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Rabbis of LA | Repairing the World With Paul Kipnes

As the leader of a congregation with over 400 families, Kipnes take his role as a rabbi and his obligation to make a positive impact on the world very seriously. 
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January 19, 2022

When Rabbi Paul Kipnes was a teenager, he met rabbis who inspired him and started him on his spiritual journey.

“I had memories from high school of vibrant rabbis who were supportive, intellectual and spiritually engaging, and they were there for me during difficult times,” he said. “They made Judaism exciting and accessible. I wanted to be like them.”  

Kipnes, who has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas for 22 years, didn’t start studying to become a rabbi after he graduated from high school. Instead, he went to college for physics. 

“I discovered I liked the idea of physics, but I was tired of the math,” he said. 

He subsequently went to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and New York City and received his ordination. Following that, he went to Washington, D.C. for a year and served as an Eisendrath fellow at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, where he discovered his calling.

“I learned that religious values can and must have real world consequences. Otherwise, why bother?” 

“I learned there that religious values can and must have real world consequences,” he said. “Otherwise, why bother?” 

Today, as the leader of a congregation with over 400 families, Kipnes take his role as a rabbi and his obligation to make a positive impact on the world very seriously. 

In the past, he ran 12-step programs at Or Ami, which consisted of retreats for Jews recovering from addiction. The synagogue had rabbinic student interns who were trained to lead 12-step meetings and counsel attendees.

“I learned to talk to people about how holiness can transform their lives,” he said. 

Kipnes, who was involved in youth groups like NFTY, Reform Judaism’s youth movement, when he was younger, is also passionate about working with teens. Ori Ami holds groups for teens in seventh through twelfth grade so that they can discuss deep personal questions they have and feel like they’re in a community. 

“It allows young people to talk about real issues like stress, pressure and suicidal ideations,” he said. “We use Jewish texts and knowledge and are guided by therapists and youth workers. We give teens safe places to think things through.”

Additionally, Kipnes wants teens to know he and other spiritual leaders are there for them. “When every young person gets a cell phone, they also get two rabbis’ cell phone numbers,” he said. “They are told that if they have nowhere else to turn, now they have our numbers and they can text and call throughout their lives as needed.”  

Other projects Kipnes is working on are an interfaith coalition that advocates for the needs of the unhoused, and the Village, a community for adults ages 55 and older that offers socializing and virtual programming. 

“We reach out to our community in the good times and the hard times,” Kipnes said. “We talk about the hard stuff honestly. We invite people to join us individually, and not with just an email or flyer. The rabbis and cantor are totally accessible.” 

Through all of Or Ami’s offerings, Kipnes is being proactive about what he believes is the entire point of Judaism. 

“The Torah was given for the purpose of transforming the world into a place of truth, justice, tzedaka, love and peace,” he said. 

Along with his congregational work, Kipnes hopes to transform the world through his writings as well. He wrote “Jewish Spiritual Parenting: Wisdom, Activities, Rituals and Prayers for Raising Children with Spiritual Balance and Emotional Wholeness” with his wife Michelle November, and he’s working on a book that contains a collection of 120 poems he wrote in the aftermath of the sudden death of his father and mother. 

During his time of mourning, when he sat shiva, he didn’t worry about his appearance and let others take care of him. He was reminded how valuable Jewish teachings are, especially during life’s tumultuous moments. 

“Judaism helps us embrace ourselves and our imperfections and fix them,” he said. “The prayers and the texts and the communal aspects are about creating care and compassion and kindness and helping people repair themselves. Nothing is more important than that.”

Fast Takes With Paul Kipnes

Jewish Journal: What do you do on a day off? 

Paul Kipnes: I love to go down to the Pacific Ocean and walk on the seashore.

JJ: What is your favorite Jewish food?

PK: Bagels and whitefish. Yeah, I’m Ashkenazi.

JJ: How about your favorite Jewish holiday?

PK: The humorous answer is Thanksgiving. The real answer is Passover, because it is a multimedia, hands-on, play-with-your-food holiday that reminds us of who we are. 

JJ: What is the best place you’ve ever traveled to?

PK: Put me anywhere in Israel and my heart soars.

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