Rabbi Josh Whinston first seriously contemplated becoming a rabbi after his bar mitzvah. “I really loved being on the bimah, and the feeling of pride when I stepped off and was embraced by my parents and family,” he says. He would later lead services for his synagogue youth group, and in college at Hillel. “One summer during college,” he recalls, “I was working at a Reform-movement camp, and I received a phone call from an acquaintance. He told me his mother had died and that he wanted me to come to the funeral and lead the shiva minyan after.” It was, he says, “one of the most important, meaningful moments of my life.” His path was set. Rabbi Whinston was ordained at the Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles; he has earned master’s degrees in Hebrew Letters and Jewish Education and is pursuing a doctorate in Pastoral Ministry. He served congregations in Connecticut, California and Washington state before arriving at Temple Beth Emeth in 2016. Married to Sarah Raful-Whinston, Rabbi Whinston is the proud father of Mollie, Eva and Ori.