Rabbi Stephen Cohen

Rabbi Steve Cohen has served as the senior rabbi of Congregation B’nai B’rith since 2004, after nineteen years as the rabbi and Executive Director of the Hillel Foundation at UC Santa Barbara.

In his capacity as senior rabbi, Steve’s primary responsibilities include teaching adults and youth, guiding the development of the congregation’s educational, worship, social action and cultural programs, providing pastoral counseling for congregants in need, helping families move through the great passages of life (birth, coming of age, marriage and death) with love and meaning, and working closely with the volunteer leadership of the congregation to build a vibrant Jewish community.

Rabbi Cohen has written two short books distilling his approach to Judaism:  “Through the Open Door: Another Introduction to Judaism,” (2004) and “Seven Circles: A Framework For Shared Jewish Life”(2nd edition, 2009) which you can find and read here on this website. His primary scholarly interest is in midrash and classical Torah commentary.  See Rabbi Cohen’s own website for more links.

A native of Rochester, New York, Rabbi Cohen was born in 1957. He received his undergraduate degree in American History from Harvard University in 1979 and Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1985. He and his wife Marian have been married since 1986 and have two grown children, Rachel and Ari.

In recent years, Steve and Marian have taken up long-distance backpacking and in 2013 they hiked the entire 211 miles of the John Muir Trail through the High Sierra.  In his free time, Steve enjoys studying Torah with friends, going to the movies, listening to a wide range of music, and davening at sunrise with the birds in his backyard.

Cantor Mark Childs

Cantor Mark E. Childs has served as Cantor of Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara, CA since 1991. His duties as Cantor encompass all facets of life at Congregation B’nai B’rith from pulpit to preschool, cradle to grave. In addition to being part of the Temple’s clergy team, he is also the coordinator of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program, director of the Music Program, and a teacher.

In addition to his position as cantor, Mark is a touring recitalist in Jewish art song, folk song, and all vocal music of the Jewish people as well as classical, operatic and musical theater repertoire. He has appeared as featured soloist with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony (Zeisl’s Requiem Hebraica), the Portland Symphonic Choir (Bloch’s Sacred Service), the Santa Barbara Symphony (Bloch’s Sacred Service, Holdridge’s American Hymn), the Santa Barbara Grand Opera (Die Fledermaus, Don Giovanni), the Santa Barbara Master Chorale (Mendelssohn’s Elijah), and the Aspen Music Festival.

His recordings include Messengers of Peace  and Cycles and Symbols with pianist/composer Bob Remstein, The Time Has Come for Singing, and The Ballad of Ruth by Stephen Richards.

A past honoree of the ADL’s “Distinguished Community Service” award, Cantor Childs’ work in the community includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Initiative of SB County, Project HEAL, and ECOFaith, and as the music director of the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. He is a member of both the American Conference of Cantors and The Cantors’ Assembly.

He is ordained as Cantor and holds his Master of Sacred Music degree from Hebrew Union College-School of Sacred Music in New York City (class of 1991). He received a B.A. in music from U.C. San Diego.

Cantor Childs lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Shari, and they have two sons, David and Adam. Learn more about Cantor Mark Childs here or reach him at cantor@cbbsb.org.

Assistant Rabbi Daniel Brenner

Rabbi Daniel Brenner joined CBB as our new Assistant Rabbi in July 2018. In addition to providing clergy support to meet our community’s growing needs, he teaches confirmation classes, Melton classes, and works with our young adults and young families. He also helps to run a number of special projects including strengthening our community of respect and understanding.

Ordained in May 2018 by Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, Rabbi Daniel has served as the Student Rabbi of Congregation B’nai David in Visalia, CA, the rabbinic intern of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, and most recently, as the rabbinic intern here at CBB.

During his years of HUC study, he was also a rabbinic fellow for NFTY in Israel, and a member of the AIPAC Leffell Fellowship, which brought rabbinic students from seminaries across the religious spectrum together for learning and engaging around Israel.

Rabbi Daniel is proud to hail himself as a “local boy,” having been raised in Ventura at Temple Beth Torah. He received his bachelor’s degree in Israeli and Middle East politics from American Jewish University in 2011, and has a Masters in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College in addition to his rabbinic ordination.  He is a frequent Israel traveler, having both participated in Birthright and staffed many of their trips. Email him at rabbibrenner@cbbsb.org.