William C. Berk

Rabbi William C. Berk was born in the desert town of San Bernardino, CA, in 1948, the same year that Israel became a state. He was raised by two loving parents — Harold and Helen Berk — in a household where there was great concern for civil rights, for helping the poor, and for Israel. His mother had, as a member of Hadassah, smuggled guns to Israel during the War of Independence. Like his parents, he was also oriented towards political activism. Judaism was respected in his family but not especially observed. As a teenager, he worked in his father’s shoe store. His father was active in California state and local politics. In high school he was selected to represent the city of San Bernardino in the Sister City Program with Japan and spent a summer touring Japan and living with a Japanese family.

Following high school, William Berk attended the University of California at Berkeley. From the beginning, he was involved in the anti-war movement, the counter culture, and other political struggles. He studied playwriting and found himself writing Jewish-themed plays. He studied the Holocaust. He participated in the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry. His activity in the anti-war movement led to encountering left-wing hatred of Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment. This was a turning point for Rabbi Berk. At Berkeley, he began the long search for his Jewish roots and identity and for some sense of a Jewish future.

After college, he taught at Wells Intermediate School in Dublin, CA, for three years and then went to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) for rabbinical school. Studying in Israel for his first year at HUC-JIR was the most powerful experience of his life. Living the rhythms of life in Jerusalem, learning the language of the Jewish people, pouring over the sacred texts — these experiences changed him forever. At HUC-JIR, he won the Skirball Award for Social Action and the Mrs. Arthur Hays Sulzberger Prize in Homiletics.

When Rabbi Berk came to Temple Chai in Phoenix, AZ, in the summer of 1983, there were fifty member families in the congregation. Today it boasts 1,150 families. As the temple’s leader, he has spearheaded the creation of many innovative and far-reaching programs, including the largest synagogue retreat program nationwide; a family school where parents and students learn together and separately; a learning minyan board of directors; advanced studies courses; a healing center; a Tikun Midot for the entire student body of the Jewish High School; and a CD to prepare congregants to experience the fullness of Shabbat.

Rabbi Berk’s family has played an enormous role in his development as a rabbi and a human being. From his wife Susan he has learned the wonder of partnership and the healing power of love. From his five children, Sam, Joe, Isaac, Ruth, and Gavriella, he has learned to pay attention to the miracles that surround him.

Rabbi Berk continues to transform himself and his community. He feels blessed that his family and community support his efforts so enthusiastically.