Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi is an author and scholar of Judaism and the Talmud, and can speak with command and authority on the intricacies of Jewish law. Yet, when confronted by an agnostic asking about universal truths, Mizrachi had the ability to provide comfort and understanding in a truly touching, compassionate manner:
"The important thing to remember is that God loves us all and he wants us to do good,'' said Mizrachi, the new rabbi at Pensacola's B'Nai Israel Synagogue on Ninth Avenue. "God is rooting for us and he's a totally good God, and he wants us to do good between each other and to treat each other kindly and with compassion and think about ourselves a little bit less and think more about how we treat others."
Mizrachi and his wife Sheila have been in Pensacola for just days now. B'Nai Israel Synagogue has been without a rabbi since October, 2023. B'nai Israel was founded in 1899, making Pensacola the first Florida community to have two Jewish congregations with Reform Temple Beth El, located on North Palafox Street, founded in 1876.
A New Jersey native with Israeli dual citizenship, Mizrachi and his wife first visited Pensacola three weeks ago during the interview process. He had previously been teaching Jewish education to seventh-graders at a private school in West Palm Beach.
"I think I'm better with adult education and teaching and that's where my focus is now,'' he said. "My first impression here was that the people are very nice and very kind and they absolutely understood that they need a rabbi here. I found that they're open to spiritual leadership and they want adult education, and they want to grow in their spirituality. So, it's a very, very nice place to be."
Jerry Gordon, B'Nai Israel Synagogue past president, said Mizrachi impressed board members during his interview, with his depth of knowledge on the Torah and the Talmud, and his interpretation of Jewish law and texts.
"In the words of some of our well-seasoned members, he was amazing,'' Gordon said. "I think he wants to rebuild and recruit younger families with children. He wants to do outreach to the general community, and frankly reach out to Christians united with Israel."
Mizrachi said he plans to reach out to area faith leaders once he is settled. Right now, the Mizrachi's are in temporary lodging awaiting their home to arrive in Pensacola. That's right. The couple's home is aboard the MV Sephina, a 52-foot trawler Mizrachi purchased in 2019 from the Alaska Department of Commerce after driving cross-county from Pennsylvania, where he was then living, to Hoonah, Alaska. They had to spend some time in Alaska readying and repairing the vessel, which was in bad shape.
"We were hoping for the best and prepared for the worst,'' he said. "We got the worst. Anything that was bolted down had been stolen off the boat. It needed a new engine, and it hadn't been maintained in nine years, so it took an awful lot of work."
After finally getting the vessel ready for travel, in October 2020 Mizrachi piloted the Sephina down the Pacific Coast, through the Panama Canal, finally arriving in West Palm Beach, where the trawler is now. He said it needs some more work before he brings it to Pensacola, where the couple has a few different docking locations to consider as a home port.
"She needs a lot of paint,'' Mizrachi said. "She's been in the Pacific Northwest most of her life, so she needs a bunch of paint before we get her back in the water."
But the couple will be living on the water somewhere in Pensacola. For now, though, Mizrachi is concentrating on his new leadership and teaching position. A goal is to extend B'Nai Israel's outreach in the community.
"I want to reach out to all of the Jewish community here and forge bonds with (other Jewish congregations),'' he said. "I want to reach out to the many Christians here and build bonds of friendship. I want to be a common face at the hospitals and the nursing homes and be a resource for the entire community. So it starts with our inner circle here and expands out from there."
While he can expound academically on the 613 Jewish commandments, he's also astute enough to bring God's message in the simplest of terms.
"I'm very excited about being here and spreading God's light in this world,'' he said. "It's a very dark world and we need as much light as possible. That's going to be my job. To encourage people to do good deeds and clothe the naked and feed the hungry; to extend kindness to strangers, even if just means opening a door for someone."
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