My life

Hi! My name is Rabbi Gavin Mordechai Teller, and some call me Rabbi T, some call me Rabbi T$, some call me Rabbichka!  I’ll respond to all of those!  It is extremely difficult to write about myself and speak about my accomplishments...so, I’m NOT going to do that!  I’m going to speak a little about my journey, what I enjoy most in life, what I’m most passionate about, what gets me out of bed in the morning, and what keeps me going!  

I’m native to Los Angeles, California, The San Fernando Valley to be specific. 818 in the house!  I was your typical kid/teenager/young-adult who loved to play sports; baseball (Kirk Gibson’s Walk-off homerun in the 9th inning of the World Series in 1988 will forever live-up as one of my favorite moments as a 7-year old), loving and listening to ALL different genres of music; whether it was Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, anything from the 80’s, Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake or Bieber, you would have found me in the club on the dance floor enjoying getting low. When I wasn’t in the club, you’d find me boogie boarding in Malibu, Ca, eating some great Nigiri sushi, and driving on the Pacific Coast Highway with the windows down and sun in my face! I was a lifeguard, swim-instructor, worked as a behavioral therapist with special needs kids and was a psychology major at Cal State University, Northridge. Sounds all pretty standard for a kid who grew up in LA a.k.a. La La Land!

After attending a 10-day Israel Trip as a 24 year old with Aish HaTorah Los Angeles, I realized that there was more to life than just music, sushi, sports, girls, and fast cars.  Coming from a divorced family in many ways, made me learn to cope and deal with my feelings on my own, and I wasn’t in touch with many of my emotions.  I was finally ready to deal with my past, and started asking questions like, “why is Gavin (Mordechai) Teller here on this planet”?  I was ready to acknowledge that nothing in life was by chance, we have the ability to choose our outlook, choose our emotions, and choose our mindset while taking responsibility in every situation.  What a relief to discover that!  

I started working for Aish LA as a recruiter/liaison to help kickstart a then non-existent college program.  While being exposed to a thriving Jewish Community, I realized that I wanted to give back to young people, the same way that the community gave to me.  I made the commitment to go learn in a Yeshiva Aish HaTorah for what was supposed to be a one year stay.  Little did I know that after several months of me being in Israel and learning about my heritage and culture, that I then realized that I wanted to be a Rabbi.  That 1 year in Israel turned out to be a 6 year journey in Jerusalem.  What an incredible and life changing experience!

I have now been a practicing Rabbi in LA since 2013, running my own Jewish Outreach Organization, called JHubLA, connecting thousands of Jews to social-events, business-networking, community relations, while teaching about spirituality and Jewish Values.  My biggest passion is matchmaking, and being a relationship specialist, who can coach those marriage-minded individuals, while advising those couples who have been in relationships for many years.  Through my work as a Rabbi here in LA, with the help of the Almighty, I have been responsible for over 50 plus matches, where couples have gotten married and have started families of their own.  I’d like to see myself as your accountability partner/consultant who advises people with more responsible choices to better ensure more healthy, and more sustaining long-term relationships through the teachings of the timeless knowledge, and secrets of our historic wisdom.

I enjoy spending time with my amazing wife, Miriam, and 4 precocious and fun children, Eliora, Azariah, Noa, and Adina… and you can still find me enjoying some amazing sushi, following the Dodgers, and attending a Jo Koy show, and dancing along at a Justin Timberlake concert if you have an extra ticket!