Saturday, August 30, 1997

The rabbi and her husband

By TONI ALLEN / Scripps Howard News Service

When Jewish women in the Ventura, Calif., area go to synagogue these days they may find more to identify with than religion.

They are likely to find themselves face to face with one of only 300 female rabbis in the history of the faith.

Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller is the first female rabbi at Temple Beth Torah, an accomplishment in a male-dominated religion.

Lisa Hochberg-Miller's husband, Rabbi Seth Hochberg-Miller, has also been assigned to the temple as religious educator.

For the husband and wife duo, relocating to Ventura is almost too good to be true. They admit they never expected to find a synagogue with two openings, which puts them in the enviable position of being able to work together.

"Our interest of wanting to be in the same synagogue comes from a professional interest," she said.

Being a woman has made the rabbi sensitive to women's issues.

"I'm very involved in the Jewish women's movement," she said. "I'm interested in new approaches to life cycle events as well as gender issues."

She has plans for the Jewish community of Ventura.

"I'm very education-oriented, so my focus is to do a lot of teaching," she said. "I want to get families, adults and children excited about studying all aspects of Judaism. Seth and I will include units on tolerance."

Lisa Hochberg-Miller also stresses the importance of being visible to her congregation.

"I will be readily available for children, teens and adults to talk to me about anything," she said. "I will begin building the bridges for communication. People have heavy issues to deal with nowadays. They need someone to talk to."

She replaces Rabbi Michael Berk, who leaves Temple Beth Torah after six years. He will become the regional director of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Northwest Pacific region.

She comes to Ventura from Temple Israel of Long Beach, where she served as associate rabbi and educator. Originally from St. Louis, she received her bachelor's degree in journalism in 1981. After several years of working in advertising and public relations she began teaching religious school. It was then that she made the decision to pursue a career in Jewish education.

"I decided that if I was going to work hard the rest of my life, it should be doing something that is meaningful," she said.

She continued her education at Brandeis University and received her Master of Arts in Jewish Communal Service.

"I had wrestled with the idea of applying to become a rabbi, but I knew I would be rejected," she said.

The Hebrew Union College accepted her application and she began her first year of studies in Jerusalem. It was there that she met her husband. She completed her education in Los Angeles at Hebrew Union College to be close to her husband's family.

Seth Hochberg-Miller has been appointed Temple Beth Torah's new educator and is thrilled with the idea of working with his wife.

"We have some great plans for the community," he said. "I want to work exclusively in education and Lisa wants to devote herself to rabbinic work. This situation is ideal."

He grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He received his training and rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Union College as well as doing advanced work in Jewish education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education. He served as rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Downey, Calif., and educator at Temple Beth El in San Pedro.

The two have been married for nine years and have three daughters, ages 4, 6 and 7. They attribute their happy marriage and ability to work well together to total commitment.

"Seth and I believe in total respect and commitment to each other, to our families and to our synagogue," she said. "We give 150 percent."

He adds, "It's not my style to change things before I know a community, because changes I make may not be appropriate for this community."

Lisa Hochberg-Miller acknowledges that the two have been thinking of programs to bring the congregation and the church together.

"We have a vision of what a synagogue should be," she said. "A '90s buzz word for the Jewish community is 'lifelong learning.' We hope to create a climate where people are committed to growth and learning."

(Toni Allen is a reporter at the Ventura County Star in California.)