Rabbi Dennis Sasso, 'bridge-builder' and 'truth-teller,' retires from Beth-El Zedeck

Rabbi Dennis Sasso is known for researching before he speaks at bar and bat mitzvahs for Congregation Beth-El Zedeck. So it came as no surprise three weeks ago when he held up a photo of a young Wendy Waldman, sporting 1980s-style hair, during his remarks for her son's coming-of-age ceremony.

The rabbi also is known for guiding members through life transitions. So it was again unsurprising that he shared wisdom to help Wendy's mom into a new chapter when she retired as the northside synagogue's early childhood director in 2021.

"You can imagine when you've run a program for 40 years, my car just automatically turns to Beth-El Zedeck when I drive," Joanie Waldman said. "It took him, I think, more than anyone to talk to me and let me see what I needed to do."

This weekend, Sasso will make the same transition, 10 years after the retirement of his wife and partner at Beth-El Zedeck, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. For almost 50 years, Dennis Sasso has helped people in his congregation and Central Indiana through acts that have earned him such honors as a Sagamore of the Wabash and the NAACP's Community Service Award.

When those close to Sasso discuss his legacy, they highlight the care he brought to everyday interactions, how he built interfaith relationships, how he cut tension with a pun.

"He's a rabbi and a leader and a friend, but he's family. He's a mentor. He's a guide," Wendy Waldman said. "It's hard to put into words."

'Helping people peel back the layers of joy and of grief'

Sasso was born and raised in Panama before moving to the U.S. in 1965 to attend Brandeis University. He and Sandy married in 1970 after meeting at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.

In 1977, the couple and their 1-year-old son came to Beth-El Zedeck, becoming the first practicing rabbinical couple in Jewish history. They had their daughter a few years later, and the duo set out to strengthen the family atmosphere in their congregation, especially through youth and adult education initiatives.

Helping members through major life events became a pillar of their tenure. In one of Dennis Sasso's sermons during the Jewish High Holy Days this past fall, he quoted poet Carl Sandburg: "Life is like an onion. You peel it (off one) layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."

"I spoke that of the service of the rabbi being like helping people peel the layers of joy and of grief that are part of every life experience and sharing with each other the grace and the strength," Dennis Sasso said.

In sermons and at weddings and eulogies, he delivered inspiration and accessibility along with scholarship he forged while earning a master's from Temple University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Christian Theological Seminary. The rabbi is an affiliate professor of Jewish Studies at the latter.

"He has an incredible sense of humor," Sandy Sasso said. "He's known for his puns and people come to expect it, and I think it brings a certain joy to being in the synagogue."

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'Truth-teller but also a bridge-builder'

Those who have worked with Dennis, 75, note his balance of humor and candor building interfaith and social justice initiatives throughout the city.

Bill Enright sought Dennis and Sandy's wisdom as advisory board members when he founded the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving in IUPUI's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

"He's not wanting to make you an enemy if he disagrees. He's very open to dialogue," said Enright, a longtime friend and the former senior pastor of Second Presbyterian Church. "He is a truth-teller but also a bridge builder, and that's the dance that not everyone can make."

Dennis has helped found multiple bridge-building groups like the Center for Interfaith Cooperation. In the 1990s, he was co-chairman of the Race Relations Leadership Network of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee — a position he said helped him understand how to work with others of different beliefs without imposing his own.

Relationships across cultural and religious spaces are the foundation of trust that will be necessary to combat antisemitism, which has again become a growing concern for the Jewish community, Dennis said.

He and his wife, Sandy, have spread the mission of justice and interfaith connection through multiple mediums, including IndyStar columns, that have reached readers around the world.

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Central to their service has been the couple's own connection personally and professionally, which Dennis reflects on as he notes that 2024 will be the 50th anniversary of their ordination.

"Looking back on those years, there has certainly been challenges and difficult moments ... but it has been a very rewarding experience," Dennis said. "I cannot imagine myself having chosen or done anything other than what I set my heart to do in 1969, 70 when we both first started at rabbinical seminary."

If you go

• What: Special Shabbat Service and celebration of Rabbi Dennis Sasso's rabbinate

• When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

• Where: Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, 600 W. 70th St.

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Rabbi Dennis Sasso retires from Beth-El Zedeck after almost 50 years