Benjamin Barnett will become rabbi of Havurah Shalom in August 2017.

He has served as the rabbi of Beit Am, a pluralistic Jewish Community in Corvallis, Oregon, since August 2006. Originally from the Chicago area, he received his B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, and his rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.

In leading a diverse congregation, he has drawn from years of living and learning in Jewish communities across the religious spectrum. Prior to entering rabbinical school, he worked with mentally ill adults, led wilderness expeditions for teenagers, and lived, worked and studied in Israel.

He is a devoted practitioner and teacher of Jewish contemplative prayer and meditation, practices through which he strives to cultivate wisdom and compassion, and to respond maturely to the challenges of life and community. He works to build relationships across religious and cultural lines in the name of creating a less violent world.

He and his wife Rachel will move to Portland from Corvallis this summer with their children: Lev, Arava, and Judah.