Rabbi Evon J. Yakar joined the clergy at Temple Chai in July 2007.  He grew up throughout the northern Midwest attending high school in the suburbs of Detroit and he lived in Minneapolis and Chicago before high school.  Many of his summers were spent at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a Union for Reform Judaism summer camp.  OSRUI is a special place for many reasons, but high on the list is that it is the place where he met his wife Rachel.  Evon earned a BS from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2001 where he studied Hebrew and Biological Aspects of Conservation. 

He was ordained as a Rabbi in June 2007 from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he also earned his Master of Hebrew Letters degree.  Evon received awards for the highest academic standing in his class and for the most significant academic improvement during his tenure at HUC.  During his time in Cincinnati, Evon studied in a joint program between HUC-JIR and Xavier University to earn a Masters in Educational Administration.  During Rabbinical school, Evon served student pulpits and internships in Billings, Montana, Sylvania, Ohio, Skokie, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio.  In addition, he served as a youth programs intern for the Department of Youth Programs at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. 

He is passionate about sharing Judaism with the families of Temple Chai's community and he looks forward to the exciting years ahead in his rabbinate.  Much of his work at Temple Chai focuses on the youth and their families in our community.  Evon enjoys playing ice hockey and was quite surprised to learn – yes there is ice in Arizona!  He spends much of his free time hiking the trails in Phoenix with his wife Rachel and their dog Sasha.