Rabbi David H. Auerbach is the founding rabbi of Bet Shira Congregation. He received his undergraduate training at McGill University (in Montreal) and received a Master’s degree in Hebrew Literature and ordination at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1965. He served pulpits in Montreal and Atlanta before coming to Miami in 1981.

In addition to his congregational duties, Rabbi Auerbach has served as National Chair of the Rabbinical Assembly Convention (1983-1985) and on the Assembly’s Executive Council. He is past president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, the Southeast Region of the Rabbinical Assembly, the South Dade Rabbinic Association and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami. He is a member of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and has served on the South Dade Federation Board. He has served as Co-Chair of Federation’s Rabbinic Campaign and as a member of the Community Campaign Executive Committee and the Commission on Jewish Renewal.

In 1977, he received the United Jerusalem Award, recognizing his communal leadership on behalf of State of Israel Bonds. In 1988, The Jewish Theological Seminary recognized his exemplary leadership in championing the principles of Conservative Judaism by presenting him with the Rabbinical Service Award of Appreciation. In 1991, the Seminary conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in tribute to his twenty-five years of distinctive and devoted service in the rabbinate. In May of 2000, the Seminary conferred on Rabbi Auerbach the Rabbi Simon Greenberg Rabbinic Achievement Award.