Rabbi Alexis Berk, Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Alexis Berk arrived in San Diego summer of 2019 to join the team at Temple Solel. Having grown up in San Diego, and graduated from UCSD, this is home for her and her family.
Rabbi Berk graduated with honors in Sociology in 1995. From UCSD, she traveled directly to Jerusalem to begin her rabbinical studies. Having received several awards for oratory excellence in homiletics, Rabbi Berk was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2000. She became the first Rabbi/Educator of Congregation Micah in Brentwood, Tennessee. In 2008, Rabbi Berk became the first female Senior Rabbi of the historic, glorious Touro Synagogue in New Orleans.
It is with great joy and a full heart that Rabbi Berk serves Temple Solel as Senior Rabbi. Her husband and grown sons – and their silly and sensitive dog, Russell (who does serve in a part-time pastoral role in the Temple Solel office) – are so happy to be in North County where the spirituality of the sea and the golden light are constant reminders of the presence of the Divine.
Cantor William (Billy) Tiep
Cantor William (Billy) Tiep was born in Encino, California and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He studied at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where he was ordained as Cantor in 2007. Besides Cantor Tiep’s work with secular and religious schools, he has also been the Head Songleader at the URJ Greene Family Camp and URJ Kutz Camp.
He served as Cantor from 2007 to 2010 at the historic Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, Louisiana where he took the annual Jazz Fest Shabbat service to a new level, working with the famous Kermit Ruffins, Allen Toussaint, and Marcia Ball.
Now in his second decade as Cantor at Temple Solel, he has brought so much joy and music with the additions of the congregation’s first band, special concerts, and the Shir Energy Music Festival, in collaboration with Craig Parks. Cantor Tiep has also performed in many concerts across North America, as well as conducted and performed with his friend and colleague Cantor Arik Lcuk’s show on Moshe Oysher.
Contact Cantor Tiep at cantor@templesolel.net.
Rabbi David M. Frank, Rabbi Emeritus
Rabbi David Frank is a native of Los Angeles, California. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1976. He received his M.A. in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1980, Rabbinical ordination in 1983, and Doctorate of Divinity in 2008. He is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
During his tenure at Temple Solel, Rabbi Frank was president of the San Diego Rabbinical Association, chair of both the Community Relations Committee and the Synagogue Committee of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, having also served as a member of the UJF Executive Board. Additionally, he co-founded Faith Leaders for Reproductive Justice, an interfaith clergy alliance in San Diego, with Rev. Madison Shockley. Currently, he is Chief Jewish Officer and Director of the Advanced Institute of Judaic Studies at the San Diego Jewish Academy. He and his wife, Davida, have three children – Jacob, Micah, and Sara.
Contact Rabbi Frank at dfrank@templesolel.net