"Somebody said they saw me in a magazine!" said Xander. "Why am I famous?"

loving life at TBO

There’s a new Rabbi in town

December, 2015

By: 

Michelle F. Solomon

Department: 

People

The smell of potato latkes wafting through different rooms of her childhood home creates memories of Hanukkah for Rabbi Michal Loving of Temple Beth Orr (TBO) in Coral Springs. Now every Hanukkah, she recreates the tradition for her own family. 

“The house would always reek of grease from latkes, so that smell provides wonderful associations for me of family and love and laughter and warmth,” Loving says. “I want my house to smell the same way so that my children will have the same recollections.”

Loving also recalls big family Hanukkah parties, where she’d join other children playing dreidel games on the living room floor. 

There’s a new family tradition she and her husband, Jonathan, have begun with their three children, Xander, Ari and Connor, who range in age from 2 to 7. During one of the eight nights of Hanukkah, each child goes through toys they already own. “They pick out a toy to give as a gift to a child who doesn’t have any toys. This shows the value oftzedakah and of giving to others.”

Loving became TBO’s first female rabbi in July after an 18-month search to replace Rabbi Mark Gross, who retired in June after 29 years with the congregation. She says her first Hanukkah with the congregation will honor the traditions of what has come before, though she admits she will put her own spin on things. For example, Loving will continue the annual tradition of participating in Coral Springs’ Winterfest Holiday Parade on Dec. 9. In keeping with the theme, “Joining Forces for the Holidays,” Loving says the temple will have a float in the parade and it will be “Star Wars” themed; and while she won’t say for certain, Loving could be dressed as one of the iconic characters from the film.  

Passionate about inclusion and making everyone feel welcome, Loving says, “I am proud to continue Rabbi Gross’ legacy while still making my mark on TBO. I am impassioned about spirituality and always want there to be a spiritual aspect to services where people can connect to their neshama – their soul – and where they feel that they can truly connect with the community and with one another.”

Loving frequently talks about the importance of family and community and says that although she applied for rabbinical positions all over the United States, she was drawn to TBO for its vibrancy and for its “feeling that this is a family and everyone really cares about each other.”

A month after Loving joined the temple, TBO became the first Reform congregation in Broward to change its annual membership dues structure in favor of a voluntary financial commitment. “The board had decided this long before I arrived here,” Loving says. “We have grown in three months to have more than 100 new family units. We have a lot of people that have said, ‘I could have never been able to afford to belong to a synagogue, but now I can give the offering of my heart and I can be at home. Thank you for letting Judaism be accessible to us.’”

Loving says when children, especially young girls, inquire about her wearing a kippa (yarmulke), she feels a sense of pride. “I want to be a role model for little girls to show that they can do anything and that the purview of religion, of spirituality and of leadership is not relegated to men alone.” 

Magazine: 

Coral Springs/Parkland Life

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