Our Rabbi
Rabbi Tsafi Lev joined BTEE in 2019. Ordained at Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Rabbi Lev brings with him a rich professional background in both synagogue and Jewish educational work. In the past, he's been the national director of Rabbis Without Borders, an adjunct lecturer in Bible and Jewish Philosophy at the American Jewish University and is a part of the pioneering faculty of de Toledo High School in West Hills.
Rabbi Lev has a special interest in positive psychology, in particular with its intersection of Jewish life and practice. He is married to Dr. Cheryl Lev, a children's musician educator and performer. Their busy household consists of four children, two dogs, and three chickens
Our Cantor
Daniel Chodos, our ritual director and cantorial soloist, has been with Burbank Temple Emanu El for almost 15 years. He has performed the High Holiday liturgy with synagogues all over the Los Angeles basin as well as in northern California. In his secular career, he was an actor, a dialogue coach and a television writer; and he currently teaches speech at Pasadena City College.
Our Kohenet
Kohenet Miki Raver has been a Jewish communal professional for decades, including as director of lifelong learning at the Osher Marin JCC and currently as the director of Camp Isabella Freedman, a Jewish summer camp for active older adults. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Listen to Her Voice: Women of the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish bestseller, and She is Wisdom: A Celebration of the Feminine Divine. Kohenet Miki is creator of Shekinah Circles and Kabbalage. She graduated from Emerson College with a BS in Theatre Arts and completed facilitator training in circlework, bibliodrama and SoulCollage. Kohenet Miki Raver was ordained as a Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess) in August 2020.
