Rabbi Kalman Topp is an American Modern-Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, educator and author, currently serving as the Senior Rabbi of the

Beth Jacob Congregation Beth Jacob Congregation is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1985 and has a membership of 400 families. Beth Jacob is a community of Jews who come together to nurture relationship ...

of Beverly Hills, California.

Early life

A native New Yorker, Topp was raised in

Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to t ...

, where he attended and graduated from Yeshiva of Central Queens. Following high school, he attended

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Tor ...

from 1990-1992. After graduating from the

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

's Syms School of Business, he attended

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...

for his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

and the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education for a master's degree in

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Career

Prior to receiving his ordination, Topp worked for Osem Foods International in

Petach Tikvah Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

, Israel, in its finance department. After achieving his master's degree, he taught Jewish studies at various schools in New York and New Jersey, including the

Frisch School The Frisch School, also known as Yeshivat Frisch , is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, yeshiva high school located in Paramus, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was founded in 1972 by Rabbi Menachem Meier and Alfred Frisch ...

and the

Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school on the South Shore of Long Island in New York, United States, serving male and female students in preschool through twelfth grade. It is a private ...

. Before joining Beth Jacob, he served as Rabbi to the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...

and the Young Israel of Woodmere in

Woodmere, New York Woodmere is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 17,554 at the 2016 census. Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, w ...

. In August 2009, he joined Congregation Beth Jacob of

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

as Senior Rabbi. In May 2008, Rabbi Topp was appointed by the

Nassau County Legislature The Nassau County Legislature is the lawmaking body of Nassau County, New York. Currently, it has 19 different members from 19 different districts. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the county's Board of Supervisors, which was ruled unconstitutio ...

to serve as a Human Rights Commissioner in Nassau County on a multi-racial commission that investigates human rights complaints, promotes tolerance and fights all types of discrimination in the county Rabbi Topp has served on a number of committees and boards dealing with issues impacting the Jewish community, including on a subcommittee of the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main p ...

, where he is on the executive board. Rabbi Topp serves on the National Council of AIPAC, the Executive committee of the Southern California Board of Rabbis, the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of California, Executive Committee of the

, and the Halachic Advisory Board for Aleinu. His writings have appeared in journals and books.

Personal

Rabbi Topp is married to Jordana Topp, a graduate of

Stern College The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides progra ...

and the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

. Dr. Topp studied at Michlalah and

Nishmat Nishmat ( he, נִשְׁמַת or 'the soul of every living thing') is a Jewish prayer that is recited during Pesukei D'Zimrah between the Song of the Sea and Yishtabach on Shabbat and Yom Tov. It is also recited during the Passover seder. Sho ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In addition to raising her family, Jordana works as a dentist in private practice. She is the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Community Yoetzet Halacha, having been trained in

’s Yoetzet Halacha Program. They have six children and reside in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topp, Kalman 1972 births American Orthodox rabbis Modern Orthodox rabbis Living people Yeshiva University alumni Yeshivat Har Etzion Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Zionists 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis

Early life

Career

Personal

Further reading

References