Rabbi Marci R. Bloch is proud to have joined the Temple Beth Orr community in July of 2017. Prior to coming to TBO, Rabbi Bloch served as the Associate Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton for the past twelve years. At B’nai Israel, she was involved in all aspects of congregational life. Her gifts are many, but she particularly enjoys pastoral care, Jewish healing, and creative ritual. She has great passion for family education, life-long learning, and working with youth and young adults. She also served as the Assistant Rabbi at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation in Indiana for two years after her ordination from Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, in 2003.
Prior to rabbinical school, Rabbi Bloch received a Master’s degree in Social Work and a Certificate in Judaic Studies and Jewish Communal Service from the University of Michigan. She also holds a B.A. in Psychology from Michigan State University.
Rabbi Bloch has served as a board member for Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Her innovative programs have been published in Reform Judaism Magazine as well as the URJ Outreach Manual. Rabbi Bloch’s Good Night Shabbat, Mommy Minyan, and Young Adult programs have earned her national recognition as a three-time URJ Belin Award recipient. In addition, she has won the URJ Incubator Grant. Rabbi Bloch has also been invited to present at a number of URJ Biennials on both a national and regional level.
Rabbi Bloch, originally from West Bloomfield, MI, is married to Jason Epstein, a native to Cleveland, Ohio. In her leisure time, she enjoys movies, traveling, exercising, and Broadway musicals. More than anything, she loves spending time with her daughters, Maya and Yael, who are her constant teachers. She looks forward to sharing her passion and love for Judaism with you.
Please contact Rabbi Bloch at RabbiBloch@templebethorr.org
Rabbi Emeritus
Rabbi Mark Wm. Gross
Rabbi Gross recently became Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth Orr, after serving for 29 years as Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Gross has used his position on the pulpit of Temple Beth Orr to create an inclusive atmosphere. His goals have always been “to make members of the community feel listened to, cared about, connected to their tradition,” he says. Coming from a family of eighteen generations of rabbis enables him to “find deep meaning in the staggering privilege of bringing members of our people to encounters with their heritage of faith.”
His encounters at Temple Beth Orr have been broad: from the monthly Come-as-You-Are Shabbat Experience; to the Religious School’s emphasis on Confirmation as a primary goal; to contemporary alternative services for Shabbat, Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur. These initiatives by Rabbi Gross have helped to create a strong community where so many feel like a true, meaningful part of the congregation’s extended family.