Louis W. Sutker was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1943 and migrated to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1974. In between there were stints in New Orleans and Gainesville, Florida.
Louis was raised in an Orthodox and quasi-observant family and absorbed the traditional prayers by osmosis, walking to Shul with his grandmother, and singing in the Shul choir. From an early age there was talk in his family about him eventually becoming a Rabbi, but he managed to avoid his fate until now when he has embraced it with gratitude and joy.
Louis has also been a psychologist since a very early age and obtained a Ph. D. in 1970. His career in Psychology has spanned many different transformations including academics, private practice, and a government agency. He has specialties in working with sexuality, ADHD, couples and forensic issues. He adopts a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual approach to his work.
Louis served many years as Gabbai of Conservative Movement affiliated Congregation Emanu-El in Victoria and functioned in loco Rabbinis during many years when the Kehilah was without a Rabbi.
He is currently helping to organize a new Kehilah on upper Vancouver Island. He has, with God's help, created numerous niggunim, songs and English translations of the liturgy that attempt to capture the essence of the Hebrew words in a cognate English form. He also has conducted many classes in Talmud, Liturgy and Jewish meditation. Louis loves to daven.
Louis would like to thank the members of his Committee for their continuing help, support and teaching. They are Rabbi Daniel Seigel, Chair, and Rabbis Hillel Goelman and Yitzhak Husbands -Hankin. Rabbis Marcia Praeger and Shawn Zevit helped nurture his baby steps and encouraged his development.
His friends and Victoria Rabbis Victor Reinstein and Harry Brechner have with true chevreschaft supported his progress. He is grateful to all of his chevre for their encouragement and ears in time of doubt and tsuris. The entire Kehilah of Emanu-El, Victoria, saw in him what he did not see in himself and made him become what he was supposed to be. He especially grateful to his friend Marian Lucow for her support. The neshamot of his parents (aleyhem ha-shalom) continue to inspire him, as does the spiritual encouragement of his brothers Sam and Abro. His sweet wife, Charlotte, has been beside him the whole way and her companionship and the support of his adult children, Shula and Kalman, have made the path both exciting and possible. Reb Zalman's mashpiut is always there as the source of love and inspiration as to what Rebbeschaft can be.
