Congregation Shalom Rav

RABBI MONTY ELIASOV

Rabbi Monty Eliasov was born in the Cape Province of South Africa and came to the United States at the age of sixteen to study rabbinic literature at the Telshe Yeshiva Talmudic Academy in Wickliffe, Ohio. He received his undergraduate training in both Jewish history and in economics at Yeshiva University in New York, and then went on to complete his M.A. in rabbinic literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

He has served for many years as religious educational director in both Conservative (full member Jewish Educators Assembly) and Reform (full member National Association of Temple Educators) synagogue schools and went on to study kabbalah and neo-chassidic prayer forms with Rabbi Zalman-Schachter, founder of Jewish Renewal.

He received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Gershon Winkler in a spontaneous ceremony in the summer of 1998 at the end of a Walking Stick Institute retreat, an annual retreat at which rabbis and Native American teachers converge to share their unique traditions and wisdom. In addition to being the director of the Walking Stick Institute, Rabbi Gershon Winkler is the author of many books of Jewish interest including "The Place where you are Standing is Holy" and is the editor of "Pumbedissa Journal" which is a forum for the uninhibited discussion of Judaic and rabbinic issues.

Rabbi Gershon traveled to Austin, Texas to publicly re-enact Rabbi Monty's ordination ceremony on May 15th, 1999, with the members and friends of the Heart of Texas Havurah as witnesses to this unique and memorable ceremony. Monty is now the rabbi of the Havurah and was officially and publicly installed as the rabbi of the Havurah in March 2000 at a ceremony supported by his colleagues Rabbi Tirzah Firestone of Boulder, CO and Cantor Robert Esformes of Shokan, NY.

Rabbi Monty is developing a pathway which he calls "Twelve Tribe Torah ©," a new view of Judaism which consciously integrates and honors all the diverse streams of the Jewish tradition. His prayer is that this approach will give people the tools to cultivate their own understanding of the depth and beauty of the eternal teachings of the Jewish people.