Rabbi Matthew Bellas

B'nai Shalom of Olney

Rabbi Matthew Bellas, his wife Oksana and children Yaakov, Maya and Aliza moved to Olney MD in 2014 when Rabbi Bellas became the Lower School Principal at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. They joined B’nai Shalom of Olney (BSO) and Rabbi Bellas has become an extremely important part of BSO – a true Blue Yarmulke!

Rabbi Matthew Bellas was raised in an active/committed Conservative Jewish family in Vancouver, BC, Canada. His family, experiences in synagogue, youth groups, and Jewish summer camp all led him to fall in love with Judaism and he received his call to the rabbinate at the age of 8 years old. Sure enough after graduating college with a B.A. in Jewish Studies and M.A. in Education, he attended Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), where he was ordained as a Rabbi in 2004. In addition, Rabbi Bellas wanted to work in the field of education, so he completed his doctoral studies in education toward an Ed.D at JTS.

At BSO, Rabbi Bellas has served on the Religious Committee, Rabbi Search Committees, and now as the Vice President for Religious Affairs and helping to lead services during periods of rabbinic transition. Over the past two years, after BSO moved on from having a Hazzan on staff, Rabbi Bellas volunteered to take on many of the duties, in particular leading services and supporting the Rabbi in conducting services on the bimah each week. For many weeks of the pandemic, it was just Rabbi Hoffman and Rabbi Bellas broadcasting to the congregation over Zoom from the sanctuary! The Bellas family looks forward to supporting BSO in celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year!