By Leslie Feldman
Rabbi Michelle Pearlman came to Beth Chaim Reform Congregation in Malvern with a clear focus — to prioritize people over program. “My life and rabbinate have been transformed by the incredible relationships built through a love of Torah and community. My role is to help individuals connect to God, to Judaism, and to one another,” she told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in 2024.
Rabbi Pearlman died on Sept. 20, at age 56, after a battle with cancer.
At Rabbi Pearlman’s memorial service, close friends and family spoke about her exuberance, her sense of adventure and cultivation of “Jewish joy,” and her passion for social justice. What shone through the many stories was Rabbi Pearlman’s extraordinary ability to forge deeply meaningful personal connections with her congregants and so many people in the wider Jewish community, and to be genuinely present for each of us when we needed her most.
“She perfected the art of sim lev — not just paying attention but orienting her heart towards each of us,” said Cantor Jenn Boyle.
“I knew Beth Chaim was for me about seven or eight years ago when attending High Holiday services with my toddler twins,” added congregant Emily Arnold. “Rabbi Pearlman’s daughter kept popping up onto the bimah in Crocs and tie-dyed leggings and I just breathed out a sigh of relief and breathed in a sense of belonging. Kids could be kids here.”
Rabbi Pearlman grew up in Southfield, Michigan, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan in 1992 and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois in 1995. She earned a Master of Hebrew Letters in 2004 and was ordained as a rabbi in 2005 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She loved the centrality of music in Jewish practice and the beauty of Jewish communal life, leading to her entrance into the rabbinate.
Her Jewish professional career included Congregation Kol Ami in Chicago, Illinois; Beit Warszawa Synagogue in Warsaw, Poland; Woodstock Area Jewish Community in Vermont; Temple Shalom of Newton, Massachusetts; Monmouth Reform Temple in New Jersey; and for the last 13 years, Beth Chaim Reform Congregation in Malvern.
Pearlman was also involved in the Central Conference of American Rabbis, URJ Camp Harlam, Interfaith Philadelphia, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Pearlman practiced relational Judaism, building communities and relationships and bringing Jewish Joy to many. She loved meditation and studying Mussar, which were central to her rabbinate. Many congregants told her that they didn’t know how enjoyable it could be to practice Judaism until she came along.
In 12 years as rabbi at Beth Chaim, the active congregation has steadily grown, with 225 current member families. In an interview with Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in May 2024, the rabbi commented, “I think we are the richest congregation in Chester County because we focus on relationships and we have warm and caring members who really enjoy one another. Truly, this has not changed and only deepened since I arrived 10 years ago. I am blessed with incredible visionary leaders, and we truly have a sacred partnership.”
One of Rabbi Pearlman’s closest friends and hevruta, Rabbi Sharon Mars, said, “She took up residence inside my heart and my neshama [soul] for life and taught me to take Torah out into the world and use it.”
When Ellen Grant Lamanoff and her husband moved to Pennsylvania six years ago, she found Beth Chaim when reading an article in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent about Rabbi Pearlman offering Jewish meditation, “After attending our first service where she started her sermon describing a Phillies game, we knew we were in the right place. She was an inspiration and a truly beautiful human.”
Terry Heyman, Beth Chaim board member, added that Rabbi Pearlman was there for her for the happiest days of her life, the b’nai mitzvot of her children, and the saddest, the death of her mother. “She inspired me to be a better person and to give back to my community.”
Leslie Feldman is a freelance writer.