SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Temple Emanu-El, a Reform Jewish synagogue, welcomes Rabbi Devorah Marcus as congregational rabbi beginning July 1.
Marcus comes to San Diego from Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, New York, where she served as associate rabbi for five years. At Temple Beth-El, she worked extensively with young people and families, developing Familyhood, an organization for families with children in grades K-12. She also created and led family Shabbat services.
Marcus’s keen interest in social action is evident in her involvement with American Jewish World Service’s program in El Salvador. As a rabbinic student delegate, she traveled to Cuidad Romero and worked with families of the village to better understand their experiences. In addition, Rabbi Marcus served as a representative to the interfaith clergy team in Great Neck, helping to plan and lead community-wide holiday observances and community service programs. As a member of an interfaith team known as Concerned Clergy, she addressed issues of reproductive health for women.
Marcus received her BA from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, in 1998 with a major in Speech Communications and minors in Music and Religious Studies. In 2008 she was ordained as a rabbi at the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion.
“The classroom is our world and our world is the classroom,” says Marcus. “That is why I love being a rabbi and this is why I love serving the Jewish community. I live by the principle that our 3,000-year-old tradition is as relevant today as it was 3,000 years ago.”
The Temple Emanu-El family looks forward to Rabbi Marcus’s tenure. Various welcoming events will take place in the summer and fall
Temple Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish Congregation that is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism. It serves approximately 450 family and single members. Its educational, social, spiritual and cultural programs cultivate a sense of family and community for all ages. For more information, please visit the Temple Emanu-El website at www.teesd.org, or contact administrative assistant Donna Lander at donna@teesd.org.