Rabbi Elisa Koppel

Rabbi Elisa F. Koppel is the Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth-El. A proud Youth Rabbi, Rabbi Koppel has spent many years in the world of informal and experiential education, in addition to her experience on the bimah. Rabbi Koppel's passion is education, seeing her role as a rabbi, and as a teacher, to help others to experience Judaism and to give them the tools they need to create and define their own Judaism.

Rabbi Koppel grew up in Westfield, NJ, where she was very active from a young age in Jewish life at Temple Emanu-El. Following her graduation from Brandeis University, she worked as a Program Assistant in the URJ Youth Division and as the Assistant Director of the College Education Department before entering Rabbinical School.

Since being ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2001, Rabbi Koppel has served in a number of positions. As the Assistant Rabbi at The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, NY she partnered with the clergy team to lead the synagogue in all aspects of congregational life, as well as lead Havurat Noar, the congregation's comprehensive youth program, creating and offering innovative experiences and helping the youth community towards unprecedented success. As Dean of Jewish Life at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, NC, the nation's first pluralistic, Jewish boarding school, Rabbi Koppel helped to establish an environment in which students were educated, nurtured and challenged. And as Regional Director of Youth Programs for the Greater New York Council of the URJ, she supported congregations in all aspects of youth and informal education, provided personal support and consultations, created professional development opportunities for youth workers, supervised the NFTY Regional Advisor, supported NFTY-NAR, and participated in projects of the Youth Division, including being a part of the iTorah team, contributing to Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics and serving on the planning team for the Youth Workers Conference.

Rabbi Koppel has also spent many summers at the URJ Kutz Camp, where she has served as Dean of Faculty; Program Director; and Director of Mitzvah Corps at Kutz, a program which offers a Jewish summer camp experience to teens on the Autistic Spectrum. She's also been on Visiting Faculty both at Kutz and also at the URJ's Crane Lake Camp.

If you would like to contact the rabbi, you may call her at 908-722-0674, ext. 19, or you may send Rabbi Koppel e-mail.