Rabbi Derek and Deirdre Blumenthal
Senior Rabbi and Rebbitzen
Derek and his family came to Beth Messiah in 2017. He now serves as senior rabbi, serving the community, leading services, teaching Bible studies and Hebrew classes, and helping to shine the light of Messiah to the local area. Derek is on staff with Chosen People Ministries which allows him to have a hand in global Jewish ministry in addition to our local congregational efforts.
Derek grew up in a secular Jewish home in New Jersey and came to faith in Yeshua at the age of sixteen. As he grew in his faith, he began to sense God’s calling to ministry and eventually to Jewish ministry in particular. Deirdre has been committed to a Messianic lifestyle and Jewish ministry for over 20 years, and is passionate about congregational ministry.
Before moving to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with their three children, Derek and Deirdre co-led a Messianic Jewish congregation in South Florida for seven years, equipping believers and reaching out to Jews and Gentiles alike with the gospel.
Rabbi Dr. Joseph Rosenfarb
Senior Rabbi Emeritus
In July 1979 Dr. Joseph Rosenfarb became the first Rabbi of Beth Messiah Synagogue.
Dr. Rosenfarb is an ordained Messianic Rabbi from the UMJC and MJAA. He also has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati.
In 2010 Dr. Rosenfarb and some colleagues formed the Kings College of Jamestown. The college has been granted accreditation by the state. He is excited about being able to teach Messianic material at the college to clergy and lay folk.
Daniel Rosenfarb
Worship Director
From a young age, Daniel worked as a professional musical theatre performer. He continued his craft until taking up the guitar as a teenager and immediately began to write music. Since then, he has played in and has led several worship teams and bands throughout the Hampton Roads area. He has worked as both a voice teacher and recording artist and has held several other roles in the arts. He currently serves as the worship director for Beth Messiah Synagogue.
Daniel was raised in a Messianic Jewish household. Even though he was a second-generation Messianic Jew, he knew that he only held a spark of the gospel rather than its full flame. In his early twenties he received Yeshua’s gospel in a dramatic way that completely shifted his life and his perspective! That flame instantly turned into the Gospel-in-action, giving him the desire to reach people with the Gospel wherever he went. His heart now burns for his people to come to know their Messiah as well as for the Hampton Roads area to know the truth of who Yeshua is and how we can live in Him.
Daniel currently lives in Norfolk with his lovely wife Julia and their internet fish.