Rabbi David Bluman serves at Congregation Beth Israel as its Director of Youth Engagement. He was born in Vancouver and has lived in Vancouver for most of his life. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies at UBC and he spent his third year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Israel, he met his wife, Rabbi Olga Bluman. They got married in 2005 and now have two children, me and my sister Ruth.
He likes his job because he is able to create Jewish experiences and opportunities for other people. He loves it when he is able to share his passion for Judaism with others. The family and youth programs that Rabbi Bluman puts on at Congregation Beth Israel create meaningful and joyful Jewish experiences for other Jewish people. He told me that he was not discouraged from becoming a rabbi.
Rabbi Bluman says he loves the Vancouver Jewish Community because it is relatively small but large at the same time. He said, “the Jewish community works well together. It doesn’t matter if you’re secular, Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative, we all work together as one for the benefit of our community. It just feels like home.”
After graduating from UBC, he attended the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem and then the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In 2009, he was ordained as a Rabbi and then began working as the School Rabbi at Kadima Day School in West Hills, CA. In 2013, Rabbi Bluman and his family moved back to Vancouver and he continued to be a Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel.
Rabbi Bluman is a very fun, kind, and knowledgeable person that has a great story to tell. He is very passionate about Judaism and loves being a rabbi. He looks forward to meeting new people and creating new events that will get more people involved with Beth Israel and Judaism. In all, I think Rabbi Bluman is an amazing rabbi and a great person to meet.
