Rabbi Elliott Tepperman
Rabbi Elliott has a broad background in work involving young people, college students, and older adults, as well as in labor-management negotiations, congregational life, community building and Jewish liturgy. A strong social action advocate, he has been honored for his work in fusing tikkun olam and ru'ach hakodesh (social action and sacred spirit). He served as a Rabbinic Intern for the Drexel Hillel, as Education Director in the Jewish camping movement, and as pastor and chaplain to seniors and nursing home residents. He has also been involved in the Reconstructionist Kehillah (Community) Builders program and the new Reconstructionist Passover Haggadah and High Holy Day prayerbook. Rabbi Elliott earned a B.A. with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Contact Rabbi Elliott
Bnai Keshet is excited to welcome two new interns, world-travelers Daria Jacobs-Velde and Ezra Weinberg
Daria comes to Bnai Keshet via Massachusetts, Japan, Ohio, Israel, and Pennsylvania.Since she was a young girl, Daria has been asking questions about what it means to be Jewish, and ‘why be Jewish?’ These questions followed her to northern Japan where she worked as an English teacher for three years. Being so far away from a Jewish community led her to ask questions from a new perspective, as well as find new answers. When she returned to the States, she chose to continue that exploration by becoming a teacher in a Jewish day school in Ohio. The quest to make prayer and the many facets of Judaism authentic and engaging for her students became an integral part of her journey to the rabbinate.
Daria enjoys getting to know people and sharing stories, being outside, moving her body, and expanding her perspective and experiences in the world.
Ezra Weinberg tells us that the last three months of his life have been a frantic blend of transition and spiritual expedition. He started in early May riding from Jerusalem to Eilat on the Hazon Israel Bike ride, inspired by Daria’s ride last year. Five hundred kilometers later, he flew back to Jerusalem in time for his wedding. Five days later, his wife Olivia, graduated Medical School from at Tel Aviv University. Three days later, they were honeymooning in the city of Dahab in the Sinai. A week later, Ezra and Olivia settled in Bradley Beach, NJ, near Olivia’s residency in Internal Medicine at the Jersey Shore Medical Center, in Neptune.Ezra says he is a lover of Rosh Chodesh and rhythms of the Jewish year cycle, an Israeli citizen, a former leader of spiritual programming at CAMP JRF, an advocate of tradition, a student of conflict transformation, a sports lover, an Ultimate Frisbee player, a lover of blessing.
We look forward to becoming fellow travelers with Daria and Ezra as they continue their spiritual journeys at Bnai Keshet.
-Betsy Gitelle
Rabbinic Advisory Committee