Meet Our Rabbis

  • Rabbi Tom Gutherz became Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in 2016 after serving as its Rabbi Educator for 11 years. He was ordained in 1993 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and has over 40 years of experience in formal and informal Jewish education.  

    A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Rabbi Tom grew up in Rochester, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in History at the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1977. He was an active member of Habonim, the Labor Zionist Youth Movement, serving as it National Secretary (mazkir) in 1977-1978. Rabbi Tom was the Camp Director of Camp Naaleh and Camp Tel-Ari, both in upstate New York. He made aliyah to Israel in 1986, where he was a member of Kibbutz Gezer. On the kibbutz, Rabbi Gutherz worked as an educator in the kindergarten and primary grades, as well as in the dairy barn. 

    Upon ordination from HUC-JIR in 1993,  Rabbi Gutherz served as Rabbi of Agudath Sholom Congregation in Lynchburg, Virginia for 13 years. He taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Religion at Lynchburg College and was active on the board of the NCCJ (National Conference of Christians and Jews), especially with its Metrotown diversity training program. He earned a Masters in Hebrew Literature degree from HUC-JIR in New York  (1993) and a Masters of Arts in Religion from the University of Virginia (2012).

    Rabbi Gutherz is committed to providing quality Jewish programming, education, personal enrichment, and social activities for congregants of all ages, backgrounds, and worship styles. He is passionate about Jewish text study and eager to engage with people at whatever point they find themselves on their spiritual journey. He loves wine, all kinds of music and (good) films, and is a long-time practitioner of Tai-Chi. 

  • Rabbi Ezra Leventhal (he/they) just began serving the CBI community as Assistant Rabbi in July 2024, immediately following his ordination at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion on the New York Campus in May 2024. 

    Rabbi Ezra grew up in San Jose, CA. He was born into an interfaith family and found a deep connection to Judaism as a teenager. He graduated UC Davis in 2015 with a double major in Religious Studies and Political Science, completing an honors thesis in the Religious Studies department. After college, he got his start in the professional Jewish world as a Jeremiah Fellow with Bend the Arc Bay Area. From there, he began working for multiple synagogues in education, administration, and justice work.  

    He began his Rabbinical School journey in July 2019, which means he is a proud member of the Year in Israel cohort sent back to the United States by the COVID-19 Pandemic. During his time on the New York Campus, he spent two years interning at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, NJ and one year serving as Student Rabbi at Shir Shalom in Woodstock, VT. He was very active in student life at HUC, he served as the Vice President of the Student Executive Council and directed the campus Purim shpiel twice.  

    Rabbi Ezra considers it his personal mission to find hidden glimmers of the sacred in unexpected places. As a Rabbi, this inspires him to learn from everyone and everything he can – he even wrote his rabbinic thesis about finding the sacred in horror movies. Rabbi Ezra is excited to bring his unique perspective to CBI, and even more excited to learn from CBI and discover what we can all create together. In his spare time, Rabbi Ezra loves hiking, cooking, musical theatre, horror movies, and petting as many cats as he can find. 

  • Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1979, Rabbi Alexander served as Rabbi of CBI from 1988 - 2016. Before that, he had been the Executive Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at the University of Virginia from 1979 - 1988. In 2002, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from the Wesley Theological Seminary and, in 2004, was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree by HUC-JIR.

    As Emeritus Rabbi, Rabbi Dan provides back-up coverage for Rabbi Gutherz, gives sermons, presents Divrei Torah, leads worship, teaches classes, presides over lifecycle rituals, and represents CBI at churches and civic groups in the region. He takes great delight in observing the many ways in which CBI continues to increase in strength under the leadership of its talented staff and capable lay leaders. Due to their amazing dedication and wisdom, our community has thrived despite the challenges posed by the United the Right Rally of August 2017, the stresses created by the pandemic, and the ongoing strife due to the conflicts raging in the Middle East.

    Rabbi Alexander currently serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate [CASA] for local children placed into foster care, on CBI’s Green Team, and on the Board of Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, a statewide organization advocating for and educating about environmental justice.

    Rabbi Alexander has undertaken several writing projects during retirement. In 2022, the volume Torah Without End: Neo-Hasidic Teachings and Practices in Honor of Rabbi Jonathan Slater included his chapter on Parashat Re-eh. His review of two books of theology, The Tragedy Test by Richard Agler and The Mystery of Suffering and the Meaning of God by Anson Laytner, was published in the Fall/Winter 2021 edition of The Journal of Reform Judaism. The Mussar Torah Commentary includes a chapter he authored.

    Since their retirement, the Alexanders have been blessed by the birth of four healthy grandchildren. These blessings and the continued blessing of living among friends in Charlottesville fuel their ongoing gratitude.