A Change from the Business World
Family and Community
The Inner Fire of Holiness
Individual Autonomy and Communal Responsibility
The Goal
Contact
Yitzhak Miller (who prefers Rabbi Yitzi) has, since 1994, been happily married to Shoshana, who sets an exceptional example everyday of how to be a truly good person in this world. In June 2004, they welcomed Jacob to the world, whose primary purpose in life seems to be to put smiles on the faces of everyone around him.
Holding a degree from Stanford University, Yitzi altered his path in 1998 from a promising career in the international business world in a quest to best use the brief life he has been granted on this earth. With the goal of reaching for the sacred, creating bonds among the Jewish people, and serving God and the people of the world as a whole, Yitzi brings a number of years of experience with various cultures in India and Southeast Asia to his Rabbinate, with an understanding of what is truly important in life, and what commonalities bring people together. Building on his previous Rabbinic experience in Riverside, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Yuba City, and Lancaster, California, Rabbi Yitzi well understands the intricacies of Jewish life in 21st-century America.
Raised in Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, Yitzi learned from his university-professor parents a commitment to education. But perhaps more importantly, raised in a warm and welcoming Jewish congregation, and by extremely loving parents and relatives, Yitzi learned the critical nature of close, caring family and community. It is this love for family and community that lies at the heart of everything Yitzi does in his Rabbinate, and that those who interact with Rabbi Yitzi find so deeply meaningful. Having been awarded three consecutive national outreach awards by the Union for Reform Judaism testifies to Yitzi’s commitment to the inclusivity possible within Judaism, while the honor bestowed upon him by the US House of Representatives in recognition of his work for Jewish Family Services testifies to Yitzi’s commitment to the broader community as a whole.
Descended from the Baal Shem Tov (the 18th-century founder of Chassidism) Yitzi carries forward the Chassidic-inspired philosophy that everyone's prayer, if made in earnest and with sincere effort, is equally acceptable before God. In addition, Yitzi carries forward the tradition of reaching one's spiritual center through joyful music and prayer which characterized the founding of the Chassidic movement, recognizing that the serious study of Torah and its values must be fueled by the inner fire of holiness which dwells deep within our soul. It is this unique blend of the intellectual and the spiritual which Yitzi continually pursues as an example of the quest for wholeness and unity of the soul.
As a Jewish leader, Yitzi Miller fundamentally believes in the authority of each individual Jew to find their own Jewish path. However, Yitzi recognizes that this authority is intimately linked with the responsibility to take this obligation seriously, and is committed to helping create an environment which connects with the many facets of the individual and communal Jewish soul. Based on these fundamental values, Yitzi has chosen to pursue his Jewish path as a member of the Reform Jewish movement. But that belief is counterbalanced by Yitzi's commitment to diversity in Judaism. Yitzi feels that each person and each movement in Judaism brings something special to the Jewish people, and that without any one piece, the Jewish people would not be whole.
Yitzi's fundamental commitment is to help each person who walks through the doors of his office, (and even some who don't) discover how Judaism can help them find a purposeful, and therefore fulfilling path through life.
Rabbi Yitzhak Miller can be reached at
RebYitzi@yahoo.com or
(831) 594-YITZ(9489)
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