Temple Beth Israel rabbi steps away after 15 years in Fresno

Temple Beth Israel lost more than a longtime rabbi when Rick Winer stepped away after 15 years in Fresno. The congregation now faces a practical question that reaches beyond a personnel change: who will carry the pastoral care, interfaith leadership and community outreach that Winer helped anchor for families across the Central Valley?

Winer first came to Temple Beth Israel in 2011, and temple leaders described his departure as a real loss at a time when membership has declined and financial support has been harder to sustain. The synagogue is now without a full-time rabbi, though leaders said services will continue on schedule and that worship does not require an ordained rabbi to go forward.

For Temple Beth Israel, the transition lands on top of a long institutional history. The congregation says it incorporated on May 8, 1919, with Rabbi Alexander Segal as its first rabbi. Its first site at 2336 Calaveras Street was purchased on February 20, 1922, groundbreaking followed on December 17, 1922, and the sanctuary was completed in 1936 after delays tied to the Great Depression and a poor raisin crop.

The synagogue describes itself as a Reform congregation and a cornerstone of Jewish life in Fresno for more than a century. It serves members from Fresno, Clovis, Selma, Fowler, Coarsegold, Madera, Modesto, Sanger and other Central Valley communities, with Friday night services held in person, on Zoom and on Facebook Live.

Winer’s exit also closes a chapter shaped by moments when Temple Beth Israel became part of the city’s public response to antisemitism. In 2018, Fresno police investigated vandalism at the synagogue after the word Israel was torn down from its sign and treated the case as a hate crime. Last year, Winer spoke publicly after Fresno State reported three incidents of hate-based vandalism and removed antisemitic messaging, urging the community to pause and consider where such incidents were coming from.

He also thanked interfaith colleagues, local law enforcement and civic leaders for standing with the Jewish community. His departure leaves Temple Beth Israel with a succession challenge as much as a staffing gap, as the congregation weighs how to preserve engagement, sustain worship and define its next chapter without the rabbi who had become one of its most familiar public voices.