Rabbi Elliott Tepperman

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman embraces spiritually courageous Judaism, and the loving pursuit of shalom and justice for all people. He believes that Jewish practice is most transformational when deep internal work becomes a springboard for building community and engaging with the world, and likewise, when we bring the profound and mundane challenges of our personal and public lives to bear on Jewish study and worship. Since 2002, Rabbi Elliott has been the spiritual leader of Bnai Keshet in Montclair, N.J. He has worked to build a robust, inclusive and collaborative Jewish community. Under his leadership, the synagogue has created an innovative Shabbat-centered education program, with more than 150 children meeting each week and 40 to 60 adults meeting in multiple classes. Rabbi Elliott has led meditation retreats, started a weekly meditation minyan and taught multiple Mussar classes—strengthening soul-traits cohorts. He inspired and facilitated the establishment of a Hevre Kadisha—a community-centered burial society. He strengthened the synagogue’s culture of giving; worked to help the synagogue burn its mortgage; and instituted the Living Our Values (LOV) annual campaign. During his tenure, membership has increased nearly 50 percent.