Rabbi Matthew Eisenberg
Rabbi Matt Eisenberg is far more than a spiritual leader. He is a friend, teacher and participant in every Temple activity, and is on a first-name basis with nearly every congregant, right down to the preschoolers.
Rabbi Matt earned both a B.A. and M.A. degree in international relations from Miami University and worked for four years as a child care worker at Bellefaire/Jewish Children’s bureau before attending Hebrew Union College. He was ordained in 1991, following in the footsteps of his father, Fred Eisenberg who founded Temple Israel.
While attending HUC he served as an intern in such diverse locations as Johnson City, Tennessee; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Fairbanks, Alaska.
After ordination, his first full-time position was with Congregation Beth Israel in Houston, Texas. He assumed the rabbinate at Temple Israel in 1996, and was a key player in the merger with Temple Ner Tamid that same year.
Rabbi Matt and his wife, Pat, have two children.
Send an email to Rabbi Matt at RabbiMJE3@tintcleveland.org.
Cantorial Soloist Rachel Eisenberg
Rachel Eisenberg, daughter of founding rabbi Fred Eisenberg, uses her musical talents to enhance the services at Temple Israel Ner Tamid. A graduate of Miami University, she holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, and a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall Law School. In addition to serving as TINT’s cantorial soloist, Rachel acts as a practicing government attorney in family law issues, and has studied voice at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. She is the mother of two daughters.
Founding Rabbi Emeritus Frederick Eisenberg (1931-2022)
Rabbi Frederick Eisenberg, z’l, founder of Temple Israel and Rabbi Emeritus of TINT, was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati after receiving an undergraduate degree from Clark University. After ordination, he served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, and afterwards, as an assistant rabbi at Temple Sholom in Chicago. He then was named rabbi at Temple Emanuel in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, before moving to Cleveland in 1972 as assistant rabbi at Fairmount Temple and leader of the synagogue’s Young People’s Congregation.
After a decade at Fairmount Temple, Rabbi Fred joined the leadership of Congregation Brith Emeth. In 1985 he started Temple Israel of Greater Cleveland, with a core membership of 50 families, many of whom followed him from Fairmount. Ten years later, Rabbi Fred officially became Rabbi Emeritus, turning what had become Temple Israel Ner Tamid as the result of a 1997 merger with Temple Ner Tamid, over to his son, Rabbi Matt.
Sadly, Rabbi Fred passed away on August 17, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Helen, and his three children, Rabbi Matt, Elizabeth and Rachel, who serves as cantorial soloist at TINT.