Curtis Green, left, and Asher Tomberg on Simchat Torah.
By MARILYN SHAPIRO
Services at Congregation Shalom Aleichem in Kissimmee, Fla., were almost over. Marilyn Glaser, the congregation’s president, had completed her announcements, and our “rabbi” Asher Tomberg was about to lead us in Adon Olam.
I rose to make an announcement. “I think we need to do a Shehecheyanu blessing in honor of Asher driving himself to services tonight. He’s finally old enough to make the trip on his own!”
“Great idea,” said Glaser. So we recited the prayer in honor of living to this moment, and then even sang “Siman Tov, Mazel Tov” for good measure.
Who Is Asher?
Wait! Old enough to drive himself? Asher Tomberg, who leads our Friday night services, is a 16-year-old junior from Windermere High School. Congregation Shalom Aleichem loves him!
Asher’s story of leadership with the congregation began in March of 2025. Our little shul had lost its rabbi, and the board was scrambling to find someone to lead our twice-a-month Friday night services. Louis Goldman, the spiritual leader of Congregation Shir Chadash, nearby in Orlando, Fla., was brought in to lead services. Louis and his wife Rebecca were often accompanied by Asher Tomberg, who had studied with Goldman for his bar mitzvah.”
After leading services at Shalom Aleichem for several weeks, Goldman decided that he wanted to be at home with his family for Shabbos dinner. When sharing the news with Glaser, he suggested that Asher take his place. The congregation’s board agreed to the idea with the understanding that the money Asher earned would go into a college fund. His first service was in August of 2024. He was 15 years old.
“Something Clicked”
Before his bar mitzvah, Asher never thought he would lead a congregation. Although they attended High Holy Day services, the Tomberg family was not a regular participant in Friday night services. Indifferent towards his Jewish studies and Judaism as a whole, he saw little meaning in the liturgy and found little understanding of the relationship between the prayers and his life.
This attitude was confirmed by Goldman. “When I first started working with Asher, the learning was slow-going. Then, one day, something clicked. There was a change, and everything that had seemed difficult was now so natural for him,” said Goldman. He added, “The Hebrew came easy. The chanting was smooth. It was a complete transformation.”
An Inspiration
“I really got into it,” Asher said, adding that Goldman’s teaching made the prayers become meaningful. “By the time I stood on the bima for my bar mitzvah (on Nov. 22, 2022), I was not only prepared but also imbued with a greater pride and interest in my religion.” In the weeks and months following Asher’s bar mitzvah, he regularly attended Shabbat services, leading the davening with a growing strength and confidence.
“Many students never come back after their b’nai mitzvah,” said Goldman. “He is now leading services at Shalom Aleichem. It’s really inspirational.”
In preparation for the Friday night service, Asher practices the Torah portion for an hour each evening from Tuesday through Thursday. He first uses a version that contains the reading in Hebrew with the vowels and the notes (trope). He then moves on to a version of the text as displayed the way it appears in the Torah with no vowels and no trope.
Over the past year and a half, Asher has gained confidence and skill in both his Torah reading and his leading the service. His strong voice guides the congregation through the prayers and the transitions. During the oneg, he greets those in attendance by name and warmly exchanges pleasantries and life updates. At 16, he is already not only a talented lay leader but also a true “mench.”
Glaser is impressed with Asher’s maturity and how beautifully he has grown in his new Jewish leadership role. “Asher reads the Torah portion smoothly and effortlessly, more impressive in that today we find very few lay people who have those skills,” said Glaser. “I don’t know where we would be without him.”
Dr Richard Plass, who leads the weekly Torah study, shared Glaser’s enthusiasm. “His Hebrew, which is beautifully fluid, comes from his heart,” he commented. “It’s wonderful to see a young man come into his own with a congregation that loves him.” A sign of that love: at a recent service, Plass gave Asher a tallit clip to tame the young man’s large prayer shawl.
Future?
Congregant Jonathan Shopiro, who provides musical accompaniment with his flute, said that working with Asher has been “a delight,” and that it is improving with every service.
Asher reports that the experiences he has had, from his bar mitzvah to becoming a lay leader, have prepared him for life. “The values I have learned have made me a kinder person, one who believes in tikkun olam, making the world a better place.”
Is rabbinical school in his future? Not yet. Asher hopes to become a pilot for JetBlue, a goal that he plans on reaching by attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona, Fla., after his high school graduation in May 2027. He also plans to continue his Judaic studies and to use them to lead congregations.
Wherever life leads Asher Tomberg, Congregation Shalom Aleichem, and his parents, take pride in the man he has become.
Marilyn Shapiro, formerly of Clifton Park, now a resident of Kissimmee, Fla. has announced that her 5th book, Remembrance and Legacy, Profiles of Jewish Sacrifice, Survival, and Strength, will soon be available.
Other books include Keep Calm and Bake Challah: How I Survived the Pandemic, Politics, Pratfalls, and Other of Life’s Problems, Tikkun Olam, There Goes My Heart and Fradel’s Story, a compilation of stories by her mother that she edited. Shapiro’s blog is theregoesmyheart.me
