About

 We seek to embody Judaism’s deepest values in our lives and reflect them in the type of temple community we create.  Sustained by this warm, caring and open community, we work together to improve the quality of human existence and to heal our world by speaking out and by taking action where our religious tradition demands that we do so.  We embrace our Jewish obligation to one another and to the stranger – to those in our city and nation, to those in the land of Israel and to Jews of all lands, and to those in need throughout the world.

Senior Rabbi

Ken Chasen is Senior Rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles.  He is an outspoken commentator, author and advocate on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to Jewish life, with a special emphasis on social justice in the United States and in Israel... 

Associate Rabbi
Director of Lifelong Learning

Rabbi Lisa Berney is LBT’s Associate Rabbi and Director of Lifelong Learning.  Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Rabbi Berney received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Jewish and Near Eastern Studies from Washington University in St. Louis...

Abigail Goldberg Spiegel
Executive Director

Abigail Goldberg Spiegel has been Executive Director since the spring of 2004, having joined the Leo Baeck Temple staff, as Program Director, in September 2002.  She is responsible for the daily management of the temple’s operations and facilities.  She serves as an ex-officio member of the Temple Board and Executive Committee and she staffs various temple committees including the Membership Committee, Finance Committee, Budget Committee, Endowment Committee, Communications, and the House and Grounds Committee.  Abigail is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.  She is the Chair of the NATA Ethics Committee, having served as President of the National Association for Temple Administration (NATA), as a member of the NATA National Board, and asVice President of Professional Development among other things.  She is also a Past President of the Professional Association of Temple Administrators (PATA).  Married to Adam Spiegel, their family includes their four children, Sydney, Maxwell, Sascha, Harry, their ‘son-in-love’ Dan, and their grandsons Asher and Cobi.

Todd Bloomfield
Board President

Todd Bloomfield has been a proud member of Leo Baeck Temple since 2003.  He and his wife Tammy originally came to Leo Baeck Temple for the Early Childhood Center for their daughter, Samantha and their son, Robert.  The family quickly connected with the community and joined shortly after.
 
Todd and Tammy began their involvement in Leo Baeck Temple leadership when they became room parents together for both Samantha and Robert's religious school classes.  His next step in connecting at Leo Baeck Temple was volunteering in leadership of the annual Purim carnival.  One of Todd's favorite things to do at Leo Baeck Temple has been to serve as greeter for High Holy Day services.  He adds: "What could be better than to stand at the door and welcome so many friends coming to be together at temple."

2024-25 Board Officers
President
Immediate Past President
VP of Communications
VP of Community Impact
VP of Development
VP of Engagement
VP of Finance
VP of People
VP of Programming
VP of Social Justice
Recording Secretary

Todd Bloomfield
Iris Weinmann
Lee Broekman
Sue Meltzer
Brandon Koretz
Stephanie Cohen
Robert Ades
Scott Greenberg
Lewis Wilkenfeld
Tim Shaheen
Felicia Lewinstein

Trustees
Lauren Abrams
Jen Baronoff
Natasha Belson
Jim Berman
Danielle Cohen
Wendy Glickman
Laura Gottlieb
Jesse Israel
Lisa Katz

Debbie Llewelyn
Marissa Lopez
Richard Marks
Malinda Muller
Jason Rapp
Melissa Sohn
Kate Taylor
Alan Weil
Shelley Zimmerman

In 1948, a small group of families in Los Angeles dreamed about founding a temple that would become a part of the sweeping movement to establish Reform Judaism in Southern California.  It was a dream of a religious home, the simplicity and sincerity of which would reflect our faith.

With the leadership and guidance of Rabbi Alfred Wolf, Temple Beth Aaron was formed.  Soon after, members of this young congregation heard a legendary rabbi speak.  This rabbi had survived the Holocaust and risked his life as one of the most important leaders of German Jewry in its struggle to survive under Nazism.  He was a model of the human capacity to rise above the most degrading experiences.

This rabbi’s name was Leo Baeck.  So moved were they by his inspiration – our founders chose to rename the young congregation Leo Baeck Temple. Learn more about our early leadership—founding rabbi, Leonard I. Beerman z"l, Cantor William Sharlin z"l, Rabbi Sanford Ragins z"l, and past Presidents of the Leo Baeck Temple by clicking below.