Our Rabbis
Rabbi Ron Shulman bring us his warm, sensitive nature and thoughtful insights. He encourages us to find personal meaning through Jewish celebration, exploration, and participation in our synagogue community.
Prior to coming to Congregation Beth El, Rabbi Shulman served as Senior Rabbi of Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Baltimore, MD, and as Rabbi of Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York ordained Rabbi Shulman and later conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles where he also taught courses in Homiletics and Bible as a Lecturer in Professional Rabbinic Studies.
Ron Shulman is a graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He earned certification as a Fellow in the Kellogg School of Management for Jewish Leaders at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and as a Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
Rabbi Shulman is a past president of the Baltimore Jewish Community Relations Council and is a member of the JTS Chancellor’s Rabbinic Cabinet. Rabbi Shulman is the author of original prayers and reflections, Jewish educational curricula, newspaper Torah columns, and other writings.
Rabbi Shulman grew up in Encino, California. Ron and his wife, Robin, were members of the educational and religious staff of Camp Ramah in Ojai, California for many years.
Rabbi Shulman invites you to contact him.
Email: rshulman@cbe.org
Get to know Rabbi Shulman: B'Shalom Rav - Rabbi Ron Shulman's Sermons & Thoughts
Warmly welcomed by Congregation Beth El, Rabbi Avi Libman joined the synagogue in 2004.
The son of a pulpit rabbi, Libman always knew he would one day follow in his father's footsteps, because he saw firsthand the influence a dedicated spiritual leader can have on people's lives.
Upon graduation from college he sojourned into the world of business, realizing that his ultimate goal was, indeed, the world of the rabbinate. "I reiterated my earlier hopes until the period when I would be ready to follow my dream," he said recently. "I always knew I'd come back to it, but I wanted to reach that point when I was completely ready to accept the challenge."
Accepting "the challenge" meant that Libman had set priorities for himself as a Rabbi, among which is his desire to combat Jewish illiteracy. "I want to unlock the beauty of our tradition and make it accessible to everyone," he said. "I want to see myself as a key."
Having been a student at the Ziegler Rabbinical School at the University of Judaism, the future Rabbi Libman gives full credit to his learning period for inspiration to enter the area of synagogue leadership as Associate Rabbi to Senior Rabbi, Philip Graubart and to give the congregants the benefits of such knowledge. Interning at Congregation Ner Tamid in Palos Verdes and serving in the U.S. Navy Chaplaincy Corps has enhanced his rabbinical career.
Among some of his duties at Beth El: teaching, developing adult education programs, spiritual counseling, working with teenagers, developing services for the ill and bereaved, and leading worship services.
Email: rabbiavi@cbe.org