Riverside, CA – Rabbi Resigns amid Complaints of Conduct

Riverside, CA – The rabbi of Riverside's oldest synagogue is stepping down, more than two months after he grazed a school psychologist with his truck during an argument over who was first in line at a drive-through ATM.

Jory Yarmoff, president of the Temple Beth El's board of directors, confirmed that the board has accepted the resignation of Rabbi Yitzhak Miller.

"Anger management was part of it. The other part of it was his ability to successfully partner with temple leadership," Yarmoff said.

Rabbi Miller, who has been at the synagogue for a year and a half, said his problems there result not from his actions, but because Temple Beth El — which serves more than 230 families — is a small congregation with limited finances and volunteers.

"It does not appear that there is a good match between my energies as a rabbi and the congregation's ability to sustain these programs," he said.

The Rabbi also pointed out that there has been a high turnover of clergy in recent years, during one period around 2000, the synagogue went through three rabbis in less than two years.