Our Religious Leaders

Rabbi Shira Freidlin

Rabbi Shira Freidlin has taught students of all ages in Jewish camps, Jewish recovery programs, and religious schools. Since July, 1st 2022 she has been the spiritual leader of The Santa Monica Synagogue. She has served in various roles at IKAR, Temple Beth Am and Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles since she moved out here in 2007. She holds a BFA in Film & TV from NYU with a concentration in Children's TV, an MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and an MA and Ordination from the Academy of Jewish Religion California.   She currently sits on the Sandra Caplan Community Beit Din and serves as VP to the Santa Monica Area Interfaith Council. She is thrilled to be throwing her considerable joy and enthusiasm into elevating the learning, spirituality, and worship at The Santa Monica Synagogue.  

Rabbi Emeritus Jeffrey Marx

Ordained in 1983, Rabbi Marx served as the spiritual leader of The Santa Monica Synagogue from 1985- 2021.  In addition to his training as a family mediator, he holds Masters degrees in both Jewish Education and Hebrew Letters, and an Honorary Doctorate in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College. His published academic publications have centered on the lives of Jewish immigrants at the turn of the 19th century.