On July 1, the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation welcomes a new rabbi as service leader. Rabbi Jonathan Case, an eminent rabbi, scholar, educator, author and local media personality, has picked up stakes from Columbia, South Carolina and moved to Lakeside in semi-retirement to begin his next adventure of an impressive career.
Rabbi Case’s credentials include simultaneous degrees from Columbia University (B.A. in Political Science) and The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York (B.A. in Jewish History). He was ordained at the Leo Baeck College in London, England. He has led congregations in Pomona and Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia South Carolina, where he enjoyed a 14-year tenure. While at Beth Shalom, he raised the profile and impact of the synagogue with initiatives such as a religious school, adult education and outreach to the wider non-Jewish community, resulting in Beth Shalom becoming the voice of the entire Jewish community.
Rabbi Case became a public figure as “the” representative of Columbia’s Jewish community. He frequently appeared as a guest on local news shows and authored op-eds, commenting on current events affecting not only Jews, but also the community at large. In addition, for several years until his move, he co-hosted a popular podcast with a Muslim imam and a Presbyterian minister called “Abraham’s Table” (available wherever you get podcasts). The theme was to discuss and stress the spiritual and practical similarities and common goals of the three religions all derived from the same source.
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