News & Jews- A Sacred Journey

Temple Beth Sholom Installs Rabbi Tim Gaylord

For more than eight decades, Temple Beth Sholom of Orange County (TBS) has been a cornerstone of Jewish life in the region.
    Founded by Santa Ana’s Jewish pioneer families and sustained by generations of congregants, Orange County’s first Reform congregation celebrated another milestone in its rich history on June 12 and 13, 2026: the installation of Rabbi Tim Gaylord as its spiritual leader.
    The installation weekend brought together congregants, community leaders, clergy colleagues, elected officials, and representatives of Jewish and interfaith organizations to celebrate both TBS’s enduring legacy and its future. The theme of the weekend, “A Sacred Journey, A Shared Path,” reflected not only Rabbi Gaylord’s personal journey to the rabbinate, but also the sacred partnership between rabbi and congregation that was celebrated throughout the weekend.
    Rabbi Gaylord was joined for the installation weekend by his wife, Joy, their teenage daughter, and his mother. Joy and the couple’s daughter kindled the Shabbat candles and shared in the blessings over the wine, while Joy offered personal reflections on her husband’s journey to the rabbinate and the calling that led him to Jewish leadership.
    A second-career rabbi, Rabbi Gaylord’s path to Jewish leadership was anything but conventional.
    After earning degrees in engineering and business, he built a successful career in mergers and acquisitions consulting, leading teams and advising organizations across the country. Yet he felt called to a different form of service and ultimately left the corporate world to pursue the rabbinate and his Master’s in Jewish Educational Leadership at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion.

    That journey has helped shape a rabbinic style that combines thoughtful, strategic leadership, practical wisdom, and deep compassion. Before joining TBS, Rabbi Gaylord served in a variety of educational, congregational, and chaplaincy roles, including internships at some of Southern California’s most respected Jewish institutions.
    What has particularly distinguished Rabbi Gaylord during his first year at TBS is his ability to connect with congregants across generations and throughout every stage of Jewish life.
    At a time when many Jewish young people are wrestling with questions of identity, antisemitism, and connection to Israel, Rabbi Gaylord is helping students understand both the responsibilities and the joys of Jewish life.
    His influence can be seen throughout congregational life: preschoolers eagerly greeting “Rabbi Tim”; religious school students exploring Jewish values, history, and Israel; teens navigating questions of identity and belonging; young families building Jewish homes; interfaith families seeking connection; Jews-by-choice finding their place within the community; and seniors, who are lifelong learners, sharing wisdom and experience across generations.

    “My goal is to deepen the sense of connection and community throughout our congregation,” Rabbi Gaylord said. “One of the ways I strive to do that is to bring Torah into a contemporary context—to bring Torah to life and demonstrate its relevance to our busy lives.”
    Temple President Jeff Altshuler reflected on both the congregation’s history and its future.
    “Temple Beth Sholom has always been a congregation that honors its past while embracing the future,” Altshuler said. “In Rabbi Gaylord, we found a leader who values our history, understands the needs of today’s Jewish families, and inspires us to imagine what our congregation can become in the years ahead.”
    The installation ceremony emphasized partnership at every turn. Drawing on teachings from Ruth and Naomi and from Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the service highlighted the shared responsibility of clergy, lay leaders, volunteers, and congregants in building a vibrant Jewish community.
    At the installation’s evening service, TBS’s Rabbi Emeritus Shelton Donnell reflected on the unique relationship between a rabbi and a congregation.
    “A rabbi’s vocation is actualized in relationship with the congregation, the community,” Rabbi Donnell said. “This relationship is a profound one—a sacred covenant.”
    Rabbi Donnell also spoke about Rabbi Gaylord’s character.
    “Scholarship is acquired. Menschlichkeit comes from within,” Rabbi Donnell said. “Tim is a true mensch.”

  Stephen J. Einstein, Founding Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley, reflected on the unique nature of that relationship. For 41 years, Rabbi Einstein taught Orange County’s Introduction to Judaism program, which was hosted at TBS and introduced thousands of individuals and families to Jewish life, learning, and tradition.
    “Rabbis are not hired by congregations; they are elected by congregations,” Rabbi Einstein observed, a distinction that speaks to the mutual commitment and trust at the heart of Jewish communal life.
     Among the civic, interfaith and Jewish leadership in attendance were:
• The Honorable Valerie Amezcua, Mayor of Santa Ana
• Kathleen Kooiman, Faith Liaison Officer at the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center
• Commander Maria Lopez, Santa Ana Police Department
• The Honorable Dan Slater, Mayor of Orange
• The Honorable Tom Umberg, California State Senator, 34th District
• Rabbi Shelton Donnell, Temple Beth Sholom Rabbi Emeritus
• Rabbi Steven Einstein, President of the Orange County Board of Rabbi
• Dr. Art Francis, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Matthew Friedman, Orange County Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League
• Inbal Greenberg, Orange County Director at the Israeli American Committee
• Dr. Josh Holo, Associate Professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles
• Rabbi Cassi Kail, Director of Jewish Life at the Fish Interfaith Center of Chapman University
• Judah Lindemann, National Director, Rabbis for Israel, at the Jewish National Fund – USA
• Rabbi Michal Loving
• Ilana Meirovitch, CEO of the Jewish Community Action Network
• Myra Rubin, Director of Programming at Heritage Pointe
• Cantor Mark Thompson, Temple Beth Sholom Cantorial Soloist Emeritus
• Leslie Tucker, Orange County Activism Manager at the Israeli American Committee
• Rabbi Kenny Weiss, Executive Director of Houston Hillel
    Their presence reflected TBS’s longstanding role not only within Orange County’s Jewish community, but throughout the broader civic, educational, and interfaith life of the region.

    The weekend continued Saturday morning with a Torah study and brunch that expanded upon one of the installation’s central themes: the shared responsibilities of rabbi and congregation. The study was led by Rabbi Gaylord’s long-time mentor and friend, Rabbi Kenny Weiss, Executive Director of Houston Hillel. In a session titled, “Spit, Blood, and Your New Rabbi,” participants explored the qualities and commitments that help build a successful and enduring rabbi-congregation partnership.
    For Rabbi Gaylord, one of TBS’s greatest strengths is the many ways congregants live out their Jewish identities.
    “What attracted me to TBS was the multifaceted ways in which congregants engage in Jewish life,” he said. “There is something for everyone on their Jewish journey. People at TBS are not just Jewish—they really do Jewish.”
    Looking toward the future, Rabbi Gaylord expressed gratitude for the congregation’s dedicated volunteers, lay leaders, professional staff, and members.
    “I’ve been here for almost a year now, and in that time, my family and I have been warmly welcomed, and we are establishing meaningful relationships each day” he said. “I look forward to a long, energetic, and successful future together.”
    As TBS continues the journey begun by its founding families more than 80 years ago, the installation of Rabbi Tim Gaylord marks both a celebration of its history and a hopeful step toward its future—one sacred journey, one shared path, together.