Rabbi retires from Lombard congregation after 35 years

Rabbi Steven Bob didn't even know where Lombard was when he got a job at Congregation Etz Chaim in 1981.

"I can't say growing up in Minnesota I was saying, 'Someday I want to be a rabbi in Lombard, Illinois, wherever that is!'" he said with a laugh.

But after graduating from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, being ordained and working for a few years in Chicago, that's right where Bob landed.

When he arrived, he was the only rabbi in DuPage County. There hasn't been much growth since then - he says there are now only two others - but a lot has changed with the congregation, which increased its membership from about 220 families to more than 500.

"The congregation has responded well to the kind of things I want to do and the new ideas that I've had," Bob said. "I get to be myself. I don't wear a Rabbi Bob mask."

This week, Bob retired from his role as senior rabbi of the congregation. He is being replaced by Rabbi Andrea Cosnowsky, but he will remain involved in the community as rabbi emeritus.

Cosnowsky said congregation members are feeling some sadness and nostalgia about Bob's retirement, but they're happy he'll still be around.

"Rabbi Bob led this congregation very adeptly for the last 35 years," she said. "He was a professional, excellent administrator, but also had a great sense of humor, told wonderful stories and taught a lot of Torah to our congregants."

Cosnowsky plans to continue the work Bob has done while also introducing new initiatives that will move the congregation forward, such as using social media more and reaching out to people who are disenfranchised with religion.

Congregation President Ken Markwell said Bob's longevity with a single congregation was impressive and much appreciated.

"He brought new programs, a willingness to learn and to teach," he said.

That includes efforts he led in the 1980s to bring a Jewish woman into the U.S. who had applied but was denied permission to leave Russia.

"He was instrumental," Markwell said. "We brought her here, got her living with several families, took care of medical issues."

The congregation is now in talks to do something similar with a Syrian refugee.

Bob always promoted volunteerism, especially through a program that welcomes the homeless into the synagogue each month for a meal and a place to sleep.

He also has demonstrated a great passion for educating young people, leading them on trips to Israel and accompanying them at religious summer camps in Wisconsin.

"He is extremely in tune with the kids and can relate to them," Markwell said. "He's got a great sense of humor."

Worshippers say he has worked hard to strengthen interfaith relations as well, reaching out to area mosques, churches and other, less-known religious groups.

He founded an interfaith Thanksgiving and the Fourth Day Initiative, an interfaith solar energy project aimed at making houses of worship more sustainable.

Cosnowsky said the synagogue, which has more than 140 solar panels on its roof, is now the second largest generator of solar power of all U.S. congregations thanks to Bob's efforts.

"I think the thing some people don't realize about him is he's introverted and shy by nature and you would never know it by all the public appearances you see when he's doing public service," Markwell said.

In addition, over the years, the congregation has become well-known across the country for its Purim celebration, which Markwell compared to Mardi Gras.

It's a minor but fun Jewish holiday, he said, that involves people dressing in costumes - a tradition Bob thoroughly enjoyed.

"We do it over the top," Cosnowsky said. "Every year Rabbi Bob and I would come up with some crazy character to be. We were just great partners together. He really knew how to celebrate a holiday."

His leadership got the congregation through tough times, too, such as the 2014 case of a vandal who marked the synagogue door with graffiti, broke windows and damaged the lawn.

"People are quick to point out the hate that exists in society today," Bob said, "but I also understand that there's friendship and trust in our society."