Temple Emanuel Clergy
RABBI LAURA GELLER Rabbi Laura Geller has been the Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California since 1994. She was the third woman ordained as a Reform Rabbi in America and the first to be selected to lead a major metropolitan synagogue. Prior to Temple Emanuel, she served as the Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress, Pacific Southwest Region where, among other accomplishments, she founded the AJCongress Feminist Center, which became a model for other Jewish feminist projects around the county. She came to AJCongress in 1990 after fourteen years as the Director of Hillel at the University of Southern California.
Rabbi Geller has written numerous articles and chapters in books, including Beginning Anew; Four Centuries of Jewish Women's Spirituality; On Being a Jewish Feminist; The Jewish Woman; Spinning a Sacred Yarn; Life Cycles; Preaching in the New Millennium; The Women's Torah Commentary; The Women's Haftara Commentary; Hineni in Our Lives; Living Words V: A Source Book on Israel in a Time of Struggle; Divorce Is a Mitzvah; Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves; and Gender and Judaism. She has been featured in several books, including Rabbis: The Many Faces of Judaism; White Fire: A Portrait of Women Spiritual Leaders in America; In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women About Living a Spiritual Life; and The Mystery of Being Jewish. She has two essays in the upcoming The Torah: A Women's Commentary, a project of the Women of Reform Judaism. While at UCC Hillel, Rabbi Geller was a co-organizer of the award-winning national conference, "Illuminating the Unwritten Scroll: Women's Spirituality and Jewish Tradition."
A popular teacher and speaker, Rabbi Geller gave the Baccalaureate Speech at Brown University in 1986 and the Ordination Sermon at the Hebrew Union College in 1990, and she was one of the preachers in the celebration of the tercentennial of Yale University. She has taught at the University of Judaism, the University of Southern California, the Wexner Fellows Program, and the Wexner Heritage Foundation.
Rabbi Geller was a Trustee on the Board of Brown University from 2001-2007, and currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College and on the Beverly Hills Human Relations Commission, where she was the founding chair. She is a Rabbinic Fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a graduate of the first cohort of rabbis from the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. Rabbi Geller has received many honors, including the A.C.L.U. of Southern California Award for Fostering Racial and Cultural Harmony, the Alan J. Kassin Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, the Los Angeles County Commission on the Status of Women Recognition Award, and the Woman of the Year Award from the California State Legislature. She was named as one of the "Hundred Most Distinguished Brown University Alumni of the Past Century" in 2000 and one of the "Forward 50" in 2007 by The Forward newspaper recognizing individuals who embody "the spirit of Jewish action as it is emerging in America."
Rabbi Geller graduated from Brown University in 1971 and was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in 1976. She is married to Richard A. Siegel, and she is the mother of Joshua and Elana Goldstein and the step-mother of Andrew and Ruth Siegel.
RABBI JONATHAN AARON Rabbi Jonathan Aaron received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from Emerson College in 1983. A gifted performer and musician, he spent several years running a theater company in Connecticut and teaching high school theater. Rabbi Aaron then shifted his focus to the study of Judaism and attended Hebrew Union College, where he received a Masters Degree in Jewish Education in 1993, a Masters Degree in Hebrew Letters in 1994, and where he was ordained as a Rabbi in 1996.
Since 1996, Rabbi Aaron has served as the Associate Rabbi and Director of Education at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California. Temple Emanuel is Rabbi Aaron's first pulpit. In 2002, he became the Head of School for Temple Emanuel Academy Day School, our well-respected Jewish Day School. Rabbi Aaron is especially known for his storytelling and for bringing joy to children of all ages. He has written liturgical music for Temple Emanuel, and also penned the full-length musical "Hyrcanus" performed at Temple Emanuel in 2001. Along with Cantor Yonah Kliger, he helped create one of the core Shabbat experiences at Temple Emanuel, Shabbat Unplugged.
CANTOR YONAH KLIGER Cantor Yonah Kliger grew up at Temple Emanuel and is a proud graduate of our Day School. He is dedicated to revitalizing worship and creating a bridge between the ancient sounds of Jewish tradition and contemporary music. With a strong background in theater, Cantor Kliger infuses his passion for music and performing with his love of prayer, bringing energy and enthusiasm to the synagogue experience. With Rabbi Aaron, he helped create one of the core Shabbat experiences at Temple Emanuel, Shabbat Unplugged. His passions extend far beyond the bimah, with a focus on engaging our Jewish youth as well as illuminating Judasim through the arts. Cantor Kliger's dedication to the B'nai Mitzvah program has helped to make it a model emulated by temples throughout the Los Angeles Area.
A gifted teacher, he has captured the enthusiasm of our teens by establishing the Junior Cantors Program in which post-B'nai Mitzvah students congregate every Saturday to study Jewish text and music, culminating in their leading Shabbat Services throughout the year. Cantor Kliger also serves as Director of Temple Emanuel's Emanuel Arts Center. Through his leadership, EAC has introduced original plays, musicals, concerts, film screenings, and Shabbat experiences to the Temple Emanuel congregation. He is also very passionate about his work as Executive Producer of a concert in support of Israeli Victims of Terror.
Cantor Kliger received his commission as Hazzan-Minister from the Cantors Assembly and proudly serves on the Executive Board of their Western region.
RABBI MEYER HELLER Rabbi Meyer Heller, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanuel, has been with the synagogue for thirty-five years. Today, in his part-time capacity, he serves as a link to Temple Emanuel's rich past while helping Rabbis Geller and Aaron prepare for the synagogue's bold initiatives into the future.