Congregation Beth Israel (Hebrew: בית ישראל) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Berkeley, California, in the United States.

[8][9] During the 1980s and early 1990s Beth Israel was at the vanguard of the baal teshuva movement in Modern Orthodox Judaism.

During this period, small groups of Jews would rent space above stores in downtown Berkeley for Shabbat and holiday services.

[5][14] Though during its first decades the synagogue was lay-led,[8] in its early years it received significant guidance and support from Meyer and Newman, both Reform rabbis.

[18] Leibowitz would serve for fifteen years, before moving to Israel in 1984,[9] and was succeeded first by Joseph Ozarowski, then by Manny Forman.

[2] Costs had initially been budgeted at $8 million, but fundraising was slowed by collapse of the dot-com bubble and the economic effects of the September 11 attacks.

Though his parents were not observant, Cohen became more-so, aligning first with the Conservative movement, and then studying at the Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York City, headed by Rabbi Avi Weiss.

[24] Rabbi Max Davis, a 2008 graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, joined the congregation that year as rabbinic educator.

He earned his master's degree in Jewish education from Yeshiva University in 2009, and in August 2010 he moved to Congregation B'nai Torah of Springfield, Massachusetts.