Rabbi Cyrus Arfa

Rabbi Frank Sundheim
Rabbi Cyrus Arfa is currently on a year-long sabbatical, but plans to continue to provide a Rabbi's message and maintain communication with congregants.

Rabbi Arfa can be contacted by e-mail at: cyar7@verizon.net

 Rabbi Frank Sundheim is serving as our Interim Rabbi and will officiate at the High Holidays and once a month at our Shabbat services

Biographical Sketch of
Rabbi Frank Sundheim

Rabbi Frank Sundheim is a native of Philadelphia, PA.  He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1958.He and his wife Adrianne have three children and five grandchildren. Rabbi and Mrs. Sundheim  reside in our community

Rabbi Sundheim served for two years as an U.S. Army Chaplain at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, for six years as Spiritual Leader of Congregation Ohev Shalom in Huntington, W VA and for twenty years as the rabbi of Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, Florida  In 1986, he became the regional director of the Southeast Council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations a position which he held until his retirement in 1997. In retirement, he served for three years as a part-time rabbi at Temple Beth David in Spring Hill, Florida

He joined the staff or Temple Ahavat Shalom of Palm Harbor, Florida in the spring of 2000 as an Auxiliary Rabbi.

Biographical Sketch of
Rabbi Cyrus Arfa, PHD, DD

Rabbi Arfa and his wife, Sherry, served our Temple during the years, 1996 – 2000 and returned our congregation in 2006. Sherry received her M.A. in Library Science from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., the oldest library college in the U.S. She retired after 35 years in the field. Their daughter, Dr. Eva is married to Etsion Yacobi and they have two children, Aden and Jonathan. Their son, Jesse, tragically passed away July 21, 2007.

Rabbi Arfa is a graduate of the Herzliah Hebrew Teachers Institute, New York. He graduated from New York University (NYU) and was ordained Rabbi at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Cincinnati campus where he earned his Bachelor and Master degrees in Hebrew Letters. He also earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Science, NYU and a Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Arfa served his country with distinction for 20 years as a Navy and Marine Chaplain while on active duty and in the reserves. He was Adjunct Professor of Jewish Studies for nine years at Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. and also served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Humanities of the University of South Florida and lectured at other colleges representing the Jewish Chautauqua Society of the National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods. Dr. Arfa’s articles appeared in various Anglo-Jewish newspapers throughout the country. He is the author of the book “Reforming Reform Judaism.” Rabbi Alfred Gottchalk, past president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, stated: “It is a very helpful volume and I trust it will be used in schools and colleges around the country…you have made a fine contribution to our understanding of both Reform Judaism and Zionism.”

During his Rabbinate, he served congregations in the mid-West and on both coasts, the largest in Missouri and New York ranging from 1,300 to 1,600 families. Among some of his varied communal activities, he served as Chaplain of the California State Legislature, Mercy College, Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Sarasota Memorial Hospital; President of the Brooklyn Board of Rabbis, Zionist Organization of America, (Southern Westchester Mt. Vernon District), Sarasota Ministerial Association; board member and officer of the Board of Governors of the New York Board of Rabbis, Bio-Ethics Committee of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, etc.