Sitting down with a spiritual leader

A year after coming to Long Beach as the new spiritual leader of Temple Zion, Rabbi Kalaman Sodden sat down with the Herald to reflect on his time in the city. Sodden was raised in Brooklyn and still continues to call it his home, and works there as a chaplin at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and Nursing Home. Coming from a rabbinic family, he was ordained in 1968. Sodden is married and has four children.

What are your impressions of Long Beach and your first year at Temple Zion?

My experience being at the oceanfront and looking at the ocean on a nice day when it is crystal blue and the sky is crystal blue, it lends itself to bringing yourself and your congregants a little closer to our maker. So it really helps along in administering to the congregation.

Why did you become a rabbi?

I became a rabbi not only because my father was one of the outstanding rabbinic leaders and orators of his day, but I saw the accomplishments of a spiritual leader on the American Jewish scene in the early 1970s and ‘80s and it inspired me to follow in his footsteps.

What are your responsibilities and duties as a rabbi at Temple Zion?

I lead with the religious services, which includes reading of the Torah. I deliver timely sermons to my congregation and to take care of all of the life cycle events that come up in the life of a congregant.

What are your thoughts on the issue of health care?

To a great extent I want to equate healthcare, which is physical care, to spiritual care. As a rabbi I know how important it is to administer spiritual care to a human being, and I feel it goes hand and hand with physical care. In this day and age, physical care means to have some kind of health insurance and health coverage.

How has the economy affected your congregants?

I just heard on the radio this morning that people are spending a little but less, people are going out to eat less, and naturally it manifests itself in a small group, like in a congregation. The donations an individual would make to a congregation is affected as well as everything else in our economy around us.

How will you celebrate the holidays?