Rabbi Reuben Modek, spiritual leader of Congregation Bet Israel, received ordination in 2003 from the Academy for Jewish Religion and the Aleph S’mikhah Program. A native Israeli, he launched his career as educator with the Zionist youth movement HaShomer HaTza’ir. He first served as youth center director in the town of Rehovot, Israel.
After earning a degree in Social Work from Haifa University, Rabbi Modek moved to the US where his passion for Jewish education and leadership were refocused. He since has served as Hebrew school principal, and rabbinical leader for Conservative congregations and for Jewish Renewal Havurah communities.
During the past decades, Rabbi Modek’s work has concentrated upon directing and developing programs in a variety of settings. He has served in the Solomon Schechter Day School system, directed synagogue Hebrew schools, and led creative youth programs at informal educational venues, such as the Aleph Kallah and the National Havurah Committee Summer Institutes. Rabbi Modek’s approach to education and ceremony is creative, innovative and open mined.

Invaluable mentorship with luminaries such as Rabbi Marcia Prager of Philadelphia, PA, and Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi Z”L, of Boulder, CO, have influenced Rabbi Modek’s accessible approach to Jewish life and education. Rabbi Modek currently lives in Netanya, Israel where he serves as Rabbi of the Masorti Congregation Bet Israel. His approach offers Bar/t Mitzvah students and their families an opportunity to engage in the Jewish quest with a high degree of spiritual connectedness, contemporary relevance, and personal meaning.