Justin Kerber Contact
Congregation Beth Shalom is thrilled to welcome Rabbi Justin Kerber as its spiritual leader. He officially began his duties on August 2, 2019.
After his undergraduate work at Columbia University in New York, Rabbi Justin began his journey by serving as a Sherut La’am Volunteer at Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan in Israel, mentoring high school seniors in a youth agricultural village / boarding school.
His next achievement was completion of a law degree from Boston College Law School.
After years of studying Judaism independently, Rabbi Justin realized that Torah was his true calling, and following five years in formal rabbinical study at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, he continued his path as an ordained rabbi. Since that time, Rabbi Justin has had extensive experience, including that of a Hillel Director, Congregational Rabbi and Hospital Chaplain.
Rabbi Justin brings enthusiasm, kindness, and love of life to his rabbinical mission. In addition to his passion for Judaism, he brings a love for music and an extensive list of favorite things to do, including cooking, travel, reading, watching movies, listening to radio and cycling. Rabbi Justin also states, “Most importantly, I’m Hope’s husband and dad to my two children.”
Rabbi Justin believes in leading a Jewish renaissance by personal example, dugma eesheet. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of his personal heroes, put it, “a little light dispels a lot of darkness.”
Stanley Halpern
A native of Spokane, Washington, Rabbi Halpern graduated from the University of Washington and was ordained as Rabbi at Yeshivat Rambam in Beersheba, Israel, in 1977. He has come to Indianapolis with his wife, Carol Nahmias Halpern, an Indianapolis native, from Temple Israel in Gary, where he served as spiritual leader for the past 26 years. The Halperns have one son, an attorney in Boston, and a daughter, who lives in northwest Indiana.
His professional experience includes work on the Munster Community Hospital Bioethics Committee, the Lake County Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, Hospice of the Calumet, and The Open Housing Center of Northwest Indiana. Prior to that he was a fundraiser, Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education in Sacramento, CA, and Scholar-in-Residence at Dropsie College in Philadelphia, where he worked with their large collection of Judeo-Arabic manuscripts. He also loves animals and has worked with numerous related institutions.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” he says. “I want to help grow Congregation Beth Shalom so that people can participate to the fullest extent of their interest. Our congregation’s strength and vitality will help shape the future of the Indianapolis Jewish community.”