16 | DECEMBER 17 • 2020 

IN 
THE
JEWS D
ON THE COVER

for both Horwitz’s tenure and 
Stombaugh’s, knew the transi-
tion was part of the mission.
“
As an organization that really 
champions the idea of innova-
tion, we are always interested in 
change,
” she said. “
Anyone who’s 
in that role is going to champi-
on innovation and progress.
”
To replace the passion and 
vibrancy that Horwitz brought 
to the role, The Well would 
need a singular figure to step up 
into the director’s seat. When 
the 35-year-old Stombaugh 
came in for an interview, 
Yedwab said, it was clear from 
the outset he was that figure.
“It’s like getting someone 
from the major leagues,
” 
Yedwab said. “Jeff is the oppo-
site of an alienating personality. 
It’s hard not to be drawn into 
his sphere.
”

A NEW LEADER
Stombaugh grew up in an 
interfaith household in the 
Seattle suburb of Kenmore. 
His Jewish mother founded an 
independent Jewish day school 
in Seattle, where Stombaugh 
himself would work as an edu-
cator after college; his father 
was originally from Garden 
City, Mich., and converted to 
Judaism later in life.
Stombaugh had a strong 
Reform Jewish upbringing 
that was also interspersed 
with spiritual aspects from 
Buddhism and Daoism. After 
participating in the Alexander 
Muss High School in Israel 
program, his Jewish identity 
“blossomed,” and he set off 
on a path toward profession-
al spiritual leadership that 
took him through Hebrew 
Union College and a stint 
in Los Angeles working at 
the University of Southern 
California Hillel.

While in LA, Stombaugh 
met Belsky on the dating app 
Hinge. Stephanie, an expert 
in digital media outreach, had 
helped launch the marketing 
department for the popu-
lar online comedy platform 
CollegeHumor. 
They matched right before 
the High Holidays, every 
rabbi’s busiest time of year, so 
their second date was break-
fast on Erev Rosh Hashanah 
morning. That was also when 
Stombaugh told her he had 
been selected to become a 
rabbinical fellow at Mishkan 
Chicago, a progressive experi-
mental congregation that was 
seeing rapid expansion among 
young adult Jews looking for 
an alternative to the tradition-
al synagogue model.
That could have been the 
end. But ultimately, Belsky 
decided to come to Chicago 
with Jeff. The rest, as they say, 
is history.

At Mishkan, Stombaugh’s 
talent for connecting with 
people shone through. “He’s 
really easy to talk to,” Rabbi 
Lizzi Heydemann, Mishkan’s 
founder and spiritual leader, 
told the JN. “He genuinely 
does care about people’s lives.” 
Heydemann noted Stombaugh 
was especially adept at craft-
ing videos and web content 
for Mishkan — an important 
skill for maintaining Judaism 
during a pandemic.
In 2020, as Stombaugh’s 
fellowship with Mishkan was 
wrapping up, the position at 
The Well became available. 
He and Belsky paid a visit 
to Detroit for the interview, 
where, says Yedwab, both of 
them wowed the selection 
committee.
At the airport on the way 
back, Stombaugh recalled, 
“both of us were really looking 
at each other and felt, in our 
kishkes, like there’s something 

here that we really like … This 
is the next place to be.” 
Stombaugh accepted the 
job. The couple moved to 
Royal Oak in the summer and 
Belsky now works for Gyro 
Creative, a PR agency based in 
Detroit. They have begun their 
new lives as Jewish Detroit 
leaders.

“DOING JEWISH”
Those involved with The Well 
say that, while Horwitz and 
Stombaugh have very different 
visions and leadership styles, 
they are united in their desire to 
make The Well great.
And the two have become 
friendly, too — bonding over 
the shared experience of mov-
ing to new cities mid-pandemic 
for jobs that involve Jewish rela-
tionship-building. 
Central to Stombaugh’s 
approach? A belief in lowering 
the barrier to entry for Jewish 
life.

continued from page 15

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT THINGS, 
YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW ALL THE WORDS 

TO BE JEWISH.”

— RABBI JEFF STOMBAUGH

JERRY ZOLYNSKY/JEWISH NEWS

Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh and 

Rebbetzin Stephanie Belsky 

host a virtual sufganiyot-making 

session via Zoom as part of The 

Well’s “Chanukah in a Box.”

continued on page 18