Rabbi Michael Beals is a 1997 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary,. He is also a graduate of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles (MA – Hebrew Letters), The American University in Washington DC (MA – International Relations), and University of California at Berkeley (BA – Political Science). He also received the Raoul Wallenberg Fellowship at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Beyond his accomplished education, Rabbi Beals has also worked in a variety of roles – from serving as a management analyst developing multi-cultural training programs to working with young and old in programs of music therapy, Shabbat programming, and providing pastoral counseling and support to the sick and elderly and to the families that support them. Rabbi Beals recently ended his seven-year rabbinic leadership with B’nai Tikvah Congregation – an egalitarian conservative synagogue in Los Angeles, California.

Rabbi Beals is proudly accompanied by his wife, Elissa, a trained house-call veterinarian and his children, Ariella and Shira. They are avid cat and dog lovers.