Mary Lee Talbot
Staff Writer
Rabbi Peter S. Berg, the fifth senior rabbi to serve at The Temple in Atlanta since 1895, is passionate about Jewish learning, meaningful worship and advocacy for social justice. He brings this energy to Chautauqua to serve as chaplain for Chautauqua in Week Six.
At the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning worship service in the Amphitheater, he will preach on “What Was Jonah Afraid Of?” The scripture reading is Jonah 1:1–5. The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, senior pastor for Chautauqua, will preside, and Rabbi Samuel Stahl, a former theologian in residence for the Department of Religion, will read the scripture.
Berg will also preach at the 9:15 a.m. Monday through Friday morning worship services in the Amp. His sermon titles include “Buy a Field of Hope” (Jeremiah 32:1–9), “When Life Disappoints” (Deuteronomy 30:15–20), “Two Passports” (Psalm 6), “A Man in Between” (Genesis 26:18–23) and “The Friends Job Really Needed” (Job 2:11–13).
Berg became the senior rabbi of The Temple in July 2008. Prior to coming to The Temple, he served as rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Washington Township, New Jersey, and as the associate rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in
Dallas, Texas.
Over the years, Berg has worked with advocacy groups on issues including but not limited to poverty and homelessness, criminal justice reform, preventing the human trafficking of minors, civil rights, religious freedom, ending mass incarceration, gun safety, hate crimes, the environment, combatting antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship.
He has served extensively on the boards of a variety of organizations. Currently, he serves on the board of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Anti-Defamation League, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, Faith In Public Life, OUTCRY: Interfaith Voices Against Gun Violence, Three Star, Home First, Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and the Commission On Social Action for Reform Judaism. He is the former president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association.
Berg serves on the advisory boards of the American Jewish Archives (Vice-Chair), the Jewish Fertility Foundation, JumpSpark Teen Initiative, the Islamic Speakers Bureau and the Grady Hospital Foundation.
A native of Ocean Township, New Jersey, he holds a degree in education and human development, with a focus in human services, counseling and Judaic Studies from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. He earned his Master of Arts in Hebrew literature and his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Jerusalem, where he was a Steinhardt Fellow. He holds a certificate in chemical dependency and spiritual counseling and is a trained disaster, fire and police chaplain and serves as a chaplain for the Georgia State Patrol.
In 2009, Berg was inducted into the College of Preachers at Morehouse College. He was a member of the 2012 Leadership Atlanta class and is an active member of the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club. He was recently re-appointed to the Georgia Holocaust Commission.
In 2013, Berg was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of the top 50 most influential rabbis in the United States. From 2016 to 2022, he was named annually by Georgia Trend as one of the Most Influential Georgians and from 2019 to 2023 as one of Atlanta’s Most Powerful Leaders. In 2023, he received Atlanta’s highest honor from Mayor Andre Dickens, the Phoenix Award, as well as the Distinguished Advocate Award from The American Jewish Committee.
