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 t ...

, educator and author, currently serving as the Senior Rabbi of the Beth Jacob Congregation of

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

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, Interstate 495 (New York), Union Turnpike to the south ...

, 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 the West Bank. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced T ...

from 1990-1992. After graduating from the

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

Syms School of Business Sy Syms School of Business is Yeshiva University's business school. It offers undergraduate and graduate business programs at the Wilf Campus in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, and at the Beren Campus in New York's Murray Hill neighb ...

, 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 S ...

for his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

Career

Prior to receiving his ordination, Topp worked for

Osem Foods International Osem Investments Ltd. () is one of the largest food manufacturers and distributors in Israel. The group is owned (100%) by Nestlé S.A. of Switzerland. Before it was acquired by Nestlé, the company was publicly traded and listed on the Tel Aviv ...

Petach Tikvah Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally 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 settlement ...

, Israel, in its finance department. After achieving his master's degree, he taught

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian 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, New Jersey. It was founded in 1972 by Rabbi Menachem Meier and Alfred Frisch. The school primarily serves the Jew ...

and the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway. Before joining Beth Jacob, he served as Rabbi to the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

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 18,669 at the 2020 census. Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, wh ...

. In August 2009, he joined Congregation Beth Jacob of

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

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. The county is divided into 19 legislative districts, each represented by an elected legislator. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the Nassau County Board of Superviso ...

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 Judaism, Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). ...

, where he is on the executive board. Rabbi Topp serves on the National Council of

AIPAC The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...

, 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 colleges in the United States, women's college of Liberal arts, arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill, ...

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 with six locations in New Jersey. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a ...

. Dr. Topp studied at Michlalah and

Nishmat Nishmat ( 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 Jewish holidays, Yom Tov. It is also recited during the Passover seder. Shochen A ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Community Yoetzet Halacha, having been trained in

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

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

References

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

Early life

Career

Personal

Further reading

References