Tom remained in Washington, where he worked for Rabbi David Saperstein at the Religious Action Center, as well as a chef in a local Georgetown restaurant. In 1981 he was accepted into the Rabbinic Studies Program of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). He received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in 1984 at HUC-JIR, Los Angeles, and the following year a certificate of Para-Chaplaincy from the Board of Jewish Rabbis of Southern California.

Tom met his wife, Marcia Rich, in Israel, where they both were studying to become Jewish professionals. Marcia received a Bachelor of Religious Studies from the University of Colorado in Denver, and a Master of Jewish Education from HUC-JIR in Los Angeles, in 1984. The couple were married later that year and moved to Cincinnati, where Tom was ordained in May 1987.

 

Rabbi Louchheim accepted his first rabbinic position as Assistant Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jehudah in Kansas City, a large Reform Jewish congregation of some 2,000 families, where Marcia taught religious school. Their first child, Katie Jean, was born in Kansas City in November 1987. In 1989, the Louchheims moved to Tucson, where Tom served as Assistant Rabbi to Rabbi Joseph Weizenbaum at Temple Emanu-El. His family flourished in Tucson with the arrival of their second child, Jacob, in June 1990 … their third child, Daniel, in June 1993 … and their fourth child, Benjamin, in April 1996. Rabbi Louchheim left Temple Emanu-El in 1994 to serve as Chaplain and Volunteer Coordinator at the Jacob C. Fruchthendler Hospice at Handmaker.

 

In the summer of 1995, Louchheim was approached by twelve families who hoped he would agree to be the rabbi of a small Reform Jewish congregation. Thus was born Congregation Or Chadash (New Light), named and blessed by Tom and Marcia; and, like his family, the congregation grew and flourished under his leadership. Soon after, an opportunity arose for Or Chadash to establish itself in the original Temple Emanu-El location on Stone Avenue. Rabbi Louchheim gathered members of the community to raise the funds for that purpose. Where so many synagogues had been destroyed during the Holocaust, here was an opportunity to preserve one to become a synagogue once again. When it became apparent that the facility would be too small for the congregation’s purposes, they nevertheless continued raising funds to preserve the property for the community for the purpose of creating a Jewish museum.

 

In 2019, Rabbi Louchheim helped lead the way to the creation of our Kol Ami Synagogue. On Rosh Hashanah 5782 (2022) he became co-Rabbi and the following spring, in a ceremony delayed by the pandemic, he signed the ketubah (marriage contract) before our congregation, officially bringing the marriage metaphor to life and two communities into one. Kol Ami’s success is certainly due in part to his leadership and commitment to the Southern Arizona Jewish community.

 

Building community is something Tom Louchheim does naturally. He established the first Jewish-Christian-Muslim scripture study group, and helped organize Tucson’s annual Jewish-Muslim Peace Walks, which began in response to the tragic events of 9/11. Embracing Tucson’s multi-faith community, Or Chadash became the first Jewish congregation to join Interfaith Community Services (ICS); and Rabbi Louchheim was instrumental in organizing the first “Jewish Build” for Habitat for Humanity, along with other Jewish congregations. In 2006, he was instrumental in creating “The Interfaith Dialogue: Contemplative Practices for Creating Peace” with the Dalai Lama and 150 clergy from throughout the state of Arizona. Over the years, Louchheim has served on many boards and committees, including the Tucson Board of Rabbis (President), the Central Conference and Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, Handmaker Hospice Advisory Board, Habitat for Humanity, and as co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Yom HaShoah Committee for 27 years.

 

Rabbi Louchheim has received many honors, including the “2003 Meritorious Service Award” from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. On May 14, 2012, Rabbi Thomas Alan Louchheim received his Honorary Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR for 25 years of dedicated service as a congregational rabbi. In May 2017 Rabbi Louchheim accepted an invitation from Congresswoman Martha McSally to open the US House of Representatives with a blessing.

 

As an author, Louchheim has published numerous articles, most notably “Avoidance By One-Liner,” CCAR Jewish Quarterly Journal (Fall 2016, pages 22-32), “Rabbi Finds ‘New Light’ in His Struggle in the Desert,” Desert Leaf, 2016 and as a contributor to the 2015 publication “CCAR Life Cycle Guide for Rabbis.” Rabbi Thomas Louchheim is the only rabbi to have a main-belt asteroid named after him—Asteroid 9584 Louchheim—by renowned astronomer and congregant, Dr. David Levy. NASA’s website reads "Louchheim’s optimistic philosophy has brightened the lives of many young people.”  And old ones, too . . ..