Rabbi Raphael Asher has been the Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tikvah since its inception in 1981 and has watched it grow from 18 to 330 families. Ordained in 1977 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he served congregations in Melbourne, Australia, and Framingham, Massachusetts, before returning to the San Francisco Bay Area. His special interests and academic pursuits include Modern Hebrew literature and German Jewish history for which he co-authored the book The Jewish Legacy and the German Conscience. Rabbi Asher sits on the Executive Board of the Contra Costa Interfaith Council and chairs its Health and Faith-In-Action Committee. He is currently the President of the East Bay Council of Rabbis.