Hebrew Institute prepares for life after Avi

When Rabbi Avi Weiss, the charismatic leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (HIR), told his congregants that he would step down as senior rabbi next spring because the institution needed stronger, younger rabbinic leadership, he already had a successor in mind.

“It is my strong opinion that the best candidate is already here,” the seasoned spiritual leader told them during an October celebration of the Shemini Atzeret holiday.

In his speech, he tapped Rabbi Steven Exler to take the helm at the synagogue which Rabbi Weiss helped found more than 40 years ago.

“I get emotional when I talk about Rabbi Steven Exler,” Rabbi Weiss, 70, said in a recent interview.“He is such a gift. He’s one of the greatest young rabbis in America today. He’s brilliant. He is a genius in word craftsmanship, but [what is] much more important than all of that, is his heart.” 

Making it official

A vote from HIR’s full membership will make the transfer official in January, 2015. The executive committee and the board of trustees have already approved Rabbi Exler, who is currently an associate rabbi, to become senior rabbi.

“We want this to be a transparent and fair process,” said Rabbi Exler. 

Rabbi Exler, 34, is a Maryland native who grew up in a Modern Orthodox family and received his ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2009. He has been a member of HIR, also known as the Bayit, for about six and a half years. 

He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion near Jerusalem and attended Brandeis University near Boston, where he received a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2003. He went on to earn a master’s in Bible studies from Bernard Revel Graduate School and studied at Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa in Israel, he said. 

Human connection

HIR’s congregation was quick to recognize Rabbi Exler’s talents.

“He’s an excellent speaker and has a wonderful command of the language,” said Bernard Horowitz, the synagogue’s Torah reader. “He’s really quite bright. He has a wonderful way of relating to people. All the things you look for in a rabbi, he had them.”