Jewish. Spiritual. Expression.

Rabbi Jonathan Aaron, our Senior Rabbi, is a Jewish educator and performing artist with a passion for Jewish music, culture, and text.

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from Emerson College, and Master’s Degrees in both Jewish Education, and Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College, he was ordained as a Rabbi in 1996. Rabbi Aaron has served Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills for over 20 years, in many roles including Director of Education, and Head of Temple Emanuel Academy Day School and Associate Rabbi.

Rabbi Aaron writes much of the the liturgical music that we use in our services, especially in our signature service, The Roven Family Shabbat Unplugged. He writes contemporary prayer experiences, including services of Healing, Selichot, and Shabbat, as well as a full length intergenerational musical, Hyrcanus. Rabbi Aaron is a masterful storyteller, bringing folk tales and biblical stories to life as he delights children and adults alike. Purim Shpiels combine theater, music and storytelling in wonderfully compelling multi-generational interactive performances.

Rabbi Aaron serves the broader community as Chaplain for the Beverly Hills Police Department, and is on the Board of Directors at The Maple Counseling Center. He also regularly teaches at Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion.

Cantor Lizzie Weiss uses the power of music to engage congregants and support them in making spiritual connections. Music is her medium for teaching Torah. She celebrates the significance of nostalgic traditional music alongside relevant contemporary melodies.

With training in Clinical Pastoral Education, she values time spent with congregants in the hospital, in mourning, and celebrating simchas. From officiating life cycle events, to nurturing young singers, to experiencing milestones with people of all ages, her life at Temple Emanuel is filled with learning, music, and community engagement.

Cantor Weiss grew up at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and was always involved in all things music. From intergenerational productions at the Emanuel Arts Center, to Junior Cantors, to the High Holy Day Professional Choir, Cantor Weiss developed her Jewish identity with her experiences in Jewish living at Temple Emanuel, Camp Swig/Newman and all under the wing of her Uncle Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, and her brother Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss.

After graduating from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in drama, Cantor Weiss moved to New York and was cast in the Broadway National Tour of Disney’s High School Musical. After a few years on the road, Cantor Weiss landed back in Los Angeles, and entered cantorial school at the Academy for Jewish Religion, under the mentorship of Cantor Nathan Lam and Cantor Perryne Anker. Cantor Weiss received her cantorial ordination in May 2015.

When not on the Temple Emanuel bima, Cantor Weiss can be found singing in Jewish and secular concerts, alike, throughout Los Angeles.

Rabbi Liora Alban, our Associate Rabbi, enjoys teaching Judaism through various artistic and other creative lenses. She enriches others’ lives by helping them find meaning, joy, and beauty in Judaism. 

A California native and an alumnus of NFTY SoCal, Rabbi Alban attended Gindling Hilltop Camp, URJ Camp Newman, and NFTY in Israel. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. While she was an undergraduate student, she participated in Berkeley Hillel and directed Kol Hadov, the university’s only Jewish a cappella group. Once graduating, she moved to Jerusalem to begin rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College. 

As one of the very first women rabbis, Rabbi Geller transformed Jewish life by bringing women out of the private sphere and into the very center of religious and communal life. Twice named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America, Rabbi Geller’s spirituality is infused with a focus on social justice. She has raised our consciousness through her leadership on an array of social issues both locally (notably in the areas of violence against women, Muslim-Jewish dialogue, and gun violence) and internationally (Women of the Wall in Israel).

As Rabbi Emerita, she is pioneering initiatives that strive to empower the Baby Boomer generation and beyond. She is a founder of ChaiVilliageLA, the first faith-based Village of older adults seeking to find meaning, insight, resources and support as they age in place. Through these efforts, in combination with a book she is co-authoring with her husband, Richard Siegel, Getting Good at Getting Older: A Jewish Catalog for a New Age, we are finding value in the intergenerational connections of our community and ways of celebrating the divinity present in all stages of our lives.