Our Religious Leaders

Interim Rabbi Barry Lutz

Interim Rabbi Lutz is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher
and spiritual leader. He seeks to create personal and meaningful connections to Jewish tradition by striving to create a
community where each individual is valued and feels at home.
An experienced educator and sensitive pastoral counselor, he brings his full heart and soul to each encounter, whether it be offering Torah's wisdom to a group of teens or sharing a personal chat over a cup of coffee at a favorite coffee house.

Interim Rabbi Lutz was ordained by the Hebrew Union College
- Jewish Institute of Religion, from which he also received his
MA and honorary doctorate in Jewish education. (He also holds
an MS in Educational Psychology and Technology from USC -
although he is, at heart, a Bruin.)

Click here to email Rabbi Lutz.

Rabbi Shira Freidlin

Rabbi Shira Freidlin will begin serving as our Rabbi on July 1, 2022. Michael 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.

Cantorial Soloist - Audrey Babcock

Audrey is a dynamic cantorial soloist who has extraordinary
vocal range, from folksy to operatic. She possesses broad knowledge of different Jewish musical traditions.

Audrey earned a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance
from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She is currently studying for her master’s degree in Voice Arts at CalArts, in Valencia.

She has served as a cantorial soloist or a guest soloist for
congregations in Baltimore, New York City, Beverly Hills,
Culver City, and San Antonio.

Religious School Coordinator - Beth Meyers

Beth is an experienced teacher in both the religious school and
day school settings, teaching Hebrew and Religious School for
over 25 years, and being an elementary teacher and coordinator for LAUSD for the last 16.

She possesses California Credentials in Administration and
Multi-Subjects, Masters degrees in Education and
Educational Leadership, and a B.A. in Child Development.

Rabbi Emeritus Jeffrey Marx

Ordained in 1983, Rabbi Marx served as the spiritual leader of
The Santa Monica Synagogue from 1985 until his retirement in
June 2021. He has worked in the field of formal and informal Jewish education for over forty-five years.  His academic publications focus on American Jewish immigration.  A trained family mediator, he holds Masters degrees in both Jewish Education and Hebrew Letters, and an Honorary Doctorate
from Hebrew Union College.

He will return as our Rabbi Emeritus in July 2022.

Click here to hear Rabbi Marx
Click here to read Rabbi Marx’s sermons