Rabbi Judith HaLevy
Rabbi Judith HaLevy is the Rabbi of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue.
She holds advanced degrees in International Relations from both Rutgers University and Columbia University, and spent her early years in International Education in Mexico City and Tel Aviv.
Returning to New Mexico in 1976, she continued her work in the field of bilingual education and cultural diversity. She spent ten years as the director of the Taos Arts Association, and in that capacity served on the Board of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1988-1992.
She began her rabbinic studies at that time, and was ordained as Rabbi in 1992. Her student pulpit was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, her home for over a decade. She came to Los Angeles to co-found Metiva, a Center for Jewish Spirituality, and Sarah’s Tent, a community based on Judasim and creativity. In 1996 she became the spiritual leader of MJC&S, a Reconstructionist synagogue, where she serves to this day.
Rabbi Judith HaLevy has been a member of the executive committee of the Los Angeles Board of Rabbis since 2002, and currently serves as President of the Board of Rabbis of Los Angeles. Rabbi HaLevy is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, having completed three years of intensive study in the Rabbinic Leadership program in 2010. She is known throughout the Los Angeles area as a gifted teacher and speaker.
Cantor Marcelo Gindlin
Raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cantor Marcelo Gindlin has served as the full-time Cantor at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue since the year 2000. In addition to his certification as Hazzan and Ba’al Tefillah from the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, Cantor Marcelo has two degrees in Music Therapy and has extensive experience as a teacher, a composer, a choir director, and a performer.
Born into a musical family, his father, Moises, was a professional Opera singer, and his sister, Mariana, is also a Cantor in Los Angeles. Cantor Marcelo has published several scholarly papers in the field of music therapy, and has presented at international conferences and seminars. His goal of reaching a wide audience has led him to organize various shows, including Hazzanim concerts, and special events that showcase his unique and special talents. His “Tot Shabbat with Cantor Marcelo” CD has been distributed worldwide, winning rave reviews from Jewish communities in New Zealand, Argentina, Lithuania, Mexico, Israel, Canada and the United States. Cantor Gindlin is a natural born performer. His radiant personality and warmth light up the stage, as well as the pulpit. Audiences world-wide have delighted in watching him sing and dance at cantorial conferences, synagogues and performance halls. In December 2010, Cantor Marcelo was asked to sing in honor of the Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon in front of thousands of people in Anaheim, CA. In both March and July 2009, Cantor Marcelo was invited by the Cantors Assembly to sing in Auschwitz and in July, 2009, he was invited to sing at the Krakow Symphony Hall in Poland and in Israel. In 1986, he performed with Ofra Haza (Z”L) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2004 and 2005, Cantor Marcelo performed in “An Evening with Cantor Marcelo Gindlin and Friends” at Pepperdine University. He has performed numerous concerts as a soloist with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, including the Sefardic Ladino Concert at the Ford Amphitheater in August 2008. Marcelo has also, for the past six years taught at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In 2007, Cantor Marcelo was selected to lead a Kabbalat Shabbat Service in honor of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the University Of Judaism. Also in 2007, Cantor Gindlin released a CD for a children’s book, Alfie’s Bark Mitzvah, in collaboration with author Shari Cohen, Another recently released CD, Shabbat and Holidays with Cantor Marcelo and Friends, contains Cantor Gindlin’s song, Candle Blessing. This original composition was finalist and performed at the 2008 International Music Festival Shalshelet and is presently performed in synagogues throughout the world including the 2010 Reconstructionist Biennial Conference. Cantor Marcelo’s recording of the song, Hine Ma Tov with actor Adam Sandler in 2008, appears in the new CD The Jewish Songbook, along with songs by Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, Marvin Hamlish and others notable singers. Cantor Marcelo Gindlin is fluent in Spanish, English, Hebrew and Yiddish and sings in these, as well as other languages. He resides in Malibu and draws inspiration from the beauty around him. Cantor Gindlin loves to provide inspiration to his congregants through the power of music. He is a multi-talented, multifaceted musician whose musical gifts spread across many different countries and many different arenas. His passion for Jewish music and his vibrant performances have been called “transcendental.”
Lauren Abramowitz
Lauren Abramowitz joined the Malibu Jewish Center Early Childhood Center in 2008. Lauren did her post graduate work in Early Childhood education at CSUN and received her director units at Pierce College. Before joining the Malibu Jewish Center Family, Lauren was a fundamental participant in the development of the Temple Beth Haverim preschool where she joined the staff as a preschool teacher for 4 years.
Lauren continues to be an active volunteer within and outside of the Jewish community. Lauren is married and has two wonderful children. Lauren brings her loving, warm, and nurturing qualities to our Synagogue and provides social, emotional and cognitive guidance to your developing children.
Rabbi Benjamin Katz
… bio coming soon.
