Rabbi Grimm Article

When Tamar Grimm interviewed for the rabbi position at the Tri-City Jewish Center in Rock Island, the last thing on her mind was that she is a 31-year-old female.

The Minneapolis native, who graduates from rabbinical school in Boston today, will break new ground in this area’s religious community.

“In places like Boston, there are a lot of female rabbis,” she said. “I hadn’t really thought about being the first one.”

Jews arrived in this region with the first pioneers, and Temple Emanuel in Davenport was founded in the 1870s.

Yet, for more than 150 years, only men headed the faith in the Quad-Cities.

“There are some who question my being a rabbi,” Grimm acknowledged. “But I have found that when people get to know me, they learn what I have to offer.”

A colleague told Grimm he once thought that women should never serve as rabbis. He changed his opinion after actually spending time with her, she said.



A strong resumé

Grimm attended Jewish religious schools in suburban Minneapolis. She left the Twin Cities to attend Brandeis University in Boston and spent two years at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. She’s headed up a Hebrew school in St. Louis Park, Minn., interned with a hospital chaplain program and is graduating from The Boston Synagogue’s rabbinical school.

She realizes she has packed a lot of Jewish experience and education into her 31 years.

“The component missing from my life was the pastoral life,” she said, pointing out that “rabbi” actually means “teacher.”

Members of the Rock Island congregation are excited to welcome Grimm to the Quad-Cities.

“She seems to be a really good match for us,” said Judy Miller, the chairwoman of the search committee for the synagogue’s new religious leader.

In fact, Grimm’s resumé was the first Tri-City received among the “many, many resumés” that came from people seeking the position, she said. Miller, who has a background in human resources, first interviewed Grimm over the phone.

“It was a very comfortable discussion,” she said, noting that Grimm told her she hoped to return to the Midwest to be near her family in Minneapolis.

The center’s former rabbi, Michael Samuel, has accepted a new position at a synagogue in Chula Vista, Calif.

Grimm seems like a person who is interested in other people, and that is very important, said Richard Geifman, a member of the synagogue.

“When she visited the congregation, she was well-received and well-thought-of by everyone she came in contact with,” he said.

Importantly, Grimm met the search committee’s criteria. They sought a spiritual leader who wants to form relationships, has outstanding communication skills and is a respected member of the religious community, Miller said. Grimm also will be sensitive to the needs of all age groups in the area’s Jewish community, she added.



Observes Sabbath traditions

Grimm traveled to Rock Island to interview one spring weekend and stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn. She follows many traditions of Judaism and chooses not to ride in motor vehicles during the Sabbath.

“In the Torah, it tells us to work for six days and rest on the seventh,” she said, adding that various interpretations of that edict have evolved over the centuries. New technologies offer new definitions.

“There are 39 activities forbidden by the rabbis on the Sabbath. One of them is ‘kindling,’ or using fire. For that reason, I don’t ride in a car that day,” she said.

Several members of the Tri-City Jewish Center offered to walk with Grimm from the hotel to their synagogue, which is located in the 2700 block of 30th Street. They discussed the beauty of the area and the best places to hike and bike, Miller recalled.

By the end of the weekend, the center’s board had voted unanimously to hire Grimm.

“We are very much hoping that Tamar will grow both professionally and personally with our congregation,” Miller said.

“With her ideas and outlook, she’s the breath of fresh air we’ve been looking for,” Geifman said.

“It’s bashert,” Miller said, using a Yiddish word that means “it’s meant to be.”

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