RABBI MICHAEL TOROP
Rabbi Michael Torop has experienced a distinguished career as a Rabbi. He has been the Rabbi of Temple Beth-El in St. Petersburg, Florida since August, 2001.  Previously he served as the Associate Rabbi and Director of Education at the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York, for three years, and as the Rabbi of the Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism in Melbourne, Australia for the first eight years of his rabbinate.

In 1990 Rabbi Torop was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has also earned a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University and is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts, with a degree in Political Theory and Anthropology.

Rabbi Torop grew up in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, where he belonged to a Reform congregation.  It was at his home synagogue that he first discovered his love of Jewish life, celebrating his Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation there.  During his youth he was very involved in the National Federation of Temple Youth, serving as President of his Temple Youth Group and then Treasurer of the Pennsylvania region.

While attending Brandeis University, Rabbi Torop was active in the campus Hillel group, including the Reform community and the Student Coalition for Soviet Jewry.  He chaired a national student lobby to Washington, D.C., to meet with representatives of the congressional and executive branches of government to raise concerns about the treatment of Jews in the Former Soviet Union.  He went on two missions to the FSU to visit refuseniks before Jewish immigration was opened up in the 90’s.  While at college he clarified his career plans that ultimately led him to become a rabbi.

Rabbi Torop’s rabbinate is focused on creating communities of learning where Jewish life is explored intellectually and celebrated with joy and a sense of partnership with God.  He is a challenging teacher, a creative leader, a compassionate pastor and a visionary voice that will lead Temple Beth-El into this new century.  He has led his congregations to develop unique forms of worship, creative approaches to strategic planning and congregational development, and the creation of comprehensive youth and education programming and strategies.  Believing that congregational life is best when lay and professional leadership are joined in a sacred covenantal partnership, Rabbi Torop has been instrumental in helping Temple Beth-El develop new structures of leadership and decision-making that are more adequately suited to the needs of his community today.

Rabbi Torop participates in a number of professional organizations, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Pinellas County Board of Rabbis (currently serving his first term as President), the St. Petersburg Ministerial Association and the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education. He is a founding member of the Ethics Advisory Panel for the Florida High School Athletics Association.  He serves on the Board of the Pinellas County Jewish Day School and is a Member of the Board of the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture. 

He is married to Rabbi Betsy Torop, rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom, in Brandon, Florida.  They have three children: Gideon (13), Aaron (12) and Hannah (7).

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