Rabbi Arfa and his wife, Sherry, are no strangers to our community having served our Temple part time in 2001.

 Sherry received her Master Of Library Science (M.LS) from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., the oldest library college in the U.S.  After 35 years in her field, she retired.  

 They are celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary at the close of 2008.  Their daughter, Eva Yacobi, MD, is married to Etsion Yacobi and they have two children, Aden, 8 and Jonathan, 6.  Their precious loving son, Jesse, of blessed memory, died in 2007 as a result of a previous accident.

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, President of the Zionist Organization of America, (Southern Westchester Mt. Vernon District), President of the Sarasota Ministerial Association; board member and officer of the Board of Governors of the New York Board of Rabbis, member of the Bio-Ethics Committee of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, etc.

 Rabbi Arfa is a graduate of the Herzliah Hebrew Teachers Institute, New York.  He graduated from New York University (NYU) with a B.Sc.  He 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.

E-mail Rabbi Cyrus Arfa at rabbi@bnaiemmunah.org.