In Memoriam
Rabbi David Rebibo z"l
Remembering our founding rabbi — a beloved community builder and leader.
הרב דוד יעיש בן יוסף זצ"ל
Founding Rabbi · 1965 — 2024
The 10th of Sivan marked the first yahrzeit of our founding rabbi, Rabbi David Rebibo zt"l.
Rabbi David Rebibo zt"l founded the Phoenix Hebrew Academy, Beth Joseph Congregation, and the Greater Phoenix Vaad HaKashruth after arriving in Phoenix in 1965. For over fifty years, he served as the congregation's spiritual leader and played a central role in shaping every aspect of Jewish life in the city.
Born in Morocco, Rabbi Rebibo pursued his Torah studies in Europe before becoming a close talmid of HaRav Avraham Kalmanovitch zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva of the Mirrer Yeshiva in New York.
Rabbi Rebibo exuded much love — a love of family, a love of Yiddishkeit, a love of Torah, a love of people, and a love of life. With his great drive, political savvy, and charisma, he built the Phoenix Jewish community and left his mark on the world. Together with his beloved wife Odette, he raised a beautiful family, uplifted others, and profoundly impacted countless individuals with his charm, wit, wisdom, and care.
In March 2020, Rabbi and Mrs. Rebibo fulfilled their lifelong dream of making aliyah, settling in Yerushalayim. Rabbi Rebibo passed away in June 2024.
His Legacy
What he built.
Rabbi Rebibo arrived in Phoenix in 1965 and never stopped building. The institutions he founded still carry his vision forward today.
Beth Joseph Congregation
A home for Torah and tefillah
From its founding in 1965, Rabbi Rebibo built Beth Joseph into a thriving Orthodox kehillah and the spiritual home of generations of Phoenix families. For more than fifty years he led the davening, taught the shiurim, and stood beside his members through every simcha and sorrow — anchoring authentic Jewish life in the desert.
Phoenix Hebrew Academy
A future built on Torah education
Knowing that a community's future lives in its children, Rabbi Rebibo founded the Phoenix Hebrew Academy so that families in Arizona could give their children a full Torah education close to home. The day school became a cornerstone of Jewish continuity in the Southwest, shaping generations of students in Torah, mitzvos, and middos.
The Phoenix Jewish community
The infrastructure of Jewish life
Rabbi Rebibo's vision reached far beyond any one institution. He established the Greater Phoenix Vaad HaKashruth to bring reliable kashruth to the region and championed the mosdos — eruv, mikvah, adult learning, and outreach — that a growing community needs. With drive, savvy, and charisma, he knit together the foundations of Orthodox life across greater Phoenix.
His legacy continues to inspire, and he is sorely missed.