Board Member Profile: Randy Feldman

with Eric Bressler

Eric: Thank you for serving on Bet Shalom’s Board of Trustees, Randy! Let’s help the congregation get to know you better with this interview. Please tell us about your family, your history in Minnesota, and when you joined Bet Shalom.

Randy: Thanks Eric. I grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota on the Iron Range. At that time there was a Jewish congregation of about 50 families from Hibbing and the surrounding towns like Eveleth and Virginia. We had a small conservative synagogue and had rabbis from the Twin Cities or Duluth come up to do High Holiday services, b’nai mitzvot, weddings, funerals and occasional Shabbat services. As you probably know, Bob Dylan (Zimmerman) and family were from Hibbing, and we were very close with his family. Rabbi Cohen is a very big Dylan fan, and we have talked many times about Bob’s career and life in Hibbing. Ask Rabbi Cohen to do his Bob Dylan impersonation!

I went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I met my wife Donna, and we both graduated with Pharmacy degrees. We moved to Minneapolis and joined Temple Israel where Donna converted to Judaism prior to our wedding in 1983. We decided to join Bet Shalom in 1997 because we lived in Minnetonka, but more importantly because of the warmth and welcoming feeling we got from Rabbi Cohen. We are blessed with two children, Benjamin (Jessica) and Ashley (Elliot), and are lucky that they both live very close to us in the Twin Cities. They each have two children, and our fifth grandchild is due in February.

And your professional life?

I have worked as a pharmacist in a variety of healthcare settings throughout my 42-year career.  I worked in traditional retail pharmacy settings with a couple companies for several years after graduation before I went to St. Thomas University to get my Business MBA.  After that I worked at a Pharmacy Benefit Management company in clinical management and pharmaceutical contracting, several years as Director of Clinical Trials at Fairview, and then back to retail pharmacy. Currently I work on a casual basis with Walgreens as a staff retail pharmacist, looking to fully retire in a couple of years. 

Tell us about your previous involvement at Bet Shalom. I know you’ve been in the Choir and the Ruach Ensemble for years.

When we became members at Bet Shalom, Donna and I joined the Ushering Committee.  It was a great way to meet members of the congregation. I highly encourage new members to join a committee to enhance their opportunities to meet other congregants. Two major highlights for us were congregational trips to Israel. We went on our first trip with Rabbi Cohen and the second with Rabbi Locketz. We will never forget them, and they brought us a deeper sense of feeling Jewish.

I have been in the Bet Shalom Choir for over 23 years and the Ruach Ensemble for seven years.  Singing and music have always been a special part of my life, and singing in both Ruach and the Choir gives me a spiritual feeling of being Jewish and connecting with our wonderful congregation. I decided to get more involved with helping develop the future of Bet Shalom, and I’m privileged to be on the Board of Trustees for the first time this year. I’m interested in the financial aspects of Bet Shalom and in promoting the missions that our new president, Adam Cohen, outlined in the June edition of Tapestry.

And now you’re on the Rabbinical Search Committee?

Yes, I am honored to have been asked to be on that committee in search of an Assistant/Associate Rabbi to work with Rabbi Locketz and Cantor Havilio. There are 9 committee members of all different ages and from different backgrounds.  Our purpose is to recommend an applicant to our Executive Committee who has the necessary qualifications and fits well with the goals and values of our Congregation. We have just started meeting as a group and hopefully will start interviewing candidates after the High Holidays through next early summer.

What do you do in your spare time?

Ha ha! Right now I don’t have a lot of spare time even though I only work on a casual basis!  Donna and I do childcare for our grandchildren on a part time basis year-round. We really enjoy it and wouldn’t give it up for the world! My favorite things to do outside of that are road trips in our motor home. We have had a RV for six years and have been all over the US and Canada visiting national parks, friends and family and sites on our “bucket list.” We are out of town quite a bit from spring to fall traveling. We used to do cruises and international travel until COVID hit, and we hope to do some more of these trips in the future. I also enjoy reading, biking, cross country skiing, golf, pickleball and going to movies. 

Favorite Jewish Holiday and foods?

I enjoy all Jewish Holidays, but my favorite is Passover. I love the tradition of the family being around the table and reading the story of Passover together. Unfortunately it has become difficult to get everyone in the family together for a dinner these days because of their schedules, but at Passover the entire family feels the need to be together to share the holiday.

Favorite Jewish food. Hmm, that’s tough Eric. There are so many great Jewish foods! I think there are two for me, matzah ball soup, especially during Passover, and then everyone loves latkes!

Final thoughts?

I would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful 5784!