

RW: It’s not like I choose this as opposed to another religion. I was born Jewish, and the Bible we believe is the word of God. And God says that those who are born Jewish have to serve God. He has a plan for the entire world — and for the Jewish people he has one plan and for the rest of the world he has another plan. It’s all ultimately to serve God.

SDR: What is the mission of your congregation?

RW: Our mission is to build a community of people who are excited and enthused about Judaism and that in themselves are strengthening their own Judaism and are inclusive of others to bring them closer to Judaism. It’s a complete package — from the friendliness and openness of the services and the joy in worshipping, to the classes — a lot of classes and educational things.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

RW: The quick answer is we go through a passage of cleansing; and after the passage of cleansing, we go to a place called the world of souls, where souls are gathered. And these souls are gathered where they wait until the end of time, the world to come. That’s a very quick answer, leaving out all the details. There is also the possibility of being given a second chance, for souls to come back in and [be] reborn into a body. It’s an opportunity for everyone — or anyone who hasn’t perfected himself, which is most of us. So, there will be a need to reenter the world.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mid-range fleet scoring bluefin limits off Ensenada

Rockfish to open at all depths April 1st (no foolin’)
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.