After Less Than a Year, Senior Rabbi Ben Goldstein Leaves Beit T’Shuvah

On July 8, Beit T’Shuvah — the Jewish residential addiction treatment center and congregation in Los Angeles — sent out an email stating that Rabbi Ben Goldstein, who was hired as senior rabbi on July 1, 2019, was no longer with the organization, effective as of late June.

The email also stated that there is no plan to replace the role of senior rabbi, but that Beit T’Shuvah (BTS) is “blessed with a talented clergy team …. The clergy, along with other staff members, are working diligently to continue to fulfill our mission of providing the highest standard of integrated care to those seeking recovery, as well as to those who are part of the BTS congregation and community.”

Goldstein worked at Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills for three years before joining Beit T’Shuvah. He was previously a rabbinic intern and spiritual counselor at Beit T’Shuvah while he was a student at the American Jewish University Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.

He told the Journal in an interview last July, “As somebody who has worked [on] the pulpit for 10 years and [has seen] diminishing returns of Shabbat and Saturday morning services, I think Beit T’Shuvah, with its emphasis on spirituality and mindfulness and psychology and walking the path toward recovery, has so much to say to people who otherwise feel alienated from religion. I hope I can be a good person to facilitate that.”

Goldstein did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment regarding his departure.

Beit T’Shuvah Board Chair Janice Kamenir-Reznik told the Journal in a phone interview that Goldstein simply “wasn’t a great fit and everyone decided to move on.”

Executive Director Sergio Rizzo-Fontanesi told the Journal in a separate phone interview that sending out the announcement was simply “keeping everyone updated in terms of our clergy.”

Kamenir-Reznik said, “We have a whole host of rabbis at Beit T’Shuvah. We have five clergy staff, so our plan is for our current clergy to be able to cover the various tasks that are required in our spiritual department and for our community.”

The other clergy are Rabbi Micha’el Akiba, Rabbi Kerry Chaplin, Rabbi Miriam Green, Rabbi Joseph Shamash and Chaplain Adam Siegel. According to the email, Rabbi Mark Borovitz, former senior rabbi, founding rabbi and the co-director of the Elaine Breslow Institute at Beit T’Shuvah, is currently on leave/sabbatical until the late fall. When he returns, he’ll work in a new consulting role.

“Some of our clergy have been around for quite some time,” Rizzo-Fontanesi said. “Chaplain Adam Siegel has been around for 10 years and Rabbi Akiba has been around for five years and is highly respected by the community and residents alike.” He added, “Rabbi Akiba will be overseeing the congregation. But we expect all the rabbis, with their diverse array of experiences, will be rotating in terms of officiating our services.”

Rizzo-Fontanesi also noted that although Goldstein was the senior rabbi, he never lead Shabbat morning services, only Friday night services. “Even when [Goldstein] was employed with us, the other members on the clergy were also rotating in on a schedule.”

“We have five clergy staff, so our plan is for our current clergy to be able to cover the various tasks that are required in our spiritual department and for our community.” — Janice Kamenir-Reznik

“The most important thing,” Kamenir-Reznik said, “is the services provided to our residents. That’s where our focus is. We give them the spiritual and clinical experience we can to help with their recovery. I think we do a really great job at that.”

In that vein, Kamenir-Reznik also noted the challenges that Beit T’Shuvah has had to take on during the pandemic. “COVID has been a huge challenge for a facility like Beit T’Shuvah,” she said. “We’ve done a great job in a challenging situation. You have over 100 residents in the middle of the most difficult challenge going forward, especially in a place like Beit T’Shuvah, which is so much about community.”

She added, “People are feeling very isolated. Those residents —  about 75 who stayed through the entire time of being isolated in their rooms — still got their services but it was all digital and no contact. No one was allowed to come into the facility. We had to keep it very tightly monitored. It’s been challenging but it’s really amazing that we’ve had no residents become ill.”

The community email, signed by Kamenir-Reznik and Rizzo-Fontanesi, also stated, “We are fully confident that Beit T’Shuvah will continue to provide exceptional spiritual guidance and services to all of our residents and to our community.”