Meet our Rabbis

Rabbi Tracee Rosen

Rabbi Tracee looks forward to meeting with all of our community members and those who are interested in becoming part of the Temple. Feel free to schedule a phone, Zoom, or in-person chat that’s convenient for you by clicking

Rabbi’s Calendar.

Rabbi Tracee Rosen was raised in Denver, Colorado and attended college at Washington University in St. Louis, where she received both a bachelor’s in Jewish Study and her MBA degrees.

After a 13 year career in banking, she returned to school, attending the newly established Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles. She was ordained in 2000 with multiple academic awards. She served in pulpits in Encino, CA, Salt Lake City, UT, and Phoenix, AZ for 21 years before retiring from pulpit life in 2021. Two years later, after falling in love with the people at TBS-EV, she was coaxed out of retirement to return to the pulpit. Many congregants have commented about how much they enjoy her spirited and participatory divrei Torah (Torah discussions) on Shabbat morning. She is also renowned throughout the Valley of the Sun as a gifted adult education teacher, who has a flair for making complex ideas easier to understand, and inviting students to challenge their own preconceived ideas.

Rabbi Tracee is active with the International movement of Conservative Judaism, serving as a member of the Committee of Jewish Law and Standards, the Rabbinical Assembly Investment and budget committees, and as a Rabbinical Assembly representative on the Joint Retirement Board (which manages the pension funds of clergy and employees of Conservative movement organizations). Locally, she has been involved in the Greater Phoenix Board of Rabbis, in the allocations committee of the Greater Phoenix Center for Jewish Philanthropy, and enjoys participating in interfaith dialogue opportunities.

Rabbi Tracee looks forward to having the opportunity to develop personal connections with each member of the community from young to old. In the aftermath of COVID-19, she is hoping to help the Jewish community of the East Valley reconnect with each other and with a larger mission to repair the world.

Tracee lives in north central Phoenix with her wife, Keren, teenage son, and pets. Her hobbies include family genealogy research, solving puzzles, collecting Jewish folktales, and travel whenever possible.

Contact the Rabbi:

Rabbi Emeritus Kenneth R. Leitner

Rabbi Kenneth Leitner retired as Rabbi of TBS-EV following the High Holy Days in 2017, and was honored to be named Rabbi Emeritus of the congregation. He made aliyah to Israel at the end of December 2017, and is now residing in Karnei Shomron, Israel. He now holds dual American-Israeli citizenship.

Rabbi Leitner is a native Californian who has served congregations in NY, CT, PA, CA, and GA. Ordained as a rabbi in 1976, he completed his post ordination doctoral work in the Talmud department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and holds an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

In addition to his calling as a congregational Rabbi, he served for a decade as the senior Jewish chaplain for the Dept. of Mental Health in the state of Connecticut. In addition, Rabbi Leitner has served on the faculty of the Institute for Jewish-Christian relations at Muhlenberg College in PA; taught at the College and Seminary of the Holy Apostles in CT; and served as both a faculty member and board member of the Lehrhaus Judaica at Stanford University.

He is a noted educator, and has been involved with the founding of two Jewish Day Schools and a Community Jewish Supplementary High School. The senior class of the high school honored him with an award ‘as teacher of the year’ for excellence in classroom teaching.

Rabbi Leitner is the proud father of David, married to Hilah, plus grandkids Yair, Rina, and Yitzchak Lev, and the proud father of Adina, married to Ricky, plus grandkids Emmeline and Simon.

Should you need to contact Rabbi Leitner please use the link below, or write to RabbiLeitner@tbsev.org.