Rabbi Jonathan Kupetz, the youngest of four children, grew up in the west San Fernando Valley and graduated from Calabasas High School and U.C. Santa Cruz. He studied rabbinics and education at Hebrew Union college-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York.
After ordination in 1999, Rabbi Kupetz became a member of the Stephan S. Wise Temple’s rabbinical staff where he helped to create and lead diverse opportunities for Jewish engagement. Rabbi Kupetz also served as the coordinator of a Los Angeles area 12-step recovery retreat co-sponsored by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.He began his tenure as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Pomona on July 1st 2004. He enjoys the warm relationships he is developing with congregants and the many opportunities he has to teach about Jewish life.
Rabbi Kupetz is a strong advocate of Jewish residential summer camps and has sharply increased the participation of TBI youth in Jewish summer camping. He has a passion for Israel where he met Karen, his wife, when they were both studying there during their Junior year of college. They have three children: Sam, Eli, and Abby.
