Rabbi, Abraham Shusterman (as remembered by Irv Berzon)
In 1975-76 Temple Shalom was built and the first Collier County Rabbi, Abraham Shusterman, a retired Baltimore rabbi, came down here, and he really did an awful lot with the general community to establish the Jewish presence, and recognize the Jewish presence in Naples. He was well-liked by all the ministerial association members – who were all obviously Christian; he was the one Jew on it, and he was well-recognized and well-regarded and as a result Naples Jews would often have Jewish services where some of the Gentile community would bring their children to see how the Jews conduct their services. It was a friendly atmosphere.
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Rabbi Shusterman was my mother’s family’s rabbi in Baltimore. She moved to Naples in 1973 and joined the “old” Temple Shalom on Pine Ridge Rd close to 41.
Hello Ann, such important comment. Rabbi Shusterman was beloved by this early community and is mentioned quite a lot in our Eyewitness testimonies and, consequently, in our Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers films. If you have a photo of your mom with him, please consider submitting it to our archive. Thank you.