About Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz

About Rabbi Mario Karpuj

Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz

Rabbi Dr. Bortz is married to Rabbi Mario Karpuj. They have two daughters, Tamar and Adina. Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz is a full-time rabbi at Congregation Or Hadash, Sandy Springs, Atlanta.

Rabbi Bortz has 18 years of experience as a pulpit Rabbi. She is the first Latin America female Rabbi who completed her Rabbinical ordination in Jerusalem.

As an educator, Rabbi Bortz has 20 years experience, educating adults as well as children in different institutions such as synagogues, Jewish day schools, religious schools, and other public and private institutions: JCC, Hadassah Organization, American Jewish Committee, Agnes Scott College, Egleston Hospital at Emory University, Scottish Rite Hospital, Catholic University of Valparaiso-Chile, the Machon Schechter Rabbinic Institute –Jerusalem, University of Buenos Aires, and Rabbinical Seminary-Buenos Aires.

She has been Scholar-in-Residence in several cities in South America, the Unites States of America, and Spain.

As a medical doctor, Dr Bortz has served in various hospitals and private clinics in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Jerusalem, Israel; Valparaiso, Chile; and Atlanta, Georgia-USA.

As a bioethicist, Dr. Bortz has created a Bioethic Committee in Chile and currently, is a member of the Scottish Rite/Egleston (Emory Hospital) Bioethics Committee.

"I enjoy merging my vocations as a Rabbi, a medical doctor and a bioethicist. My background allows me to see the Human Soul/Body as a holistic concept, to approach members of my congregation-students as well as patients-with an open mind. I enjoy investigating new technologies and developments on Bioethical issues, researching Bioethics from a Jewish Perspective (i.e abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, gene therapy, cloning, etc.) and conveying my knowledge to those whom I serve."

Analia is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Dr. Bortz is the founder of “Seeds of Hope” an organization designed to support couples that are struggling with fertility issues, focusing on the holistic view of the Body/ Spirit.

Rabbi Bortz is a faculty member of the Florence Melton Adult Mini School, a project of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Rabbi Mario Karpuj

Rabbi Mario Karpuj was born in Argentina, where he received his ordination from the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano “Marshall T. Meyer”.

He became the spiritual leader of his first Congregation in 1986, at the age of 19. Over the past 25 years, he has served in three congregations in Argentina, and as Rabbi-in-Residence for the Jewish Community of Cuba during High Holidays, before becoming Rabbi of the Congregación Israelita de Valparaíso in Viña del Mar, Chile, the first in 35 years.

During his years at the Rabbinical School in Buenos Aires, he also became a Chaplain for one of Argentina’s largest prisons, visiting Jewish inmates on a weekly basis.

In the year 2000 he moved to Atlanta with his wife, Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz, and his two daughters, Tamar and Adina, to join the Ahavath Achim Synagogue’s clergy.

In 2003 Rabbis Mario and Analia became the founding Rabbis of Congregation Or Hadash, the most meaningful and exciting professional endeavor in which he has been involved. In addition, he is serving as a board member in the Atlanta Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and was the Rabbi-in-Residence of the AJC International Meeting from 2001 - 2007.

For many years, Rabbi Karpuj has been involved in interfaith dialogue and advocacy. He is and active member of the Sandy Springs Interfaith Clergy Association and is involved with FAMA, the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta. Rabbi Karpuj also feels very fortunate to be member of the World Pilgrims program, an Atlanta based project in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims participate in interfaith pilgrimages. Through the World Pilgrims Board, Rabbi Karpuj participated in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 2005 and acted as the Jewish leader on pilgrimages to Turkey in 2006 and 2007.

Return to the top