Rabbi Miriam Hamrell of Ahavat Torah Congregation in Santa Monica, the synagogue she founded in 2003, has retired after 20 years at the pulpit.
Hamrell, who is Israeli, was one of the only female rabbis born and raised in Israel to head an American-Jewish congregation. She was ordained at the Academy of Jewish Religion in May of 2003 and founded Ahavat Torah along with cantorial soloist Gary Levin and 20 other Jews just a few months later. Later, she rose to prominence for teaching Torah to women prisoners at the California Institution for Women in Corona as well as welcoming former prisoners into her warm, community-led synagogue.
“It is hard to count the many blessed and meaningful experiences I had at and with Ahavat Torah Congregation,” said Hamrell. “Our non-judgmental synagogue is based upon an Israeli kibbutz model, where everyone is equal and everyone has a certain talent and task to contribute to the well-being of the whole community.”
Almost every time a new person came to the congregation, Hamrell would take them for a walk on the beach or have a cup of tea or lunch with them. She would ask them questions and figure out how the community could best cater to their needs.
“Every person has a spark of godliness within them, and all we need to do is spend time to find this spark, elevate and embrace it,” she said. “This kibbutz model worked best for finding the way this person can contribute with his spark and be involved within and for the community.”
“Every person has a spark of godliness within them, and all we need to do is spend time to find this spark, elevate and embrace it.”
Over the past two decades, Hamrell would invite members to her home for Shabbat dinner and hold havdalah, selichot services and summer concert events in her yard. She took her congregation to Israel three times as well.
“I wanted to show them Israel through the eyes of their sabra rabbi,” she said. “We went to places and restaurants that tourists usually do not see. I loved it.”
During her time at Ahavat Torah, Hamrell would also make a four-hour round-trip drive to Corona twice a month to teach Torah to women prisoners, some of whom ended up becoming members of her synagogue. Several congregants also ended up volunteering at the prison.
Along with learning with women prisoners, Hamrell taught four classes a week at her synagogue, including ones on the Tanya, understanding the deep meaning of prayers, the weekly Torah portion and ethics when it came to gossip and monetary issues.
“These were very meaningful to me personally and for those who attended,” she said. “The classes were very participatory, and everyone attending was contributing to the whole of the class with their involvements and teachings that made the classes very rich in content and experience. The motto of the synagogue from the very beginning has been, ‘One Torah, One Community, Many Teachers.’”
In retirement, Hamrell plans to spend more time with her family, including her nine grandchildren, and stay active in her synagogue as a member, participating in the wellness, literary salon and social action groups.
“These are my friends. This is my community. This is my home away from home,” she said.
Hamrell hopes that Ahavat Torah, now led by Rabbi Michal Morris Kamil, will attract more young families and children to continue its legacy – and that members will look back fondly at her time with them.
“I hope and pray that people in general and in my congregation will remember my rabbinical leadership as one who always loved peace and pursued peace,” Hamrell said. “One who loved teaching, who listened not only with my ears, but also with my heart.”
