HomeNovember 2021Rabbi Spitz Retiring at Congregation B’nai Israel, Tustin, after 34 Years of...

Rabbi Spitz Retiring at Congregation B’nai Israel, Tustin, after 34 Years of Service and Inspiration

“Why don’t you start and see if you like it?” advised the dean at the University of Judaism when Elie Spitz inquired about rabbinical school.
    The discussion initiated Spitz’s transition from his budding career as a lawyer to his impressive 34-year commitment to Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, from which he is retiring this year. For over three decades, Rabbi Elie Spitz has made significant contributions to the congregation, the Jewish community of Orange County, the community at large and the Conservative Jewish movement.
    The Spitz family story portrays the American Dream. His parents had escaped from Nazi forced labor camps in Eastern Europe and immigrated to the United States. They stopped in Phoenix, Arizona, while en route to California and were given an opportunity to enter the restaurant business.
    His mother had been an apprentice in Europe making wigs and after a few years, she started a wig business in Phoenix. “Heddy’s House of Wigs” grew to be a chain of stores and his mother was a local celebrity with her charming accent on her television commercials. While neither of his parents finished high school, his older brother, two younger sisters and Elie each went to college and had engaging careers.
    His parents raised the family with a commitment to Judaism both in their home and to the community. Weekends began with Shabbat blessings and Saturday mornings were spent at services. Elie’s parents helped to start the Phoenix Hebrew Academy, an Orthodox Jewish Day School, which is still in existence, and which his father was president of for nine years.
    When Elie was 16, he and his brother worked on a Kibbutz in Israel where their cousins lived. He took college classes in high school to be able to qualify at an early age for the junior year abroad program at the Hebrew University, graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in only three years.
    Despite his passion for philosophy and Jewish studies, he chose to enter law school and had a successful start, including writing a brief for the Supreme Court and working on criminal cases.
    But Elie realized he didn’t really want to be a lawyer. He became sick with encephalitis and during his protracted recovery, he joined a friend on a short trip to Los Angeles. They made a side trip for that fateful conversation at the University of Judaism.
    Elie was the president of his rabbinical class, which incidentally was the first to include women. The newly ordained rabbi and his wife, Linda, wanted to live in California and when the opportunity was given to him at Congregation B’nai Israel in 1988, he felt a connection: a place where the congregation, his family and he could grow. 
    Grow and help grow, he did. Rabbi Spitz went above and beyond the traditional rabbinical role at CBI, in the Orange County Jewish and at-large community, and for the Conservative Jewish movement. He committed CBI to a culture of learning together and caring for each other, supporting social justice programs, developing service projects and inspiring congregants with sermons and guided meditations. 
    As a lifelong learner, he shared his findings from his daily studies of the Talmud and the Zohar, created a YouTube channel, wrote several booklets as a base for small group studies and initiated a detailed review of the 150 Psalms.
    He sought speakers from diverse backgrounds to expand congregants’ global perspectives. A poignant writer, Spitz is the author of three books and many articles dealing with spirituality and Jewish law. His willingness to accept change led to incorporating contemporary music and music instruments into the Conservative services and his ability to adapt guided CBI’s greater online presence with streamed services and broader reach during the pandemic shutdown.
    In the Orange County community, he collaborated with religious leaders of all faiths which influenced their teaching and  supported Jewish Federation events and the founding of the Community Scholar Program. He also participated in the Rodgers Center of Holocaust Studies and has been a lecturer at Chapman University.
    He has contributed to the Conservative Jewish Movement by mentoring many rabbinic interns, serving as an adjunct lecturer of Jewish Law and Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles,  participating for 20 years on the Rabbinical Assembly Committee of Law and Standards and contributing to Rabbinic rulings by writing on critical topics such as surrogacy and computer privacy. 
    Spitz and his wife, Linda, a neurologist, joined the congregation when their oldest child, Joey, was a newborn. They raised their three children, including Jonathan and Anna Rose, as a family at CBI, forming bonds with congregants at shul services, meals and activities.
    The Spitz family grew alongside the congregation, contributing to the culture as an extended family.  Rabbi Spitz  made it a priority to get to know members and took specific steps to learn the names of new members as a first step to establishing a relationship and showing he cared about each individual congregant.
    Rabbi Joseph Telushkin described Rabbi Elie Spitz as “exactly what a rabbi should be.” American Jewish University Professor Dr. Ron Wolfson added that Rabbi Spitz “has been the best rabbi—a fantastic teacher, caring counselor and visionary leader.”
    Day in and day out, he has inspired congregants and communities with his teachings, conducted life cycle events and has been a source of comfort and calm as the congregation grew from 100 to 500 families during his tenure.
    Congregation B’nai Israel will honor Rabbi Spitz on Sunday, Dec. 12. The “Thanks for the Memories” celebration will include cocktails, food, entertainment and most of all tributes and an opportunity to share our gratitude for his decades of dedication. The event is open to the community. Tickets required to attend; space is limited. Go to cbi18.org for more information and tickets. 

Daveen Meyers is a contributing writer to Jlife magazine.

 

   

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