Madison — Close relationships with his congregants at Temple Beth El and sharing some of their most important moments is the part of being a rabbi that Rabbi Jan Brahms has always cared the most passionately about.
“Jan is just this wonderfully emotional person — he literally puts his heart into everything he does,” said Niles Berman, who was president of the congregation from 1994 to 1996. “He’s always had the reputation of being as emotional as the families that are involved.”
When Brahms, 54, came to Madison in 1985 from Nashville to assume his first position as a senior rabbi, the congregation was made up of about 480 families. It has almost doubled since then, and it now makes more demands than can be met by a single rabbi.
“If I were younger I could probably handle it, but now I need to slow down and I am looking forward to a more moderate climate,” said Brahms in a telephone interview.
Moreover, “I am frustrated that in a congregation of 700 families, I can’t spend time with individuals,” he said.
Although Brahms had the option to stay in Nashville when he got to the point in his career when he was ready to lead his own congregation, he and his wife chose Madison because it had excellent public schools and was “politically liberal and culturally stimulating,” he said.
Brahms has been involved and visible in Madison even while he was raising his children and nurturing his congregants through life cycle events and the myriad other ups and downs of their lives.
His effect on Madison went beyond the Jewish community. He was active in interfaith issues and wrote a column in Madison’s Capital Times daily newspaper.
His journalism stint started about 15 years ago when then feature editor Jacob Stockinger invited him to write the Jewish part of a column reflecting on the religious pulse of Madison that changed perspective weekly, in a four week rotation between Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and academic writers.
Even after this manifestation of the column ended, Brahms continued to write for the Capital Times until about a year ago, when the feature editor left and the column ended.
“I learned that a lot of people read it, and it was a good way for non-Jews to learn about Judaism,” Brahms said.
On June 30, Brahms and his wife, Ann Dee, will leave Madison for Congregation Beth Shalom of the Woodlands, a congregation of some130 families in a planned community of 85,000 just outside Houston.
“I will never forget that the formative years of the lives of my children and family have taken place in Madison. Religious moments of memorable importance are forever tied to Temple Beth El and this Jewish community. It will be very hard to leave those with whom we have shared,” Brahms wrote in a farewell message in the Monthly Reporter, Madison’s Jewish monthly newspaper.
Temple Beth El has not yet hired a new spiritual leader. The congregation is interviewing candidates for an interim rabbi position. Brahms believes that “it is wise to allow a year to pass after having one rabbi for such a long time. The congregation needs to adjust.”
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