Rabbi Spike Anderson

 Rabbi Spike Anderson was born and raised in Boston and was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York City. Rabbi Anderson began his rabbinic service at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles in 2008, moving his little family across the country to be a part of this fantastic synagogue community. He entered the rabbinate after a successful career as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. It is Rabbi Anderson’s love for Judaism that has brought him on a journey into a life of service for the Jewish people and he finds great meaning in merging his passion for innovation with Jewish spirituality.

In addition to his rabbinic and pulpit responsibilities, Rabbi Anderson is dedicated to the Israel & Peoplehood pillar of Stephen S. Wise Temple. He works tirelessly to connect congregants with Israel through political action, personal connection, cultural exchange, and study.

An unexpected delight of Rabbi Anderson’s work at the temple is his role as the “Children’s Rabbi” at the Early Childhood Center (ECC) and the early Elementary School grades. Rabbi Anderson has the pleasure of conducting weekly Shabbat services, as well as lively “Tot” and “Family Shabbat” experiences throughout the year. Using song, movement, talking puppet shows and ridiculous costumes, he strives to create a dynamic yet comfortable environment for the children to learn and love their Judaism. With his open door policy and passion for pastoral care, he is honored to provide spiritual guidance to the children as well as their families.

In response to the economic crisis, Rabbi Anderson created and implemented the “Kehillat Wise” program designed to empower congregants to help other congregants in need. The program is comprised of members who offer their various talents and expertise pro-bono, tapping into a vast pool of human resources and knowledge. It has earned nation-wide recognition due to the invaluable variety of resources, programs, and one-on-one guidance.

Another program that Rabbi Anderson has tackled with an innovative approach is “Wise Hearts”; the caring community initiative for Stephen S. Wise Temple. Rabbi Anderson guides a dedicated committee of temple members who are engaged in ongoing pastoral-care training in order to offer comfort and spiritual support to temple families going through both difficult and joyous life-cycle events.

Responding to congregant requests for social opportunities for young fathers, Rabbi Anderson helped launch “Daditude”, a new group for dads and their pre-school children to spend quality time on Sunday mornings together at the temple playground. This lay-led program is proving to be a success and is getting young men more engaged with the synagogue and one another.

Rabbi Anderson takes great joy in being a teacher and is thrilled to have students ranging from age 1 to 101 years old. His classroom ranges from congregants’ living rooms to his office at the temple, to coffee at the playground. Some of Rabbi Anderson’s class offerings this year will include: “The Hunger Games: what Judaism might have to say about it”, “Your Personal Theology and Spiritual Journey”, “Sex, the Spiritual Lives of Children, and the Blessings of Being a Grandparent”, and “Finding God”.

Rabbi Anderson shares his journey with his wife, Marita, and is the proud father of Maccabee, Moses, and Hallelujah.