A beloved Princeton rabbi has died after suffering a medical episode while on vacation with his family in Hawaii.
Rabbi Adam Feldman served at the Jewish Center in Princeton for nearly 15 years. Synagogue leaders say that he was away with his wife and three children when he died.
“They were repelling down a mountain and he stopped,” says Jewish Center president Randy Brett. “The guide went down to check and see if everything was OK and found him non-responsive.”
Rescuers performed CPR on Feldman, but they were not able to revive him.
Brett says that Feldman was a compassionate man who turned the Jewish Center into a hub for learning and spirituality. He says that Feldman’s sermons were memorable.
“He would often throw out a question to the congregation in the service and ask them for their response and use those responses to make a point,” says Brett.
Brett says that Feldman was happiest when he saw somebody come up to the Torah and read a passage from it that they'd never done before
“It is a skill that needs to be learned,” Brett says.
Rabbi Feldman also was a founding member of the Princeton Police Department's chaplain program. Chief Nicholas Sutter saying, "There was not a week that went by that Rabbi Feldman did not call me or stop in the station to check on the department. His first words were always: ‘How is everybody?’”
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman also issued a statement on Feldman’s passing, saying "His impassioned push for education and his desire to bridge the gaps in our community through the principles of faith shared across religions was truly inspiring."
A funeral service for Rabbi Feldman is set for Sunday at 10 a.m.
President Randy Brett says the Feldman will be sorely missed. Adding, his leadership will be hard to duplicate.