Rabbi Alex Weisz, Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Alex Weisz is a firm believer that the era of rabbis spending their days behind synagogue office walls is over. A community is nothing without its people, and the rabbi cannot simply wait for the community to arrive on Shabbat without first having spent the week meaningfully connecting with and serving them — folks of all ages and backgrounds, from longtime members to the wider community. Rabbi Weisz is eager to get to know everyone in the greater TBI community, so please click here to find a time to meet with him!
Rabbi Alex Weisz is the Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel. Upon his installation in July 2023, Rabbi Weisz became Los Angeles’ youngest senior rabbi in over 50 years. Rabbi Weisz represents generational change in the rabbinate by being the first Gen Z rabbi to lead a synagogue in the United States. While he is a new rabbi, Rabbi Weisz is a veteran Jewish educator and professional, having spent much of the last decade running innovative and award-winning synagogue schools and youth departments in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. Rabbi Weisz’s mission is to craft warm and inviting Jewish communities that empower people of all ages to increase their involvement in Jewish life and learning. He is incredibly excited to serve TBI: a historic community with a rich legacy that forged the inclusive and hands-on culture that exists today.
Rabbi Weisz is a proud product of the Northeast LA and San Gabriel Valley Jewish community. Born and raised in Pasadena, Rabbi Weisz grew up an active participant in USY’s Far West Region and as a camper and counselor at Camp Gan Shalom for many summers. A proud band nerd, Alex marched with the Arcadia High School Marching Band throughout his high school years, marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2012 and serving as the Drum Major in 2013. Rabbi Weisz felt a calling to the rabbinate from a very young age, so after graduating with honors from Loyola Marymount University, Rabbi Weisz began his rabbinic studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion California, which allowed him to pursue his studies while continuing his passion of serving the Jewish community. A fiery student of Torah, Rabbi Weisz loves nothing more than to empower Jews of all stripes to access Torah study, the glorious marriage of intellectual and spiritual development.
In addition to studying at AJRCA, Rabbi Weisz has studied with the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and was honored to be a Jewish Wisdom fellow of the Hadar Institute. In collaboration with Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy, Rabbi Weisz authored Plant Based Torah, a Torah commentary from an animal rights perspective, and is a signee of the Jewish Veg Rabbinic Statement. Rabbi Weisz is a member of the Southern California Board of Rabbis, the Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din, T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, the Poor People’s Campaign, and the J Street Rabbinic Cabinet.
Rabbi Weisz lives in his native Pasadena. In his spare time, Rabbi Weisz can be found playing video games, rooting for the Dodgers and the Lakers, and spending time with his beloved two-year-old daughter, Chavah Neshama.
Contact: Rabbi.Weisz@tbila.org
Cantor Ken Rothstein
Cantor Rothstein has been an indispensable part of our community since 1988. There's a special, serene feeling here, especially on Shabbat, owing to Cantor Ken- as our members know him. He enjoys leading services on our historic building whether on Shabbat morning or for special holiday services throughout the year.
Contact: KennethRothstein@gmail.com
Whitney Levine, Office Manager
Whitney was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She attended USC where she was an active member of her college radio station, a head booker for the feminist music festival "FemFest," and a student worker at USC Hillel. She graduated in 2019 with her B.A. in Narrative Studies and M.A. in Literary Editing and Publishing.
Having formerly worked in the music industry, Whitney enjoys going to concerts, collecting vinyl, and learning about new musicians and bands. Whitney is also an Intergenerational Fellow at the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles, where she interviews survivors. She also enjoys (in no particular order) spending time with her friends and family, playing with her cat, trying new restaurants, cooking (or at least trying), sewing, writing, photography, and going to museums. Her dream is to one day live in Paris with her beloved husband, Oliver.
Contact: Whitney.Levine@tbila.org