Rabbi Yaakov Thompson, Convert Who Met First Jew in College, Dies at 61
— Yaakov Thompson, a popular Conservative rabbi in South Florida who was born Protestant and converted to Judaism in college, died suddenly at 61.
Thompson’s family said the rabbi died of a heart attack on July 6.
Born Rick Thompson and raised in St. Mary’s, Ohio, the future rabbi never met a Jewish person until college at Ohio State University, the Sun-Sentinel of Broward and Palm Beach counties reported.
“I had been studying a lot about religion and ancient history, and then as I learn more and more about Judaism, I discovered it as a faith I wanted to live by, not just study or learn about,” he told the Forum newspaper in 2010.
After college Thompson studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York and Israel. After 20 years as a New Yorker, he moved to Florida and joined Temple Beth Israel in Sunrise in 1996. He served as its rabbi from 2005 through 2011.
He then took the post as rabbi at the Cuban Hebrew Congregation of Miami Beach.
“They loved him,” his wife, Sarah, said of his congregants.
”He treated me like a queen,” she added.
Thompson also had a love of rock music and played guitar, posting his original music and a schedule of live performances to his website, radioyaakov.
Along with his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Adina, and son, Benyamin.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!