"Web site helps unaffiliated find rabbis for weddings"

More than a rent-a-rabbi scheme, a new Web site seeks to bring together couples and rabbis in the name of Jewish continuity.

By Jason Nielsen
Advocate Staff

More than a rent-a-rabbi scheme, a new Web site seeks to bring together couples and rabbis in the name of Jewish continuity. RabbiRentals.com is all about making connections to Judaism, according to entrepreneur and telecommunications engineer David Segal, a 30-year-old Framingham native now living in Phoenix. With so many Jewish Americans unaffiliated with a temple, hes tried to develop a cost-effective way to find a rabbi for life-cycle events and Jewish education without the expense of joining a congregation.

People my age don't have $4,000 to $6,000 to join a temple for a year just to have a rabbi for four to five hours," Segal said. Ties to a temple are being broken every day, and people looking to make a life-cycle commitment dont know what to do. The Internet may allow connections to be made." Segal himself had trouble finding a temple when he first moved to Arizona five years ago, even though hes active in the Jewish community. A former member of Temple Beth Sholom in Framingham, he couldnt find a temple that suited his religious needs. Segals quest to find a rabbi become more urgent after he met Newton native Adina Zarchan on the local Jewish federations mission to Israel. The two were engaged in May.

Segals Web site lists 52 rabbis across the country, a half-dozen of whom are located in Greater Boston. The average rabbi charges about $675 for a wedding, $400 for a funeral and $275 for a bris. Segal receives a 10-15 percent commission.

He said he does extensive background checks on the rabbis and estimated about 25 percent of them have their own congregations. The site includes biographical information on each rabbi. They are listed by state. To make the event more personal, Segal urges his clients to either meet or talk by phone to the rabbi before the event. It needs to be a family environment," he said. Theres going to be meetings, counseling, and everybodys going to get along. I want to make sure everyone is happy." Segal has had some difficulty selling rabbis on the idea. The 'rent-a-rabbi connotation is not a good one," he said. I received criticism form rabbis and was called a 'bad Jew. It took me a year to assemble a little over 50 rabbis."

Despite the reluctance of many rabbis to sign up, Segal said the business is growing. RabbiRentals.com had 30 clients in 2002 and averages 200-400 unique visitors a day.

The American Jewish community has been steering away from its Jewish heritage, but everyone needs a rabbi," he said. If I can make a connection between the rabbi and the couple and eventually bring them into a temple, it's the biggest mitzvah I can do."