Rabbi Brian Leiken and his wife, Shara Abraham, have two sons, Kaleb and Ari. Courtesy: Rabbi Brian Leiken

By Corrie MacLaggan 

Congregation Beth Israel has selected Rabbi Brian Leiken to be its next senior rabbi.  

For the past 13 years, Leiken has served Temple Beth Sholom in New City, New York. He is expected to join Austin’s oldest synagogue on July 1.  

“I’ve been so very impressed with CBI’s warmth, enthusiasm and deep desire to build a thriving, relevant and relational Jewish community in the heart of Austin,” Leiken told members of Congregation Beth Israel in a video message.  

Leiken, 49, grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Brandeis University. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.  

In New York, he is a volunteer chaplain for the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department, a past president of the Rockland Board of Rabbis and has worked closely with the county’s Jewish Family Services to address mental health. Before joining his current congregation, he served as associate rabbi at Temple Shalom in Norwalk, Connecticut.  

At Congregation Beth Israel, Leiken succeeds Rabbi Steven Folberg, who served as senior rabbi at the Reform synagogue for 33 years and is now an interim rabbi on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Rabbi David N. Young is currently the interim rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel.  

“This moment marks the start of an exciting new chapter for CBI with Rabbi Brian Leiken as our senior rabbi,” Congregation Beth Israel President Sarah Holland said. “His energy and vision along with his commitment to lifelong learning and social justice will enrich our congregation and the greater community.”  

Congregation Beth Israel is at a pivotal point in its 149-year-history, Leiken said. He was impressed to learn how the congregation responded to a moment of tragedy more than three years ago.  

“In the wake of a frightening arson attack on its sanctuary in 2021, CBI leaders came together not only to comfort one another but also to dream collectively about the future – to ask critical questions about the role of the synagogue in the lives of its members and the broader community in which they live,” Leiken said.  

That vision, he said, excited him immensely. In January, the 700-family congregation hired the Texas architecture firm Lake Flato to redesign its campus on Shoal Creek Boulevard.  

When Leiken moves to Austin, it will be his first time living in the Lone Star State. But his brushes with Texas date back 25 years to the days when he worked in Washington, D.C., for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. In the nation’s capital, he met legendary Texans like former Gov. Ann Richards.  

He also met a non-Texan named Shara Abraham, who became his wife. Leiken and Abraham, who is a lawyer for the National Veterans Legal Services Program, have two children. Kaleb is a college freshman and Ari is a high school junior.  

Leiken said he and Abraham are foodies, music enthusiasts and college sports fans, so they “lit up” about the possibility of living in Austin. But on a deeper level, he said, he was drawn to the Texas capital because it is going through a transformation driven by growth.  

“This makes Austin a city that understands what change and flexibility are all about, making it a true urban laboratory for the Jewish world to try new things,” Leiken said.  

Leiken visited Austin in December as part of the hiring process. His visit included a trip to the Dell Jewish Community Campus, and he said he looks forward to strengthening ties between Congregation Beth Israel and Shalom Austin – and beyond.  

Leiken was selected after a rigorous search by a 14-member committee that represented the diversity of Congregation Beth Israel. After multiple rounds of interviews, the search committee unanimously recommended Leiken. That recommendation was approved by the CBI board of directors in December and the congregation in January.  

The search process took nearly a year. Starting in early 2024, about 200 Congregation Beth Israel members participated in parlor meetings at which they discussed the qualities they’d like to see in their next senior rabbi. Members said they sought a rabbi who embraced the values of CBI’s welcoming, inclusive community and could lead with warmth, dynamism, compassion and wisdom.  

Leiken had all the qualities members prioritized, said past president Laura Corman. She was one of two search committee members who visited Leiken at his current congregation in New York to learn more about him.  

Corman remembers the moment during that visit when she knew Leiken was the ideal rabbi for Congregation Beth Israel. During Leiken’s Shabbat service, she realized that for the first time in a long while, she was truly praying, not just reciting the words of the prayers.  

“I was incredibly moved and remember thanking G-d for giving me the opportunity to pray again,” Corman said. “At that moment I knew I had to do everything in my power to help bring Rabbi Leiken to Beth Israel. I wanted the entire congregation to have the same spiritual experience that I was having.”  

Corrie MacLaggan is the president-elect of Congregation Beth Israel and was the chair of the senior rabbi search committee.