Celebrating his 80th birthday this month, Rabbi Israel Zoberman has packed a lot into his eight decades – including living on three continents. Tidewater has been his home since 1981.
Born on November 12, 1945, in Chu, Kazakhstan to Polish Holocaust survivors, Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman is believed to be the world’s only Kazakhstan-born rabbi. He spent his early childhood in Displaced Persons Camps in Austria and Germany following an escape from Poland. Immigrating to Haifa, Israel in 1949 with his family, he served in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) in the 1960’s.
Rabbi Zoberman earned a bachelor’s degree in Hebrew literature from Chicago’s College of Jewish Studies (today’s Spertus Institute) in 1969, and his B.A. in Political Science from Chicago’s Roosevelt University in 1970. He has a M.A. degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rabbi Zoberman was ordained as a Reform Rabbi at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1974. His alma mater granted him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1999. He is the only rabbi to earn a doctoral degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling from the McCormick Theological Seminary (affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA) in Chicago, Illinois in 1980. He was the founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim, where he led for more than 30 years, and previously served as an associate rabbi of Ohef Sholom Temple (1981-1982). He is the founder and spiritual leader of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach and the Honorary Senior Rabbi Scholar of Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach.
Rabbi Zoberman offered prayers twice in the U.S. Senate and twice in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the guest of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden at White House Hanukkah receptions. Cox Cable and Mayor Meyra Oberndorf of Virginia Beach honored him as a “Great Citizen of Hampton Roads” in 1989. On his 30th Anniversary of ordination, he was honored by the Senate of Virginia Joint Resolution No. 134. Mayors Oberndorf, Sessoms, and Dyer of Virginia Beach honored him respectively with “Rabbi Israel Zoberman Day.”
Rabbi Zoberman has also represented the Jewish community at civic events in Chesapeake, with former Mayor Krasnoff and the Chesapeake City Council presenting him with a Certificate of Recognition on his 40th Anniversary in Rabbinic Ministry.
He represented the Holocaust survivors who found refuge during WWII in Kazakhstan at a ceremony at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Nobel Peace Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel wrote about Rabbi Zoberman, “As the son of Holocaust survivors, founder of his congregation in Virginia, and outspoken writer on Jewish and community issues, he has worked to keep memory of that tragic period in human history close in Jewish and American consciousness. Though respected for his spiritual leadership, he is equally sought for his erudition.”
On his 50th Ordination Anniversary, Rabbi Zoberman was honored by the Virginia Legislature Joint Resolution 235 “As an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his legacy of service and for his many contributions to the Commonwealth.” The American flag was flown over the United States Capitol in honor of Rabbi Zoberman’s special anniversary by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and was presented to him. Congresswoman Jennifer A. Kiggans of Virginia honored him in the Congressional Record with an article and issued a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia acknowledged it with a moving statement of appreciation. Mayor Dyer of Virginia Beach honored him with a Proclamation, June 1, 2024, as “Rabbi Israel Zoberman Day.”
Married to Jennifer, Rabbi Zoberman is the father of a son and daughter, and grandfather to two boys.