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Community Corner

RCDS Alumnus Peter Berg Visits Students

On Tuesday, April 8, RCDS students were treated to a visit by former RCDS student Rabbi Peter S. Berg ’86. Rabbi Berg spent the entire day visiting with the students and speaking about his experiences. Since his school days at RCDS, Rabbi Berg has had an illustrious and multi-faceted career as a dynamic religious and community leader, and one who embodies the RCDS core values Kind, Honest, Responsible, and Respectful. Now in his sixth year as The Temple’s Senior Rabbi in Atlanta, Georgia, Rabbi Berg was voted one of Newsweek’s “Top 50 Rabbis” in 2013.

When asked if any lessons he learned at RCDS carried over into his life today, Rabbi Berg’s answer was immediate.  “My experience at RCDS had a great influence on my life,” he said.  “First of all, it was my teachers.  Mrs. Kolb and I came to the school together – it was a first year for both of us and she was wonderful.  We still keep in touch.  I attended RCDS from Beginners through Eighth Grade and what incredible teachers I had – I still remember every one and I could tell you the influence each of them had on my life.  Because of them, I knew I wanted a career that included some element of teaching.”

“I also learned something about diversity from the RCDS community.  My parents chose the school because they felt it was the best place for my sister and me.  It offered the academics and values they wanted us to learn, even though there were very few other Jewish students – just three or four that I remember.  I had a great experience.  It was the best school for me.  I learned how to study, how to organize, how to be independent and handle myself in new situations.  The lessons I learned there were so strong – I am convinced that I could not be where I am today without Rumson Country Day.”

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Rabbi Berg met with the Beginners (Kindergarten), 1st grade, and 3rd grade and attended two 7th grade History classes before heading to Upper School lunch in the RCDS Dining Room. About his visit, Head of Lower School Jayne Carmody remarked, “It is always satisfying to have a former student come back to school and visit, but if the student is Rabbi Peter Berg, it becomes a real ‘WOW’ event!  Rabbi Berg was one of my first students, and sitting and talking to him at this stage in his stellar career as a Rabbi was a memorable experience.  As an adult, he is as kind, respectful and captivating as he was in third grade, but with an added dimension of knowledge of tolerance. Working with the children, he not only modeled tolerance and acceptance, but also brought out those qualities in them.  How refreshing!” remarked Jayne Carmody, Head of Lower School.

In the afternoon, Rabbi Berg was a special guest at the Upper School Assembly and spoke to grades fifth through eighth. “A renowned religious leader, Rabbi Berg brings an important message about the power of individual action to make the world a better place.  As an RCDS graduate, he provides our students with an inspirational model about the many ways in which members of the RCDS family help make the world a better place.  He also connected the lessons he learned 30 years ago to his present work.  Most importantly for our children, the lessons of kindness, respect, and personal responsibility he learned her all those years ago are lessons we still teach today,” said Bill Lamb, Head of Upper School.

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Founded over 150 years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, “The Temple” is the city’s oldest and largest synagogue and one of American Judaism’s most famous institutions. The spiritual home to 1500 families, with six active clergy and two dozen full-time professional staff members, it also serves as a multi-generational educational center and social hub for its congregation.  The Temple, however, goes beyond these more traditional institutional roles by leading an additional “social justice” effort in the city of Atlanta - running an on-site facility for homeless couples, partnering with the Toomer Public School, and “swapping pulpits” with Ebenezer Baptist Church, for example.  In recent years, it has also reached across the state of Georgia, organizing local, state, and Jewish leadership to join forces in combating the trafficking of minors.  The Temple was also included in Newsweek Magazine’s current list of the “25 Most Vibrant Congregations in America.” 

“It is an honor to serve as spiritual leader of this diverse and multi-generational congregation,” Rabbi Berg says.  “I am passionate about Jewish learning and meaningful worship and a strong advocate for social change.  At The Temple, children, teens, and adults are offered the opportunity to learn together, to develop spiritually, and make the world a better place.”

“My religion was always important to me,” he says, “and I realized at the end of college that I wanted to become a rabbi.  The position combined three things I love: education, administration, and helping people.”

After earning his Bachelor’s in Education and Human Development, with a focus in human services, counseling, and Judaic Studies at The George Washington University, Peter pursued an M.A. in Hebrew Literature and his rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Jerusalem, where he was a Steinhardt Fellow.  He also holds a certificate in Chemical Dependency and Spiritual Counseling and is a trained Disaster, Fire, and Police Chaplain. The Temple is Peter’s third pulpit, the first having been as Assistant Rabbi and Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, and the second as Rabbi at Temple Beth Or in Washington Township, NJ. 

The Temple’s long history in social action seems a perfect match for Peter’s interests and expertise.  He’s served on numerous communal and advisory boards, including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.  He’s also been involved in a wide range of advocacy groups addressing separation of church and state, civil rights, the death penalty, religious freedom, the environment, welfare reform, and hate crimes. “I am so excited and honored to have Peter share this day with us at RCDS. His commitment to “repairing the world” is a powerful model for my students. I am so proud to know that a former student has become a recognized leader in service and I hope to work together with him in the future,” said Jane Denny, History teacher and Director of Community Service.

Peter, himself, has been recognized by Newsweek/The Daily Beast.  Including him on their 2013 “Top 50 Rabbi List,” Newsweek commended him for his growing leadership in the Reform community and his ability to gather city, state, and religious leaders to address societal problems. 

Despite his many accomplishments, this 42-year-old family man (he and wife Karen Kerness, a teacher and tutor, have three children) still has big dreams.  “I want to create a culture of excellence,” he says, “of doing things really well.  An excellent congregation helps to transform people’s lives, through the powerful and moving experience of worship, through study, and through acts of loving kindness, working with the community to make this world a better place.”

“I haven’t been back to RCDs in more than 30 years and it feels so wonderful to be back home! My experiences here shaped my life in so many ways. I remember all of my teachers and I still think about what they said and what they taught me. I really love this school and I loved my teachers. I’m honored to give back to a school that has given me so much,” said Rabbi Berg.

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