Rabbi Matthew Bellas, a prominent Olney, MD rabbi who is the Lower School Principal at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, has died.

Bellas passed away Monday, December 30th, according to several tribute posts shared on social media in the wake of his death.

The Canadian-American rabbi, who originally hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, was remembered for making a massive difference in the lives of his students and congregants.

The Congregation Har Shalomm remembered Bellas in a post, sharing: “I was deeply saddened, as I know you were, to receive news of the passing of Rabbi Matthew Bellas z”l. He was a charismatic, immensely talented Jewish educator who cared deeply for his students, teachers, and the entire CESJDS community,”

Another post, from Hazzan Asa Fradkin of the Beth El Bethesda synagogue, also read: “Condolences to the family of Rabbi Matthew Bellas. He was a kind, gentle man who saw our son through his 6 years at JDS Lower School and worked alongside Sarah Fradkin as well as her boss and colleague. May his memory eternally be for a blessing,”

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Rabbi Matthew Bellas grew up in Vancouver, raised in a conservative Jewish household. Bellas received his call to be a rabbi aged 8. After his education, receiving a B.A in Jewish Studies and an M.A in Education, he attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) for his Rabbinic Ordination which he received in 2004.

He worked as School Rabbi for the Vancouver Talmud Torah and in 2014, moved to Rockville MD to become the Lower School Principal at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Rabbi Bellas lives in Olney with his wife Oksana and children, Yaakov, Maya and Aliza.