Welcome to Har Zion Congregation!

     Whether you are exploring the different synagogues in the Valley of the Sun or you are a long-time member of Har Zion, I hope you will take the opportunity to look around and learn more about the Har Zion community.

     All of our staff and members at Har Zion are eager to speak with you and, if you are not already familiar with our congregation, to show you around and introduce you to someone with whom you might share an interest, a birthplace, or a similar life journey.

     We would love to get to know you better.  Please call, e-mail or, better yet, stop by.  Whether you are a long-time member or just exploring your options, we hope to talk with you soon.

Rabbi Judi Ahavah Del Bourgo

(480) 991-0720, ext. 104
 

   Rabbi Judi Ahavah Del Bourgo grew up in Queens, New York. She attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, where she majored in Vocal Music. Rabbi Del Bourgo earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and General Science from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a Master’s Degree in Leadership in Math Education from Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan. She received Rabbinic Ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles.

Prior to working with elders & Hospice patients, Rabbi Del Bourgo taught Elementary School in the Catskill Mountain region of NY. Her enthusiasm about teaching for different learning styles, building community, and helping children discover “Math Miracles” soared in those mountains. From the time of her Bat Mitzvah, her Jewish identity, though, was essentially dormant. It was there, in the Catskills, two decades after her Bat Mitzvah, that Rabbi Del Bourgo’s deep love for Judaism was actually kindled. The right teachers, full of passion, showed her a world that she never knew could exist within Judaism: soulful prayers and psychological interpretations of Torah.

As a Jew whose involvement in Judaism has been reawakened by inspiring teachers, Rabbi Del Bourgo knows the power of meaningful and engaging experiences. Following in the footsteps of her mentors, she enjoys helping Jews of all ages and backgrounds deepen their sense of wonder and their understanding of how God and holiness are present in their everyday lives. Rabbi Del Bourgo’s hope is that every Jew can make personal meaning of our precious teachings and mitzvot.

After serving as Part-Time Rabbi of Surf City Synagogue in Huntington Beach, California from 2008-2012, Rabbi Del Bourgo is delighted to join the Har Zion community as spiritual leader.

*Photo Credit: Joy Krauthammer---© 2011

From the Arizona Jewish Life: Rabbi Judi Ahavah Del Bourgo of Har Zion Congregation of Scottsdale >>

Hazzan Bernard Savitz
(480) 991-0720, ext. 106


     Hazzan Bernard Savitz is a graduate of the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, Yeshiva College, the James Striar School of Jewish Studies, and the Hazzanial Training Institute, all in New York City. In addition, he spent a year at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, studying opera and music theory.
     Hazzan Savitz is an ordained Hazzan with the Hazzans Assembly, a member of the Guild of Temple Musicians, a lifetime associate member of the American Conference of Hazzans, and a member of the Jewish Ministers Hazzans Associattion.
     Born in Binghamton, New York, Hazzan Savitz has been a fulltime Hazzan for 25 years, having served prestigious congregations in New York, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona. He has achieved an international reputation in Torah chanting, Cantillation, Hazzanic interpretation, and creative improvisation. He has composed and arranged many Hazzanial, congregational and folk melodies, including hundreds of secular and religious parodies, and he wrote original settings in Ladino for the major motion picture, Triump of the Spirit.
     Hazzan Savitz studied voice and music with renowned Metropolitan Opera coaches William Lewis, Gorgio Tozzi, and famous Hazzans. He also trained and sang with the Tri-Cities Opera of Upstate New York, a major training centor for scholarship winners of the Metropolitan Opera. Hazzan Savitz sings in a total of nine languages.
     He is a great animal lover, and has worked for many years on behalf of pet adoption and the Humane Society. Hazzan Savitz is a member of the National Institution for the Deaf and Blind. He is an active member of the United States Association of Table Tennis, winning a Gold Medal at the World Huntsman Games, and was also involved in the Oscar-winning motion picture, Forest Gump.

Rabbi Mark J. Bisman
Rabbi Emeritus

(480) 991-0720, ext. 107


     Rabbi Mark J. Bisman, a graduate of the rabbinical school of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), received a Masters in Hebrew Literature from JTS and a Masters of Social Work from Arizona State University.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University. Rabbi Bisman was awarded a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from JTS in recognition of his 25 years in the pulpit rabbinate. Rabbi Bisman has served as the rabbi of Har Zion Congregation since August 1983. With his abiding interest in Jewish education, Rabbi Bisman is very proud that a Solomon Schechter Award of Excellence in Adult Education was bestowed on Har Zion’s Lehrhaus-Scholar in Residence program.  The Har Zion Lehrhaus was recently renamed the Rabbi Herbert Silberman Memorial Lectures.  Rabbi Bisman is a past-president and a current member of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix.