Rabbi Howard A. Simon joined Temple Beth El as spiritual leader in 1986 and served until his retirement in 1999. Rabbi Simon received his ordination at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1963. He then served as rabbi for congregations in Baltimore, MD; Atlantic City, NJ; and Cincinnati, OH.
In addition to his rabbinic duties, Rabbi Simon served on many boards and committees at the local and national levels, including the National Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and as president of the board for Knoxville’s Interfaith Health Clinic. He was a member of the Leadership Knoxville Class of 1992, and served on its board from 1997 until 2000. He has been the recipient of many awards, among them honors for his devotion to community service and his dedication to the State of Israel.
Although officially retired, Rabbi Simon remains very active in Jewish community life in Florida, where he currently serves the congregation of Temple Bet Chaim in Orlando. He is also the chairman of Community Relations Counsel for the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation. Residing in University Park, Florida, Rabbi Simon and his wife, Rona, just welcomed their seventh grandchild into the family.
