Most congregations have a rabbi as their spiritual leader. Some have a cantor. At Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, they have a rav.
Make no mistake: Rav Shai Cherry is an ordained rabbi. He just prefers the title of rav, which means “teacher” in classical Hebrew. Cherry said that, as a former college professor who still serves as a teacher — just of a different sort — he felt that this title was most appropriate.
“I came to the pulpit from the world of education and academics, and rav means teacher. That’s why I had my students at the university call me Rav Cherry, in order to convey to them that our subject matter was different from political science or sociology or physics, in the sense that there was a religious and ethical element to it,” he said.
Cherry, who lives blocks from the shul in Elkins Park, began his tenure at Adath Jeshurun in 2019, and while he is no longer a college professor, he is still a rav. He said that at Adath Jeshurun, his role has changed, but not as much as one may think.
“I feel like I was particularly blessed to have landed at A.J., where it’s just a wonderful fit for me and my skill set and what the congregation is generally looking for,” he said.
Cherry taught at Vanderbilt University, UCLA and the University of San Diego. These universities have prestige, and while he loved interacting with students, a conversation with his daughter after she returned from a program in Israel helped him realize that something was missing from his life.
“When she came back, we went to Kabbalat Shabbat services, and in the middle of the services, she looked at me and said, ‘After having spent the last four months in Jerusalem, I understand why what passes for American Judaism is not exciting for you,’” he said.
“Then she said, ‘You have a credential — you could try to do something yourself that would be more engaging.’”
From that short conversation, an idea blossomed for Cherry. He decided to transition to the bimah and become a rabbi. In 2019, he got the job at the synagogue many members refer to as “A.J.” and packed up his family’s West Coast life to travel east to Philadelphia.
He began work at the synagogue six months before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That provided a unique set of parameters for Cherry to get used to the job.
“It was actually an opportunity for the congregants to introduce themselves to me, because we opened up the Zoom for people who had yahrzeits or who were celebrating special occasions to speak to the entire Zoom audience, and when you’re sitting at home and you’re craving community, the two hour or two-and-a-half hour service received no complaints,” he said.
At a time when people were ailing physically and mentally and communities were starving for connection, the Adath Jeshurun congregants, and their new leader, found comfort in virtual worship.
“People were really happy to have this Shabbat service punctuate their week because it was a chance for them to connect socially. It was a chance for them to connect religiously, and it was my opportunity to do some rabbinic work on Zoom,” he said. “But also, more importantly, it was a chance for me to get to know the congregants in a way that was more intimate than it might have been in person.”
While that time was formative for Cherry and turned out to be a higher functioning one than it could have been, given the state of the world, getting back to in-person action at Adath Jeshurun has been incredible. Cherry said one of the things that makes the community special — and is best enjoyed in person — is the synagogue’s deep musical tradition.
Past rabbis included instruments in Shabbat services, which isn’t standard for many Conservative shuls. Cherry said that he has happily continued the tradition.
Another element of Adath Jeshurun that sets it apart is its emphasis on adult and teen education. The synagogue has trips planned to the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, as well as to some Civil War sites to explore the history of Jewish action in both the Union and the Confederacy.
“I brought a new teen education program that allows our teenage learners to get college credit,” Cherry said. “Because of my academic background, I have been credentialed by Gratz College to run college-level courses for teenagers.”
The rav has also helped increase programming centered around Israel, both before and after Oct. 7, 2023. That includes a congregational trip to the world’s only Jewish state, something that hadn’t been done at Adath Jeshurun in years.
For Cherry and the congregation he serves, another essential aspect of their Judaism is Zionism. He said that his next book is going to have a portion dedicated to how he believes Israel fits into contemporary Judaism. Cherry said that it is important to remember how many times the Arab world has rejected plans for a Palestinian state because those plans included a Jewish one, too.
“It saddens me and concerns me that younger generations are so moved by the tragedy that has been inflicted upon the Palestinians that their historical context has largely been backgrounded,” he said. “There are those voices who want to drive a wedge between Judaism and Zionism, and I think that’s a historically flawed argument. Our prayers focus on restoring the Jewish people to the land of Israel … so I see Israel as this modern miracle which allows the Jewish people an opportunity to demonstrate Jewish values in a political context.”
There is another core tenet of life at Adath Jeshurun that Cherry has helped make progress on: environmentalism.
“I’m not aware of any [other] Conservative synagogues that have environmental committees. And we’re really taking seriously the challenges to climate and to the environment, and trying to figure out what we can do as individuals, as an institution, and in terms of public policy that is in keeping with Jewish values,” he said.
Adath Jeshurun is currently looking at no longer allowing beef in the synagogue or using it at events as a way to further this environmental stewardship. The congregation’s values aren’t just ideas: Members take tangible steps to make them policy.
“On one hand, it’s symbolic because there’s not a lot of meals featuring beef, but the symbolism is potent. We’re taking a stand, and we’re trying to set an example and raise the bar for how we should be thinking about our shul in relation to its environmental impact,” Cherry said.
Cherry has spent much of his life in California, but apart from the Mid-Atlantic’s humidity, he loves his new home as much as he could. He said that he has found that Philadelphians take their Judaism more seriously and respect rabbis more than those on the West Coast.
However, this isn’t Cherry’s first time living in Philly. In fact, he first lived here as an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania before dropping out to pursue a program that was more in line with his educational aspirations.
“I was in the Wharton School as an undergraduate, and about halfway through I took a leave of absence, fully expecting to come back and finish up,” Cherry said. “During my leave of absence, I spent a year in Israel doing volunteer work, and after that I decided that I could always get a business training, but I couldn’t always get a liberal arts education. So I decided to transfer to a school where I could focus on [that], which was not a possibility at Penn at that time.”
As his journey reveals, Cherry follows his heart no matter where it takes him. From the West Coast to the East Coast to Israel and back and forth many times, he has been proudly Jewish and he has prioritized learning and teaching. After all, that’s why he still prefers the title of “rav.”
“I saw no reason to change the title ‘rav.’ … I still think of that as my primary function as a congregational rabbi, as the chief educational officer. So I’m the CEO: the chief educational officer,” he said.
