Rabbi Gavin Mordechai Teller Rabbi Gavin Mordechai Teller didn’t grow up in a religious Jewish home, and becoming a rabbi was probably the furthest thing from his mind.
Teller, a native of the San Fernando Valley, went to synagogue and had a bar mitzvah, but, he said, “That was the extent of my Jewish journey.”
He ended up in a Catholic high school and majored in psychology at Cal State University, Northridge – he wanted to become a marriage and family therapist. But in his early 20s, when he went on an 11-day trip to Israel with Aish, everything changed.
“I was blown away by Israel and what I saw there,” Teller said. “It was the first time in my life I had a spiritual experience.”
When he got back home to Los Angeles, he would drive from Northridge to Pico-Robertson to go to Friday night dinners and attend events and classes in the neighborhood. He got more involved with Aish, offering to do digital marketing for them.
“That’s when MySpace was big,” Teller said.
When Aish wanted to start a program for college students, they contacted Teller. Pretty soon, he started taking students from local colleges like USC, UCLA and CSUN to different places around the world to have fun and learn about Judaism.
“That kickstarted a college program at Aish,” he said.
At this point, Teller hoped to learn more about Judaism himself, so he made a big move: he committed to stay one year at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.
“It was a huge wakeup call,” he said. “I went from my bachelor pad to sharing a room with students from all around the world. What was supposed to be a one-year stay ended up being six-and-a-half years in Jerusalem.”
The rabbi got ordination at Aish HaTorah, came back to LA and continued working for Aish and developing his spirituality.
“Judaism enabled me to see what’s important in life,” he said. “I’m part of something much bigger than myself. Especially being raised in LA, it showed me what’s really valuable and important in life.”
One Jewish teaching that Teller thinks about often is, “Gam zu l’tova,” which means “This is also for good.”
“There’s a purpose for everything. It might be painful or bad, but it’s an opportunity for awareness and growth and to connect to something that might not have been presented to you before.”
“Everything in life is for the good,” Teller said. “There’s a purpose for everything. It might be painful or bad, but it’s an opportunity for awareness and growth and to connect to something that might not have been presented to you before. Nothing in life is by chance. Everything is an opportunity for connection.”
For Teller, it’s all about connection in the organization he now runs: JHubLA. The rabbi holds weekly classes and programs for young professionals and takes them on trips to places such as Costa Rica and Israel.
The young professionals, who are growing in their Jewish practice, meet prominent individuals in the community such as Hollywood writers Jeff Astrof and David Sacks and “realize these are normal people who also are observant,” the rabbi said. “By the time the program is over, the participants now have 35 new friends, and they say they want to learn more. They’re learning about Judaism from a nonjudgmental, open place.”
No matter what, Teller is honest with the participants and simply wants to help them out on their Jewish journeys, whatever that may look like.
“People ask me questions about their direction in life and dating and relationships,” he said. “They want to know how to get the most out of life and attain more spirituality.”
Teller continued, “I want to be the hub for Jewish connections and for young professionals to find whatever it is they are looking for. If I can help more people find connection to themselves and their community and Judaism, then I know I’m fulfilling my mission.”
Fast Takes with Gavin Mordechai Teller
Jewish Journal: What’s your favorite Jewish food?
Mordechai Teller: Jalapeno herring from Schwartz’s with a good Ritz cracker.
JJ: What kind of sufganiyot is your favorite?
MT: Glazed with no jelly inside. But maybe that’s not technically sufganiyot.
JJ: If you weren’t a rabbi, what would you be doing?
MT: I’d probably be in some kind of marketing agency, doing social media marketing.
JJ: What superpower would you like to have?
MT: I want to speak all languages. I love people. It would be fantastic to understand everyone.
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