Today  — Dec. 5 — is Rabbi Joseph Rosenbloom’s 90th birthday. Chances are he’ll have a glass of wine or two to celebrate, though truth be told, Rabbi Joe often likes to have a glass or two of wine at lunch, even when it’s not his birthday.

On Sunday, many of the 250 families who belong to Temple Emanuel, where Rabbi Joe has served the Reform congregation continuously for 57 years, will toast him at a birthday party in his honor. He now has emeritus status, but comes to his temple office daily to “read, write and kibbitz,” explaining that since he’s “technologically impaired” someone can help him with his computer when he has trouble. 

“I’m grateful to the temple for putting up with me,” he said when we visited last week. “They are my extended family and I feel blessed to have them.”

Clearly, the sentiment is mutual. Congregants, including several past presidents and the current rabbi, talk about Rosenbloom’s humility, his love of being a rabbi, his devotion to Temple Emanuel and its congregants, his brilliance, his wit and his good humor. And yes, his love of wine is mentioned, too.

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“When I first met him in May of 1977, I was rehearsing some music with the organist who introduced me to Rabbi Joe,” says Malachi Owens Jr., who has served TE as its cantorial soloist for more than four decades. “He said, ‘What’s your name?’ I said, “Malachi.’ He said, ‘My angel.’ And he has treated me that way all this time.”

Charles Lowenhaupt, a former TE president, says Rosenbloom has served five generations of his family. “And he’s made it a point of getting to know each one of them extremely well, and he does this with family after family,” Lowenhaupt added. 

He offered an anecdote to illustrate how straightforward Rabbi Joe is, and how he speaks his mind. “My grandmother, Bessie Lowenhaupt, was a painter and she loved Joe dearly so she gave him a painting. True to form, Joe thanked her very much but told her he didn’t really care for it, could she paint him another? So she did this biblical painting for him and he loved it.”

Rosenbloom believes in total honesty, even when taking stock of himself. He warns he is “a terrible chauvinist,” though shows no signs of treating me with anything other than respect and kindness during our more than two-hour chat.

He also speaks from the heart and with incredible admiration for the “two great loves” of his life – his wife of 46 years, Cordelia Rosenbloom, who passed away from multiple myeloma in 1998, and his current wife of nearly 20 years, Gloria “Abby” Rosenbloom, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. He tears up a bit as he speaks about both, as well as the death of his middle daughter from breast cancer about 10 years ago. He has two other daughters and three grandchildren.

In our time together, Rosenbloom takes me through the paces of his life, from growing up in Rochester, N.Y. to attending a Presbyterian college in Wooster, Ohio before landing at University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College, where he attended rabbinical school. Working at Hillel at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, he met Cordelia, “a poet who could sing, act and was a gourmet cook,” he says. “We were married in three months.”

In 1954, not long after becoming a rabbi, he was hired by Congregation Shaare Emeth, but he left a few years later after the senior rabbi there died suddenly, at age 56. “I said, ‘No, thank you,’ to being senior rabbi there. I can’t explain why I turned it down.”

He wound up taking a job with a temple in Lexington, Ky., until Temple Emanuel came calling. He says he first turned down TE’s rabbinical job, instead recommending a friend from Pittsburgh be hired. Two years later, in 1961, Temple Emanuel called again, and this time Rosenbloom took the job and stayed. And stayed. And stayed.

“I think I’m the only rabbi in history who has been in three congregations but never actually applied for a job,” he said, laughing.

He officially retired 15 years ago, at the age of 75, but was “called back three times” when rabbis at Temple Emanuel didn’t work out for one reason or another. Then, five years ago, the temple “had the courage and good sense to hire Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh,” says Rosenbloom. “I love this institution and I have no doubt that the spirit of Temple Emanuel will continue under her leadership and inspiration.”

Hersh has only accolades for Rosenbloom, whom she describes as “really brilliant but so humble.”

“He has his own way about him but people love him,” she added. “He will do generations of a family’s life cycle events. He knows people and remembers details about them and their family that endear him to others. He brings a divine spark to his work and to his relationships.”

David Sherman III, another past president of TE, concurs, explaining that it’s not unusual – even now — for Rabbi Joe to drop everything to officiate at a wedding or funeral when asked, even if he has to get on a plane to do so. He also was one of the first rabbis in the area to marry couples of different faiths, including those that didn’t belong to TE. In fact, one of my closest friends remembers that when no one else would marry her and her husband nearly 30 years ago, Rabbi Joe gladly obliged.

“More than any other Jewish influence in my life, Joe was the rabbi who made it clear no one but you can determine what kind of Jew you want to be,” said Sherman. “He set the precedent that at Temple Emanuel you are Jewish if you believe you are Jewish. No one can determine that but you. I think that’s why he has been so revered and beloved.”

Andy Glaser, another former president of TE, first got to know Rabbi Joe as a youngster. “There was a ninth grade religious school class that caused so many problems we had four teachers quit in a year. The next year that class went on to confirmation and Joe took over teaching. From that point forward, Rabbi Joe always taught confirmation class.”

When reminded of the story, Rosenbloom smiled and said: “Yup. That was one of my favorite classes . . . All the problem kids came to me and I loved them,” he added.

Maybe that’s because Rabbi Joe is something of a rabble-rouser. Glaser recalls that in its earlier decades, TE was very affluent and many of its members were not nearly as liberal as Rosenbloom. 

“I can remember that on more than one occasion, Joe would pack the entire service so that congregants could come and argue about his sermon,” Glaser said. “He would take a very controversial issue, take a very liberal bent on it and of course, the next week everyone wanted to show up and argue with him. 

“Usually rabbis who express opinions different than their congregation end up being not so long with the congregation, but despite arguing with him, everyone loved and respected him. He is just beloved.”

Glaser also remembers how much Rosenbloom used to love playing tennis. “I can’t say he was great but he was tenacious on the court and his language was a little colorful,” said Glaser. “I couldn’t believe it when he gave it up but he said his knees gave out.”

Today, Rosenbloom uses a cane to help him get around (“50 years of tennis everyday ruined my knees,” he says) and wears a lifeline alert necklace in case he falls. Despite being a bit hard of hearing, his mind is sharp and he stays very in the moment. 

He was the rabbi in residence for 15 years at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Ladue and an adjunct professor for 40 years at Washington University. He also wrote five books and has authored more than 40 articles.

Back in the day, he traveled the world extensively, including numerous trips to Israel and England and as a rabbi on various cruises. He gets all his news from PBS because “they don’t scream at each other and aren’t trying to sell advertising.”

No doubt the room at Westwood Country Club where Rabbi Joe’s party takes place Sunday will be filled with warmth and love. Several family members are flying in, and Rosenbloom, while touched and excited, admits it’s all a little overwhelming. 

Hopefully, a couple of glasses of wine will calm him down.