For Rabbi Ami Monson, a native Philadelphian who comes from a long line of rabbis, starting his tenure as spiritual leader at Congregation Beth El in Yardley is like a homecoming.
While he didn’t grow up at Beth El, he knew very quickly that it was a fit.
“When I interviewed on Zoom and talked to the lay leadership and the people, it just felt right,” he said. “They were great, kind people, and they’re really eager and have a thirst for knowledge.”
Monson begins his tenure on July 1, and he cannot wait to get started. He has worked in the Jewish professional world nearly his entire adult life, but he was actually late to the rabbinate. He was persuaded to join the clergy by a mentor of his at a shul job on the West Coast.
Rabbi Ed Feinstein at Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Southern California, where Monson was working as director of youth engagement, asked him why he had never gone to rabbinical school. Monson had worked as director of youth engagement, a youth group advisor and a Hebrew teacher, among other roles, before realizing that Feinstein was right.
“I touched every avenue of synagogue life,” he said.
The Rittenhouse Square native said he felt it was a natural fit because of his affinity for people and helping them through their lives. He summed it up by saying it’s his true passion to be around people.
“My dad was a stamp collector and a baseball card collector. My brother was a huge baseball card collector. You know what I collect? People. That’s what I do. I get most excited, the most pumped, have the most energy, when I am there to help people in need. I love being a resource. I love connecting people,” he said.
Beth El search committee co-chair Amy Kaissar said that, even through a crowded and competitive field, Monson stood out.
“He is incredibly welcoming and warm and relatable,” she said. “He has fabulous ideas about engaging families and youths, and also the adults and the seniors loved him. I mean, there really was not a constituent group that didn’t.”
Monson said that some of his goals for his tenure are to meet more people outside of the synagogue, wherever it is easiest for them. He said he wants to keep better track of where Beth El youth are attending college and support them once they’re there, especially considering the current climate on college campuses. He plans to energize the Kabbalat Shabbat services with more food and a more family-focused environment, and make them more regular, too. He said he wants to increase adult education programming and make it more interactive.
In past roles and while he was studying to become a rabbi, Monson grew especially appreciative of the senior community. He wants to continue to support older Jewish adults at Beth El by partnering with organizations in the community who help them.
“I want to make it open to all communities, all walks of life, all different kinds of people. We’re a very inclusive synagogue, and I want to keep that and increase that. I especially want to be sensitive and open-minded to the LGBTQ+ community and to singles,” he said.
“I think a lot of singles at synagogues sort of feel a little bit alienated, and we have to do things for singles, families with young kids, and also families who are empty nesters.”
Kaissar and the search committee knew that Monson was going to back up his ideas because of his deep ties to the community and track record of action. Being from Philadelphia, he was eager to return and serve, and he made that clear to the leadership at Beth El.
“I think that leading a community is a lifelong engagement, and I think that being part of that community and knowing that community certainly means that he begins on day one in a very different place than someone who would be new to the area,” Kaissar said. “But I think maybe even more important than that is his desire to be here. He’s not someone just looking for a job anywhere. He’s someone who says, ‘If I’m going to be leading a community, this is the community that I am a part of.’”
Monson said that this new role is one of complete service to his community, not ego. He is hopeful and confident that he can deliver in a way that meets the expectations of such a respected and ingrained shul.
“Even though it’s a new day and it’s a little tougher to get people to synagogue, there’s still this sense that people love and feel proud [of their synagogue] and of having someone be their rabbi,” he said. “And that’s what I’m really hoping for with Beth El Yardley — that it really rolls off people’s tongue easily to say, ‘Rabbi Ami Monson is my rabbi.’”
