Or haGan Staff

Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Seidel

Rabbi Jonathan Seidel was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is descended from a rabbinic lineage of scholars  in the Ukraine. He grew up as a cultural New Yorker and actively observant Zionist within a Jewishly engaged family involved in Temple Emmanuel in Westfield, New Jersey. There his rabbinic teachers were Rabbis Charles Kroloff and Leonard Thal. His spiritual journey was radically altered after meeting Rabbis Shlomo Carlebach and Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Later, it was Reb Zalman who first encouraged his entry into the ALEPH ordination program.

Rabbi Seidel studied at Oberlin College, the Jewish Theological Seminary (MA 1981), and was a Fulbright-Hayes scholar at Cambridge University. He received his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, in Near Eastern Studies (1996). He has taught Judaic Studies and Religion at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, University of Arizona, Portland State University, Northwest Christian College, Oregon State University, University of Oregon and most recently Lane Community College. He was ordained in 2004 by ALEPH, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal, after many years of serving the Jewish community in the West.

Rabbi Jonathan Seidel has taught Judaic Studies and Religion widely for 36 years and continues to teach each season in the community. Rabbi Seidel has edited a volume entitled Divination and Magic in the Ancient World (Brill 2002) and has published articles on Midrash, Jewish folklore, magic, history, rabbinics, modern Jewish thought and politics. He has also served locally on the Board of Hillel, Interfaith Clergy United, and the Oregon Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Seidel lectures on a host of topics around the Northwest. 

Rabbi Seidel has served as a spiritual leader and Cantor for a number of Jewish communities in California and Arizona. He has an extensive background in  and commitment to Interfatith and Intercultural activism, Jewish music (as Chazzan for many years),  Social Justice work, Jewish education and environmental activism. Rabbi Seidel is currrently the Chair of the Oregon Board of Rabbis and the President of the Board of the Oregon Interfaith Hub.

President Temimah Arlene

A product of the midwest and California our President has been an active student of Judaism most of her adult life and has spent significant time in Israel. Temimah loves davenen, Torah study and the life of the community and works closely with Rabbi Seidel in developing new programs and refining our liturgical and community practices.