Our Religious Leaders

Rabbi Shira Freidlin

Rabbi Shira Freidlin became our settled Rabbi on July 1, 2022. Michael L. Cohen, President of the Santa Monica Synagogue said; " Over the course of several months, members of our Rabbi search committee carefully considered many candidates. Rabbi Freidlin stood out from all the others because of the breadth of her skills as both a rabbi and an educator, and because of her enthusiasm and dynamism."

Rabbi Freidlin was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. Over the past several years she has served in various roles at IKAR, Temple Beth Am and Beit T'Shuvah.

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.