Rabbi Richard Shapiro began his tenure as the Interim Rabbi of Temple Beth El on July 1. Prior to coming to Pensacola, Rabbi Shapiro served congregations in Denver, Colorado, in Stockton, Santa Barbara, and Palm Desert, California, in Great Neck, New York, and in Cincinnati, Ohio, the last two being interim positions. Rabbi Shapiro also served for five months as the Rabbi-in-Residence of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara.
Rabbi Shapiro was raised in Southern California where he graduated from Westminster High School in 1968. After three years at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont and one year at Santa Monica College, Rabbi Shapiro spent three years in the United States Army at the end of the Vietnam War, serving first as a nuclear missile navigation specialist, then as a Chaplain’s Assistant. It was during the latter assignment, working for a rabbi and 22 other Christian Chaplains, that he decided upon the rabbinate as a career. Upon completion of his military service in 1974, Rabbi Shapiro completed his B.A. in Jewish Studies at UCLA and began his studies at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 1976, where he received his rabbinic ordination in 1981and his Doctor Of Divinity (Honorus Causa) in 2006.
In 2007 Rabbi Shapiro changed career directions and began serving as an Intentional Interim Rabbi. He has received intensive training from both the Interim Ministry Association and the Central Conference of American Rabbis in the fields of Interim Ministry and Congregational Transition Management. He is currently is one of only a handful of Reform rabbis trained and working as interim rabbis.
Rabbi Shapiro has been an active participant, on both the local and national levels, in the pursuit of religious and social justice, including advocating for reproductive rights, fair and just treatment for agricultural and casino workers, the elimination of racial and religious discrimination, and the promotion of equity in all areas of life for gays and lesbians. In March of 2001 he was honored as the John Chadbourne Humanitarian of the Year by the Santa Barbara Gay & Lesbian Business Association.
Throughout his career, Rabbi Shapiro has also been deeply involved in interfaith issues. In Denver he served on the Executive Board of the Denver Area Interfaith Clergy Conference, as well as the Steering Committee for the Denver Interfaith Consortium for Pluralism in American Life. During his time in Stockton he was an active participant in both in Stockton Metro Ministries and the Stockton Ministerial Association. In his third year in Santa Barbara, Rabbi Shapiro was invited to serve on the Board of the Greater Santa Barbara Clergy Association, which he did for five years, two as President.
Rabbi Shapiro is married and he and his wife, Lynn, are the parents of two grown sons, both living in Washington, DC: Ari, age 29, an attorney, and Aaron, age 26, a Legislative Aide for Congresswoman Lois Capps of Santa Barbara, California.
Email: TempleBethElRabbi@gmail.com
