Our Rabbi & Cantor
Rabbi Alan Berg
Rabbi Alan Berg returned to the Portland area after serving as senior Rabbi of Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, California, and of Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Rabbi Berg currently lives in Portland with his wife Bonnie. The Bergs have three children, Emily, Rebekah and Edward.
Rabbi Berg previously served as the associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel and as founding Rabbi of Havurah Shalom, both in Portland. He also served as chaplain and teacher at Williams College and an instructor in medical ethics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Rabbi Berg is a partner in the HUC-JIR Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health and serves on the advisory board of the Guthrie Center in Housatonic, Massachusetts. He is a past chairman and co-founder of the URJ Kallot. He has also served as the Jewish Chaplain at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Rabbi Berg was ordained at the Hebrew Union College. He was a member of the creative team for the Emmy Nominated, Chanukah at Grover’s Corner. Rabbi Berg is Chair of the Advisory Board of The Marjorie and Woody Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He has published numerous articles on religion, music and literature, including for Willamette Week’s, Fresh Weekly. Rabbi Berg co-produced the book and lyrics for the concert, Crossing Over: A Musical Haggadah.
Email: Rabbi Alan Berg
Ann Brown
Ann Brown has been the Cantorial Soloist at Beit Haverim since 1996 and she brings to our community a background in folk music, from Bulgarian to African to Yiddish folk songs. Ann has a degree in Ethnomusicology and has recorded numerous CD’s of Jewish music, including projects with the Serenade Trio in Northern California, and as vocalist on the nationally-known Cindy Paley’s collection of Hebrew and Yiddish CD’s.