926 Round Swamp Road Old Bethpage, New York 11804
(516) 694-4544 - Phone

Rabbi Michael Churgel

Rabbi Michael Churgel joined the Temple Beth Elohim community in the summer of 2008.  Since his ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Churgel has served Temple Beth El in Aliso Viejo, CA, Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY, and Sinai Reform Temple in Bay Shore, NY.

Rabbi Churgel was born in Forest Hills, NY, though he was reared in Southern California.  Rabbi Churgel is a graduate of UCLA, where he nourished his love for Judaism through his work with Jewish youth of all ages throughout the Los Angeles community as a teacher, camp counselor, and youth advisor. Rabbi Churgel was also a certified lifeguard and E.M.T.

Before pursuing the rabbinate, Rabbi Churgel spent many summers at URJ Camp Swig before moving to Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem where he studied Hebrew and worked as a member of the kibbutz community. The following academic year, Rabbi Churgel continued his education in Jerusalem at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion as part of the Rabbinical and Jewish Education programs. During his six years of training split between campuses in Israel, Los Angeles and New York, Rabbi Churgel combined his passions for Israel and working with Jewish youth by training as an educator and tour guide for the North American Federation of Temple Youth’s (NFTY) summer Israel programs, and subsequently led three high school groups and one college Birthright trip. Additionally, Rabbi Churgel spent two summers on staff at URJ camps in Georgia (Coleman) and Massachusetts (Eisner). Also during this time, Rabbi Churgel served for two years as the Religious School Principal at Temple Israel Reform Congregation of Staten Island, led High Holy Day services in Bremerton, WA and Merrick, NY, and served congregations in Southern California and Butte, MT as a student rabbi or intern. Rabbi Churgel earned two Masters of Arts degrees in Hebrew Letters and Jewish Education, and was ordained a rabbi in 2001.

Rabbi Churgel's involvement in the Jewish community at large currently extends to his participation many local rabbinic, educational, and interfaith groups in the Greater New York area. Rabbi Churgel is a past board member of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), the professional organization for Jewish Educators in the Reform Movement, in addition to serving as a member of its finance committee and serving as the chair of the Financial Controls Task Force.  Rabbi Churgel is a “graduate” of the Leadership Institute for Congregational School Principals, a two-year professional development program for Jewish Educators throughout the Greater New York area.  Recently, Rabbi Churgel is an active member at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center where he regularly makes use of the gym and pool, and he participates in several of the fitness classes.  Rabbi Churgel also pays daily visits the Early Childhood Center both as a consulting rabbi and a parent.

Rabbi Churgel enjoys his work with the dedicated group of volunteers and professionals at Temple Beth Elohim.  He continues to working on developing multiple opportunities for family enrichment, wide-ranging youth programming, continued adult learning, and meaningful and spiritual ritual and life-cycle observance and celebration. He is also excited to continue to pursue his passions in the field of Jewish education by sharing the leadership of the educational programs at the synagogue with Deborah Meyer and Cantor Pilatsky. Rabbi Churgel is proud of his open door policy – so please do not hesitate to give him a call, write him an email, or drop in for a visit.

When not at the synagogue, Rabbi Churgel enjoys spending time with his wife Shara, and their daughters, Daphne and Zoe, as well as their extended family and friends.  You may also find him swimming in the pool or ocean, exercising at the JCC, riding his bike, walking his dog, Zippy, playing with his cat Poogie, attending rock concerts and theater, watching movies, reading, eating sushi, or rooting on one of his UCLA Bruins sports teams.

If you would like to contact Rabbi Churgel, you may reach him in a number of ways: