Temple Sinai

Rabbi Schwab

Rabbi Schwab has served as the religious leader of Temple Sinai for 28 years, a longer term than any previous rabbi in the 88-year history of the congregation.

He was ordained in 1976 and had previously served congregations in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.  In Middletown Rabbi Schwab has concentrated on imparting our Jewish heritage to the members of the congregation.  He is the main teacher of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah class in the Hebrew School, created and teaches the high school program, and formed almost a dozen havurot throughout the congregation so that adults can join together in comfortable surroundings to learn our traditions.  In addition to his activities in the synagogue, he co-founded and served as the first chair of the Jewish Family Service of Orange County, on whose Board he continues to sit, and has sat on the Executive Committee, and continues to sit on the Board of Directors, of the Jewish Federation of Orange County.  He was the first rabbi to serve as the president of the Middletown Interfaith Council, has remained active on the council over the years, and now serves as the chair of the Interfaith Clergy Group.  He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the only homeless shelter in Orange County for over 20 years and now serves as the Board president.  He is a member of the Human Rights Commission of the County of Orange by appointment of the County Executive. As the senior rabbi in Orange County, Rabbi Schwab is the convening chair of the Klei Kodesh of Orange County, the organization of rabbis and cantors in the area.  Rabbi Schwab also serves as the Jewish chaplain at the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center.

In 2004, Rabbi Schwab was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) by his alma mater, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.  He and his wife Aviva have been married since 1971, and they are parents of two married sons and grandparents to five delightful grandchildren.