Rabbi Adam Kligfeld
Co-Host of Temple Beth Am Podcasts
Raised in a traditional Conservative home in Connecticut, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld brings to his work as Senior Rabbi Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, California a commitment to Jewish ritual, his love for Israel, his enthusiasm for Jewish education and teaching Torah, and a devotion to creating community that is as spiritually mindful and enriching as it is kind and mutually empathic.
Rabbi Kligfeld came to Beth Am in 2009 after serving for 9 years at Congregation Eitz Chaim in Monroe, NY where he reinvigorated Eitz Chaim's Kabbalat Shabbat service, turning it into a spirited Carlebach-style approach to davvening, and revamped the Bnei Mitzvah program in order to teach all students the ongoing skills for reading Torah and serving as shaliah tzibbur on Shabbat. Over a four-year span, Rabbi Kligfeld helped Eitz Chaim to envision, plan and ultimately implement their dream of constructing a brand new synagogue building, placed strategically in the center of several residential neighborhoods in Monroe, fostering growth, and an even greater sense of a local Shabbat community.
In his decade of service to Beth Am, Rabbi Kligfeld has spearheaded major efforts to reinvent the prayer experience in the community, both viz. the content and music of the service, and also regarding the space itself. Beth Am’s newly designed, in-the-round, bathed-in-natural-light sanctuary will open in 2019, and will be a fitting incubator for the new modes of tefilah that have been born in the community in the last few years: The Shabbat morning Hama’alot service, which is an intentional, minute-by-minute curated service that has subsequently been the model for similar services being created in other synagogues; and Sovev, the Friday-night experience, built off of some of the newest and most enriching niggunim and liturgical music being composed in the Jewish community, and which uses in-the-round seating, an inner circle of Sovevim to create energy and harmony, and interwoven kavannot to bring out the deeper meaning of the prayers. Rabbi Kligfeld, along with his fellow clergy, are thrilled to share these developments and successes with colleagues and peers as communities around the country reinvigorate their prayer experiences.
Rabbi Kligfeld teaches regularly in the Pressman Academy Day School and Religious School, along with being a teacher and story-teller in the ECC. In addition to teaching a regular, weekly class on Humash with Rashi, Rabbi Kligfeld teaches throughout the Rabbi Joel Rembaum Institute for Adult Education and Family Programming.
Rabbi Kligfeld is an active member of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, a graduate of the Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Leadership Initiative, and is a newly-appointed rabbinic mentor in the CLI (Clergy Leadership Incubator) directed by Rabbi Sid Schwarz. One of his passions is building bridges and connections within the Jewish community, and he has been instrumental in organizing joint events for Selichot, Shavuot and Tisha B’Av bringing together members from myriad local congregations from a variety of denominations. Rabbi Kligfeld is also deeply committed to interfaith work, and is proud of recent communal partnerships and friendships created with local Muslim communities, including organizing a series of Shabbat dinners coinciding with Iftar meals to end Ramadan fasts.
Rabbi Kligfeld served on the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement for ten years, and in that capacity stimulated a process of self-review for the CJLS that culminated in a series of recommendations for its future work and progress.
Rabbi Kligfeld is a 1995 graduate of Columbia College, magna cum laude, with a degree in psychology and Jewish history. He was ordained as a rabbi in 2000 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, with a focus on Talmud.
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld has hosted 496 Episodes.
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Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld
October 16th, 2020 | 15 mins 47 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with the imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.
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Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld
October 14th, 2020 | 18 mins 53 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar, including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.
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Rashi Class: Shemot/Exodus 2:19
October 14th, 2020 | 56 mins 53 secs
Rashi Class conducted by Rabbi Adam Kligfeld at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on October 14, 2020.
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Shabbat Sermon - Morning: Yizkor-Shmini Atzeret
October 10th, 2020 | 16 mins 7 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld's Yizkor-Shmini Atzeret-Shabbat Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on October 10, 2020.
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Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld
October 9th, 2020 | 13 mins 46 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with the imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.
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Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld - The Sukkah Protection
October 7th, 2020 | 11 mins 56 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar, including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.
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Rashi Class: Shemot/Exodus 2:15
October 7th, 2020 | 53 mins 31 secs
Rashi Class, a weekly exploration of Torah featuring a deep dive on text and lively conversation focused on an 11th century French commentary, conducted by Rabbi Adam Kligfeld at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on October 4, 2020, this week beginning with Shemot/Exodus 2:15
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Shabbat Teaching: Sukkot
October 3rd, 2020 | 16 mins 58 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld's Sukkot-ShabbatTeaching at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on October 3, 2020.
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Rashi Class: Shemot/Exodus 2:14-15
September 30th, 2020 | 42 mins 16 secs
Rashi Class conducted by Rabbi Adam Kligfeld at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 30, 2020.
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Yom Kippur: Kol Nidre Sermon - "Curious Jew"
September 27th, 2020 | 26 mins 16 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld's Kol Nidre Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 27, 2020.
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Yom Kippur: Clergy Question and Answer Session
September 27th, 2020 | 1 hr 25 mins
Q&A with Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, clergy members Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, Rabbi-Cantor Hillary Chorny, and Rabbi Rebecca Schatz, September 29, 2020.
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Erev Rosh Hashana - Shabbat Sermon
September 18th, 2020 | 24 mins 34 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld's Erev Rosh Hashanah - Shabbat Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 18, 2020.
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Race and Racism: A Sacred Conversation About Building Bridges and Unity in Diversity
September 13th, 2020 | 1 hr 9 mins
A distinguished panel comes together in sacred conversation about race and racism in our society, and our obligation to confront 1it, understand it, and ameliorate it.
Guided by a deep love of community and commitment to improve ourselves and our society, we as Jews and Christians, White and Black, are embarking on a series of sacred (for now virtual) conversations. Our traditions mandate us to engage deeply with difficult subjects. We invite listeners to join us with an open mind, an open heart, vulnerability and curiosity for an ongoing discussion about interfaith and interracial relations, racism, and what we, as Angelenos, are going to do about it.
The event featured a moderated conversation among our panelists, an opportunity for small-group conversations in breakout rooms, and uplifting music.
Welcome and Benediction: Rabbi Adam Kligfeld (Temple Beth Am), Pastor James Collins (Exousia Evangelical Outreach Ministries).
Panel Moderator: Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny (Temple Beth Am)
Panel: Pastor Ananias Rose Sr. (Hallelujah Gospel Service, Naval Support Activity), Rabbi Sarah Bassin (Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills), Elder Charles Blake II (West Los Angeles Church of God in Christ), Rabbi dr. Aryeh Cohen (American Jewish University, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action), Sheila Thomas (Holy Name of Jesus Church, One LA) Gamal Palmer (Jewish Federation), Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard (USC, Word of Encouragement Community Church).
The event took place via Zoom on September 10, 2020.
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Shabbat Sermon - Morning: Nitzavim-Vayeilech
September 12th, 2020 | 6 mins 28 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld's Shabbat Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 12, 2020.
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Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld
September 11th, 2020 | 16 mins 14 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with the imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.
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Yoma Study: September 11, 2020
September 11th, 2020 | 27 mins 6 secs
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld explores rabbinic material surrounding Yom Kippur in tractate Yoma from Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 11, 2020.