Rabbi Noah Farkas

Rabbi Noah Zvi Farkas served at Valley Beth Shalom, the largest Jewish congregation in the San Fernando Valley, from 2008-2021. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2008, where he won numerous academic prizes in the areas of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud. He is also a Lecturer at the American Jewish University. 

Rabbi Farkas led a two-year campaign to address homelessness in Los Angeles county. He galvanized a coalition of churches and synagogues along with many other organizations to pass historic legislation that moved over five billion dollars to build housing and services for the homeless and the near-homeless.

Noah is an appointed commissioner and former Chairperson of the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority which oversees the regional strategy between public and private partnerships to end homelessness. He was been featured on NPR as a changemaker and is a rising voice of faith leadership in Los Angeles.

Before his service at VBS, Noah served as the Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Biloxi, Mississippi where he helped rebuild the Gulf Coast Jewish community after Hurricane Katrina. Under his leadership the congregation reformed its board structure, built a new building, and worked with civic officials to ensure the Jewish community’s future in Southern Mississippi.

While in Rabbinical School, Rabbi Farkas served as a Chaplain for the United States Navy Reserve during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rabbi Farkas worked with military families of all faiths to prep them for deployment and to help them spiritually and emotionally when they returned home.

Noah is a social entrepreneur, launching the Seminary Leadership Project which has trained hundreds of Jewish clergy nationwide to create social change through JOIN for Justice where he also serves as a board member. Rabbi Farkas is also the founder of Netiya, an interfaith organization that works on food issues in Los Angeles, and boasts a membership of over forty congregations.

Rabbi Farkas publishes widely on topics of spirituality, social justice, millennial engagement. He is a regular contributor to the Jewish Journal and speaks nationally at conferences. His work has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, Reuters, Associated Press and other outlets.

In 2016, Rabbi Farkas was recognized as one of America’s most inspiring rabbis by the Forward Newspaper.  Noah wrote a weekly commentary on the Torah portion called Torah from Within, you can subscribe at noahfarkas.com. He lives in Encino with his wife Sarah and four children where he loves to garden and make artisanal ice cream.

In 2021, Rabbi Farkas accepted the honor of becoming the President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. He expresses three values – trust, leadership and diversity – to guide federation operations in prioritizing mental health, fighting antisemitism, Israel engagement and programs that explore Jewish diversity. Read more >

VBS is profoundly grateful for his transformational leadership and continued service to the future of Jewish Los Angeles within his role at JFEDLA.

He can be followed on Twitter at @RabbiNoah

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