Rabbi Phil Aronson is a native of Connecticut. Involved in Jewish activities even as a youth, he served as president of his Temple youth group. He studied at Columbia University where he received his B.A. in Psychology in 1964. He then remained in New York to attend Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and was ordained as a rabbi in 1969.
Rabbi Phil served as student rabbi during his seminary years in Succasunna, New Jersey. He then became the assistant rabbi at a large congregation in suburban Philadelphia after ordination. Next, he served two congregations in West Virginia, ultimately resulting in a permanent merger of the two. Most of his rabbinic career was spent at Congregation B'nai Israel in Elmira, New York. After seventeen years there, Rabbi Phil served as Rabbi for four years in a Boston area congregation before coming to Jupiter and Temple Beth Am in 1996. Rabbi Phil was our rabbi here for seven years, then served as rabbi emeritus for an additional two and a half years. He stepped up to be our rabbi again during the spring of 2006, prior to the arrival of Rabbi Alon.
Rabbi Phil loves music in many forms. He has amassed a large collection of recorded classical music, and has participated in musical groups throughout his life. He plays guitar and keyboard, often playing guitar during services. He thoroughly enjoys accompanying Cantor Jessica since her arrival at Temple Beth Am.
Rabbi Phil has been married to Jean for 31 years. Their younger daughter Stacey is a hotel manager in Destin, Florida. Their older daughter Shayna and son-in-law Jonathan are both attorneys in Palm Harbor, Florida. Rabbi Phil and Jean have recently become the proud grandparents of Zachary.