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Chicago, IL - Rep. Rahm Emanuel, recently named President-elect Barack Obama’s new White House chief of staff, has a reputation as a hard-nosed political operator who won’t take no for an answer — he’s nicknamed “Rahmbo” for his aggressive style.

But Emanuel’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel , a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago, describes the 48-year-old as a devout, down-to-earth family man, capable of juggling religion and politics, ambition and humility, and his deep love of Israel with the best interests of the United States.

Q: Rahm Emanuel and his family have worshiped with you for about eight years. What can you say about them?

A: They’re just a wonderful family. They’re well-liked; they have a lot of friends here. His three children have grown up in our community and there are a lot of warm feelings.

Q: Are the stories true about his temper?

A: I haven’t seen any of that in the synagogue, that’s all I can say! Rahm is very self-aware — he’s aware of his image; he’s aware of all the stories about him. But when he comes to synagogue, he comes to pray; he comes to be with his family. He’s not in synagogue to talk politics. We don’t call him Rahmbo here!

Q: How does he balance his religious beliefs with his political commitments?

A: On Rosh Hashanah, he was very concerned about keeping the holiness of the day, but there was a very important conference call (about the financial bailout bill) he had to take. You’re not supposed to operate any electrical equipment; to be on the telephone is not allowed.

He wanted to know what I thought. I asked him, is the crisis as serious as they portray it? And he said that, according to the information that he had, it was, and there was a potential for financial meltdown. I said under those circumstances we have a law of “pikuach nefesh,” of saving lives, and almost any ritual law can be pushed off for the sake of saving a life. I wouldn’t say it with every piece of legislation, but if this bailout did not happen, it could lead to a real question of life or death for certain people.

And then he kibitzed — he joked around that it would help out my 401(k). He’s a very funny guy; he always has a sense of humor.

Q: What else have you advised him on over the years?

A: He has called me about other religious questions, about the issue of the afterlife. He’s definitely a deeply religiously committed person, and he thinks about these things, and it complements his passion to be involved in government policies to make this a better world.

For some people, religion is a retreat from the world. For Rahm, I think it’s a way of energizing him to do more to help the world.

Q: Does he have a special role in your congregation?

A: Rahm had the honor this year of opening up the ark for the special prayer on Rosh Hashanah, about being humble and understanding our responsibility to make a difference in this world. I felt this was an appropriate prayer for him.

Q: Are any other members of your congregation involved in politics?

A: No other members of Congress, but we do have people who were very involved with the Obama campaign; we had people who were involved in the Hillary Clinton campaign; and we had people who were McCain backers and Giuliani backers. I think even people who are way to the right are very excited that Rahm’s going to be involved in the administration.

I’m almost amazed at how comforting it is for people to know that he’s going to be involved.

Q: What do they think Emanuel’s influence will be on the Obama administration?

A: Rahm adds pragmatism. Certainly when it comes to the Middle East, people in the synagogue and in the Jewish community feel that it’s pragmatic for the United States to back Israel and not to pressure Israel and not to compromise Israel’s security. ... When he was first elected to Congress, he spoke to the synagogue on a Friday night about his passion toward Israel. He’s definitely a lover of the state of Israel, and I think Barack Obama is as well.

Q: How does it feel to have your senator, Obama, leaving for Washington and taking your congressman and congregation member with you?

A: We feel abandoned! (laughing) It’s an honor, but there were many who were hoping Rahm would eventually become speaker of the House and stay with us in Illinois. ... We had (his son’s) bar mitzvah scheduled on the calendar, but I think they’ll be moving to D.C. But, we will definitely follow the family and their simchas — their joyous times — wherever they go.