Our Rabbi Einstein : Stephen J. Einstein, D. H. L., D. D.
Stephen J. Einstein has been rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley, CA since its founding in 1976. He previously served synagogues in Parsippany, NJ and Westminster, CA.
Rabbi Einstein was born and reared in Southern California, and is a cum laude - Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UCLA. He was ordained at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he also earned his doctorate. In recognition of his years of service to the Jewish community, the College-Institute awarded him an honorary doctorate as well.
Rabbi Einstein is past President of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, Orange County Board of Rabbis, the Orange County Bureau of Jewish Education and the Orange County Jewish Educators’ Association. He serves on the boards of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League. He is a former member of the Boards of the Jewish Federation of Orange County, the Jewish Family Service of Orange County, and Heritage Pointe / Jewish Home for the Aging.
Rabbi Einstein is Chair of the Ethics Committee and also serves on the Central Conference of American Rabbis Board and its Ethics Process Review Committee. He is on the governing Board of the Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din of Southern California, of which he currently serves as S’gan Av Bet Din (Associate Director).
Since 1976, Rabbi Einstein has taught the community-wide Introduction to Judaism course. He is the co-editor of Introduction to Judaism: A Sourcebook (New York: URJ Press, 1999) which is used nationally for basic Judaism courses. He is co-author of Every Person’s Guide to Judaism (New York: URJ Press, 1989). A pioneer in outreach, he is now the co-chair of Reform Judaism's Commission on Outreach and Membership. Rabbi Einstein teaches at California State University, Fullerton, in the Department of Comparative Religion. Rabbi Einstein was honored by the Orange County Bureau of Jewish Education for Major Contributions to Jewish Learning. He is the recipient of the American Jewish Committee’s Micah Award for Interfaith Relations. He is listed in Who’s Who in America as well as Who’s Who in Orange County, Who’s Who in California, Who’s Who in the West, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in American Jewry, Who’s Who in World Jewry, and Men of Distinction.
Passionately committed to education as the key to progress, Rabbi Einstein was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fountain Valley School District from 1984 - 1990, and served twice as School Board President. Since 1990, he has been on the School District’s Personnel Commission.
As part of the rabbi’s concern for his community, he is a Chaplain for the Fountain Valley Police Department and the Fountain Valley Fire Department. He is Past President of the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council and Past Chairman of the Board of Retinoblastoma International. He also serves on the Interfaith Outreach Committee of the Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County, and is a member of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue.
Rabbi Einstein is an Executive Advisory Board Member of the Institute for Character Education (Orange County Department of Education) and serves on the KOCE-TV Community Ambassador/Advisory Board.
Rabbi Einstein and his wife, Robin, live in Fountain Valley . They are proud of their children - Rebecca and Warren, Jennifer, Heath and Diana, and Zachary; and dote on their grandchildren, Benjamin, Lilly, Jacob, and Levyn.
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