Beth Emet The Free Synagogue - Rabbi London You are here: Home | About Us | Senior Staff

Rabbi Andrea C. London

Rabbi London has served at Beth Emet since July 2000. She is deeply engaged in all aspects of congregational life, including worship, life-cycle events, counseling and support, adult education, youth education and programming, social action and interfaith relations.

In her nine years at Beth Emet, Rabbi London has worked to build bridges between Chicago-area Jews, Christians, and Muslims. She co-chairs the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs’ Jewish-Muslim Community-Building Initiative.

Rabbi London also has established strong ties between Beth Emet and its Israeli sister congregation, Kehillat Tsur Haddasah—leading a 2005 congregational trip to Tsur Hadassah and orchestrating visits to Beth Emet by Tsur Hadassah’s rabbi and his family. During the 2006 Lebanon war, Rabbi London coordinated an unprecedented fundraising effort at Beth Emet, enabling Tsur Hadassah to welcome vast numbers of residents from northern Israel seeking refuge from rocket attacks.

In 2007, Rabbi London introduced Beth Emet to the Union of Reform Judaism’s Just Congregations initiative, sparking discussions on local, regional, and national issues as an initial step to developing new social action efforts on issues of communal concern.

In 2006, Rabbi London led two congregational trips to hurricane-devastated areas on the Gulf Coast where Beth Emet youth and families repaired homes and community centers and forged relationships with Reform Jews and members of a local church.

At Beth Emet, Rabbi London has initiated a variety of programs on Jewish spirituality, including an ongoing Shabbat study program and a yoga minyan.

Each summer, Rabbi London has served on the faculty of the Reform Movement’s Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) summer camp in Oconomowoc, WI.

Rabbi London holds a degree in applied mathematics from Brown University and worked as a management consultant before becoming a rabbi. She received her smicha (ordination) from the Hebrew Union College in New York in 1996 and served as associate rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis from 1996 to 2000. She is married to Danny London and has two children, Yonah and Liora.

Send email to Rabbi London