Rabbi David L. Abramson has been appointed to lead Tikvat Israel Congregation of Rockville, Md., as interim rabbi through 12 months of transition.

Abramson was selected by the synagogue’s board of directors to serve from July 1, 2012, through June 30,2013, while the congregation conducts a search for a successor to Rabbi Howard D. Gorin, who served for 32 years as TI’s spiritual leader before retiring on June 30.

Abramson has served as the rabbi at four synagogues -- Temple Sinai, Marblehead, Mass.; B’nai Emet Synagogue, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Temple B’nai Abraham, Beverly, Mass.; and Agudath B’nai Israel, Lorain, Ohio -- and as assistant rabbi at Congregation Anshei Israel, Tucson, Ariz. Since moving to the Washington area in 2009, he has served as a chaplain with the Jewish Social Service Agency  and the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, where he had led religious services and provided pastoral care. In addition, he teaches rabbinics to secondary school students at the Shoresh Hebrew High School in Chevy Chase, Md., and serves Congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Md., as adjunct rabbi.

Rabbi James Michaels, the director of pastoral care at the Hebrew Home, says Tikvat Israel has secured the services of an excellent spiritual leader. “He brings an exceptional combination of practical rabbinical skills and pastoral understanding of peoples’ feelings and emotions,” says Michaels. “He will be an invaluable guide for the congregation as it moves into the next phase of its illustrious history.”

A Bethesda resident, Abramson earned his undergraduate degree as a philosophy major and Judaic studies minor at University of Maryland. He earned board certification as a clinical chaplain in 2011 from the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy.

Further information: Jay P. Goldman, Communications Chair, Tikvat Israel, 301-565-2506, jgoldman@aasa.org