Our very own beloved Rabbi Joey is featured in The Oregonian! Read about him here.Thank you, Cathie Ericson, for this wonderful story. An excerpt is below:

When Rabbi Joseph Wolf – known to his flock as "Rabbi Joey" – retired in late April after 30 years as Havurah Shalom's spiritual leader, the Portland community lost a civic and social luminary.

"He has been an amazing force in the congregation," says Herman Asarnow, who has been a member since 1989. "He evokes discussion when we're discussing the Torah at services like no other rabbi I've seen. He has deepened and challenged us, but is also full of compassion."

Finding the path to Portland

Wolf, 66, had been a rabbi for six years in Austin, Texas, when he started considering his next move. Serendipitously, just as he was weighing a different career turn, he received a call from an old friend who suggested he consider a socially active congregation in Portland. He agreed to visit and it was, shall we say, a match made in heaven.

"I found this group of audacious, creative people – political leaders, activists, writers and musicians," he says. Drawn to their sense of purpose and community, he appreciated that they were looking for a rabbi who would give them the space to continue their work.

"As a rabbi, I want to be more of a spark plug or a battery," he says. "We weren't looking to establish a large-scale presence, but rather to nurture a bond that existed between the congregation and the community. My work has been about connecting people to each other and making the sparks fly," he says.

Read the complete story here.