Rabbi Aria Caligiuri
Rabbi Aria Caligiuri came to Salinas to serve as the rabbi of Temple Beth El. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Aria is delighted to return to California and to become part of the Salinas and Monterey Bay communities.
She spent two years living in the Midwest before returning to the West Coast, an experience that gave her an appreciation for both the diversity of Jewish communities and the importance of creating a synagogue home where everyone can feel welcome.
Aria received her bachelor’s degree at UC Davis before pursuing her rabbinical education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she earned a master’s degree in Hebrew Letters in 2022 and was ordained as a rabbi in 2024.
During rabbinical school, Aria developed a particular passion for pastoral care, Jewish education, worship, and building meaningful relationships within Jewish communities.
Following her rabbinical training, Aria completed a chaplaincy residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, a Level I trauma center. Her work as a hospital chaplain brought her into contact with people and families from many different backgrounds and taught her the importance of being present during moments of joy, uncertainty, illness, grief, and transition. She also gained experience providing spiritual care in addiction treatment and small congregational settings. These experiences continue to shape her understanding of the rabbinate and her commitment to meeting people wherever they are in their lives and Jewish journeys.
Aria believes that Judaism is at its best when it brings people together through learning, worship, celebration, and acts of caring for one another. She is particularly interested in making Jewish life accessible to people with a wide variety of backgrounds and levels of Jewish experience, and she looks forward to creating opportunities for members of Temple Beth El to learn, celebrate, and grow together.
Outside of her work as a rabbi, Aria enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, biking, cooking, playing guitar and other musical instruments, and building LEGO sets. Aria looks forward to getting to know the Temple family and working together to strengthen and grow our community.