Rabbi Rembaum’s Creative Retirement

In 2010, when Rabbi Joel Rembaum retired after leading Temple Beth Am — his childhood synagogue — for 25 years, it felt like the end of an era. It was also the start of a new one.

“I was 66,” he told The Journal. “I wanted to retire when I still had energy, able to do things I always have wanted to do. This included teaching.”

He taught part-time at several campuses around town, working 40 hours a week, but he was having a good time. At the end of the year, he was in for a shock. “I realized I had earned $18,000 that year – the whole year, 40 hours a week. And I am a PhD rabbi!”  There was only one thing to call it, he said. His conclusion: “This is slavery!”

He was then called back to the bimah, spending years as an interim rabbi at synagogues in Santa Rosa and Palos Verdes. Both shuls had recruited him. These jobs taught Rabbi Rembaum a hard lesson; he quickly discovered he was powerless. An interim rabbi “may change nothing,” he said. “At most shuls, you are expected to be a leader. When you are interim, you are just a guide, not a leader.” 

After his second year as an interim rabbi, the president of Beth Am called to invite Rabbi Rembaum to a meeting. “We would like you to be Head of School for the coming year,” he was told. “I am not a trained Jewish educator,” he told the leaders. “University, I can teach. But pre-school, elementary school…” and his voice trailed off. They told him it was a stable situation. ‘You know the institution, you know the school, you know the people.’ Yes, I helped build it.”

A smile came across Rabbi Rembaum’s face at this point. “The salary was for full time,” he said. “So I unretired for a year. I loved it. We had a great year. When I noticed an issue, I raised it. I actually was allowed to initiate. We developed a new program of enrichment for the school. I raised money for it. I worked closely with the principals of the various departments.” 

A year later, an old friend, Rabbi Brad Artson called from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University. Rabbi Artson told him that Ziegler was launching a rabbinic program in partnership with the Reform movement. Would Rabbi Rembaum like to teach rabbinical school in Berlin? Rembaum said he would need to consult his wife, Fredi, the mother of their four children, since this meant living in Berlin five to six months a year.

“I always had very mixed feelings about things German,” the rabbi said. “My wife had even stronger feelings. Her folks, who were not survivors, wouldn’t even take a ride in a Volkswagen, let alone owning one.”

“In this job,” said Rabbi Rembaum, “I became a professor of Halacha (Jewish law). I loved it! A full load for a semester for five consecutive years.” The Rembaums adapted to life in Germany without a hiccup. “I had studied German decades before. We could go into a supermarket and get our needs met. Adjusting to the culture was very easy. Berlin is quite cosmopolitan.” Making the adjustment even easier was the discovery that English is a second language in Germany. “We really didn’t suffer,” said the rabbi. “We got to know the students and had them over to the house. Wednesday night was Eat and Study time. Fredi would make dinner and bake bread. We would eat, bench and then study for an hour, hour-and-a-half.”

Without a hiccup, the Rembaums adapted to life in Germany. 

In 2020, COVID caused a change in plans The next semester, the university decided that classes would be held on Zoom. “The school decided they were not going to use us altekakers anymore,” Rembaum said. 

He decided, “Now I am done.”

Not so fast.

Ner Tamid, in Palos Verdes, needed an interim rabbi again. From July of ’21 to December of ’22 he would serve. “I was starting to tire,” he said. This “was to be the end.”

Not so fast … Again.

Two weeks before the High Holy Days, the wife of the Ner Tamid rabbi called. Her husband had lost his voice. When Rabbi Rembaum asked what would happen after the holidays, he was told “we don’t know.”

But he was back at the pulpit. “When I came in three weeks before Holy Days, I was having a good time. Familiar routine. But when Ner Tamid’s rabbi told the synagogue he would have to resign because of his health, the board asked Rabbi Rembaum to delay his intended Dec. 31 departure. This time, he said no. Then he called a former student who agreed to step into the pulpit. 

“I was happy and the shul was happy,” Rabbi Rembaum. 

The rabbi continues to teach two Zoom classes a week at Beth Am – but not for pay. “I have certain benefits that accrue to me,” he said. “When I retired, the agreement was, I was available according to my calendar. So I could go away for five months. I love it. Occasionally, I do weddings and funerals. That is where I am now. I could not have asked for anything better.”

“When I retired, the agreement was, I was available according to my calendar. So I could go away for five months. I love it. Occasionally, I do weddings and funerals. That
is where I am now. I could not have asked for anything better.”

Looking back, Rembaum said “with the exception of the year as Head of School, the buck never landed on my desk. That makes all the difference. I’m not going to be wealthy as a rabbi emeritus. I just want to stay comfortable.” 

For one rabbi, that’s retirement.

Fast Takes with Rabbi Rembaum

Jewish Journal: What do you do in your spare time?

Rabbi Rembaum: We love live classical music. We have tickets for the L.A. Phil and the Hollywood Bowl. Also, for $150 a year, we can enjoy remote membership in the Berlin Philharmonic, live, two days later, or go into their archive.

J.J.: Do you have unfulfilled goals?

R.R.: I am 80 years old, and I have had a fulfilling life.

J.J.: What is your favorite Shabbat food?

R.R.: I have none because my wife is a cook. She will prepare food from Spain, from Hungary, from Poland, from Israel, Italy. She has a library of cookbooks. My favorite food is Fredi’s cooking.