New rabbi settling in well at Temple de Hirsch Sinai

Daniel Weiner couldn't wait for it to turn 10 o'clock Thursday morning. As people wearing yarmulkes and prayer robes began to fill the 650-seat Bellevue temple of the Seattle-based Temple de Hirsch Sinai, Weiner turned to an usher and asked, "Are we going to be able to start on time?"

"He was chomping at the bit," said Dan Bean, 46, of Newcastle. "But we made him wait until 10 after 10 so that everyone could get in."

Weiner became senior rabbi of the Pacific Northwest's largest Jewish congregation — with almost 6,000 members — in July, completing the first milestone in his leadership of the 102-year-old reform-movement synagogue on Thursday, with the commemoration of Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday of the Jewish calendar.

"This is what I've been working toward my entire career ... to be prepared and eligible and ready to do this," said Weiner. "So I'm here and this is kind of like my dream realized."

With a wall of windows to his back and flanked by 10 panels each inscribed with a commandment, the 37-year-old Weiner read from the Torah, chanted and gave insights into his emotions the day his daughter began kindergarten, describing the yellow and black school bus as a "kidnapper of my baby."

"He touched a lot of different people," said Cynthia Shumate, 39, of Bellevue. "He's very comfortable and very inviting."

Grant Degginger agreed.

"He's brought a new and exciting sense of energy and commitment to the congregation," said the Bellevue city councilman.

Weiner's life has always been deeply intertwined with the Jewish faith. His father continues his own life's work as rabbi of a San Francisco synagogue and serves as president of a national association of rabbis.

Calling himself a "P.K." or "preacher's kid," Weiner said he was a challenging child, but that he remained active in the synagogue, its youth groups and summer camps.

"I grew up with this life to a certain extent," he said. "I've always had a connection to the Jewish community."

While a junior during his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Weiner reflected on his strengths and purpose, and had an epiphany.

"It came down to understanding what impact I wanted to make in the world," he said. "This kind of came out the other end."

Three days after graduation, Weiner flew to Israel to study at the Hebrew Union College. Then, after two years at the school's Los Angeles campus and two years at its campus in Cincinnati, Weiner was ordained in 1991.

He has since served congregations in Harrisburg, Pa., and Baltimore.

During his five years at Temple Ohev Sholom of Harrisburg, Weiner is credited with attracting 200 new members to the 1,100-member congregation.

"He can relate to all age groups. The kids love him because he plays the guitar. The adults love him because he's extremely well-read and very intelligent," said Debra Rudy, the congregation's president in Pennsylvania. "You know, he's a good man."

The 18 members of Temple de Hirsch Sinai's search committee decided unanimously that Weiner was the perfect candidate more than a year ago.

"It was perfectly clear that Rabbi Weiner was way above everyone else," said Bobbi Bridge, who co-chaired the committee. "He's brilliant, he's thoughtful and he's spiritual."

And he's since been embraced by the congregation.

"He brings you close to him," said congregation president Jon Rosen. "He draws you to him rather than sitting back and just listening. You feel that he's so engaging and magnetic."

But Rosen said Weiner has deeper connections to make that can only come with time.

"When you've had someone who's been in the position of rabbi for 30 years, he knows the very long family histories of the congregants," said Rosen, referring to Rabbi Earl Starr, who retired in June. "He knows their relatives, he knows their little secrets often. It takes time for a new rabbi to develop that bond with the congregation and we're going to be working on that over the next several years."

Weiner, who is married to Cynthia Weiner and has a son in addition to his daughter, is still settling into his office at the Seattle temple, where a wooden train set is sprawled on the floor next to several children's books.

Other hints of Weiner's life commitment are scattered around the room: A statue of a Jewish man in a prayer shawl reading a prayer book — a gift from his grandmother, a honey dish for the Rosh Hashanah tradition of eating apples and honey, a box adorned with the Star of David.

While he hopes to stay true to the long history of the synagogue as well as embrace the reform movement's constant modernization, Weiner said that his main goal is to share in the lives of the synagogue's members.

"Being a rabbi allows me the opportunity and privilege to be a part of the most poignant and significant moments in human life," he said. "That I am allowed to comfort and give insight during those times is really incredible."

Gina Kim can be reached at 206-464-2761 or gkim@seattletimes.com