About Rabbi Lipman......
Following a six-month nation-wide search, Temple B'rith Shalom selected its new rabbi -David E. Lipman -from a field of nine applicants. Rabbi Lipman, 53, is the second full-time rabbi to serve Prescott's only Jewish house of worship. He
succeeds Rabbi William Berkowitz, who led the congregation for seven years.
Rabbi Lipman and his wife, Robyn Tevah, have purchased a home in Prescott. They have five children: Kivie, 25; Shira Michelle, 19; Aviva, 16; Shira Jordan, 14,
and Zemora, 12. Shira Jordan and Zemora attend Prescott public schools.
The new rabbi's last pulpit was a Cranston, R.I. congregation with more than 400 members, compared to 150 member families in Prescott. Because of its
larger membership in the Rhode Island congregation, professional employees performed many of the rabbi's duties there, such as music by a cantor, religious school by a professional educator, and administration by an office manager.
The fact that B'rith Shalom has fewer members is one of the things that attracted the rabbi to Prescott. This enables him to be a hands-on clergyman and
to be personally involved in all members' lives and every facet of the Temple.
Rabbi Lipman was born in Seattle, Washington. His father, the late Rabbi Eugene Lipman, was a highly regarded Reform Jewish scholar. The incoming rabbi attended
Oberlin College and was ordained following graduation from Hebrew Union College in New York City and Israel. During his many years of study, he also completed the requirements necessary to be a cantor: he possesses a concert quality voice and has increased the amount of music in the weekly services. He also organized and leads a children's choir. Rabbi Lipman possesses a keen sense of humor,
intense energy and a love of study and teaching. He is fluent in French, German, Hebrew, and Aramaic. He is learning to speak Yiddish. During his studies in Israel he became involved in archaeology and worked on a number of significant excavations. This led to his ability to understand the Ugaritic language, an extinct alphabet language.
The rabbi is world-renowned for his biblical and Talmudic knowledge. His web site, Gates to Jewish Heritage, www.jewishgates.com, contains more than 15,000 pages of Jewish
thought, meticulously organized, which is read by more than 13,000 people daily.
Rabbi Lipman says that he is very impressed with Prescott's unique environmental quality, which he believes heightens the depth of religious experience. He adds that he hopes to build on Rabbi Berkowitz's legacy of social conscience and the visibility of Jewish volunteerism that helps make Prescott a better place to live.