Rabbi: Marvin Schwab
Known affectionately to the Temple Beth Shalom Youth Group as "Rabbi Gadget," Marvin Schwab has been called the only rabbi who can save your soul and your hard drive on the same day. He may also be the only rabbi who has been certified by General Motors in tune-ups, carburetors and alternators. His undergraduate degree was in Zoology with the equivalent of a minor in Chemistry. He was also certified as a Medical Technologist by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the State of California. Despite this unlikely background, he was ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati after attending campuses located in Jerusalem (where he lived for one year), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and in June of 2010 was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by HUC-JIR in Los Angeles in recognition of his 25 years of service.
Rabbi Schwab came to Temple Beth Shalom on August 1, 2001, a date which is all too easy to remember because the special service organized to greet him was planned for September 11, 2001. He is a founder of the Interfaith Leadership Alliance (ILA) of Santa Fe, and has served as its President and Treasurer. The ILA is the founding and sponsoring organization of Santa Fe’s Community Closet, established to provide clothing to the needy. Currently Rabbi Schwab serves as the recording secretary of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, the western region of the Central Conference of Reform Rabbis. He is well-known in Santa Fe as an active advocate for social justice. He served on the board of the Santa Fe Food Depot and has spoken to the New Mexico legislature in support of living wage legislation, repeal of the death penalty, the rights of domestic partners and a woman’s right to choose.

Rabbi Emeritus: Ben Morrow
Rabbi Morrow became our Rabbi Emeritus in 2001 after Rabbi Schwab was hired. He had served us valiantly for a couple of years prior to that time, stepping into the gap created when Nahum Ward-Lev retired from the congregation. A World War II veteran, he served in the Pacific and has adventure stories about his war years that would make your hair curl. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1953 at Chazeldon Yeshiva in Scranton, Pennsylvania. From 1953 to 1978 he taught at the University of Pittsburgh. He received a second ordination as a Secular Humanistic Rabbi in 1977. Ben’s rabbinic career has been one of on again/off again service in places such as Johnstown, PA; McKeesport, PA, Santa Barbara, CA, and Las Vegas, NV. In between, he tried to make a million dollars as an entrepreneur/impresario, promoting such luminaries as the Globetrotters, Ice Capades and numerous country music stars. On the whole, he found “rabbi-ing” to be much more tasteful. Ben and Lara have four children, eleven grandchildren and eight and 2/3 great grandchildren.

Cantorial Soloist: Meredith Brown
A cantor, ironically named Mr. Singer, at a Hebrew Day School in Rockaway, New York, noticed that a little girl in his school could really sing. Fortunately for us, that little girl was Meredith Brown. Meredith looked up to and was inspired by her cousin Jane, who introduced her to many things Jewish, including a love of Jewish music. Temple Beth Shalom is blessed to have Meredith and her beautiful and soulful voice and, while this is a big part of what Meredith shares with Temple Beth Shalom, it is by no means the only thing.

Meredith and her wonderful husband, Mick, met in Israel. In 1977, they briefly came to Santa Fe and connected with TBS. Although they spent the next 6 years between Gallup and Las Cruces, TBS was always their home for the High Holidays. When they finally settled here for good, Meredith came by to see what she could do for us. In 1984, Meredith began as a B’nai Mitzvah tutor and hasn’t stopped helping since. She joined the TBS choir and made herself available for Friday night services when needed. When her daughters, Michaela and Maia, got to be school-aged, Meredith became a Hebrew School teacher. Twelve years ago, Meredith became our permanent Cantorial Soloist.
She is one of our greatest treasures.

Music Director: Aaron Wolf
Aaron was born in Los Angeles on February 24, 1949 to Izzy Wolf, who could daven but was completely tone deaf, and Delly Wolf, who had perfect pitch but didn’t know a word of Hebrew. A self-proclaimed Hebrew School genius, Aaron’s greatest early accomplishments were his ability to recite the v’ahavta backwards by heart, and play Hava Nagilah on the piano cross-handed. As punishment, his Hebrew School principal made him substitute teach the eight year olds for the first time when he was ten years old, launching a career that involved wearing many ill-fitting suits. Aaron began tutoring Bar/Bat Mitzvah and teaching Hebrew School at age 15, when he graduated from LA Hebrew High School. He continued to do so while attending the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. Aaron graduated from USC in 1970 and USC Law School in 1975. During those years he participated in many unconstructive activities.
Aaron moved to Santa Fe in 1978, joined Temple Beth Shalom and started teaching Hebrew School and tutoring Bar/Bat Mitzvah students in 1979. He and Carolyn were married in 1980. Twins Bekah and Sarah were born in 1981. Sarah is a Rabbi, Bekah is a Palestinian activist. The girls attended TBS Preschool and Religious School and were B’not Mitzvah in 1994, an event noted in his home as the greatest moment in the history of the Jewish people. Aaron served on the TBS board for eight years, the last two as president. He and choir sidekick Meredith Brown volunteered to temporarily serve TBS as accompanist and cantorial soloist when Mark Malachi left in late 1999. Due to an apparent oversight, Aaron has been allowed to continue to play piano and guitar for services, sing in the choir, teach music in Sunday School and lead Shabbat morning services and the Monday Morning Minyan. Occasionally his duties as a lawyer in private practice and doting in-house grandfather interfere. He likes the temple.