Our Clergy
Rabbi Dr. Jules King
Senior Founding Rabbi
Rabbi Dr. Jules King was ordained and received his סמיכה S’micha/ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion California(AJRCA) in Los Angeles, CA.
Rabbi Dr. King is our Founding, Senior Rabbi and serves as our spiritual leader and teacher. He shares in our joys and our sorrows, offering uplifting and enlightening sermons that encourage and inspire. He helps us make informed choices regarding Jewish beliefs and practices and is instrumental in creating and developing our community.
Rabbi Dr. Jules received his master’s degree in Rabbinical Studies from AJRCA and his doctorate at the Claremont School of Theology as a participant in the D. Min., Spiritual Renewal, Contemplative Practice, and Strategic Leadership program. Rabbi Dr. King was awarded the Claremont School of Theology’s Doctor of Ministry Presidential Academic Award for Excellence.
Rabbi Dr. King holds various other degrees and has spent many years working in small to large organizations and Fortune 500 companies, serving in both healthcare and mortuary science. Rabbi is an accomplished musician, pianist, organist, and vocalist. In the recent past, he sang with the large (nearly 300-voice) Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
Rabbi Dr. King resides in the greater Palm Springs area. He is the father of two children. He is active and busy, loves traveling and enjoys his journey with the fast-growing Desert Outreach Synagogue congregation and the Coachella Valley community. He is often heard saying, “Come join us! You already belong!”
The congregation acknowledges Rabbi Dr. King's sincere devotion, dedication, and passion to his rabbinate, and our Rabbi's desire to enhance and improve our lives and those of the local and global community.
Rabbi-Cantor Danny Maseng
Chazzan
Cantor@My-DOS www.dannymaseng.com
A playwright, actor, singer, and composer, Danny has served the National Endowment of the Arts as evaluator for Opera and Musical Theater. He has been the director of the Spielberg Fellowship, the spiritual leader of Congregation Agudas Achim in NY, Artistic Director of the Brandeis Bardin Institute, and the cantor of Temple Israel of Hollywood.
For much of the last decade, Danny was the spiritual leader of Makom LA, a post-denominational Jewish community in Los Angeles. Upon relocating to the desert, Danny was ordained as Rabbi and now joyfully serves alongside Rabbi Dr. Jules King as Chazzan/Rabbi at Desert Outreach Synagogue, in Rancho Mirage.
Danny's critically acclaimed musical 'Wasting Time with Harry Davidowitz,' along with his 'Soul on Fire' and 'Let There Be Light' productions, have earned him accolades.
One of the most respected composers of contemporary synagogue music, Danny was the invited guest of the ACC and the Cantor's Assembly, as well as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. His compositions are sung worldwide, most recently at Disney Hall in L.A. by Pink Martini and at Carnegie Hall by the New York City Youth Chorus.
Danny was the Patron Artist of the Avraham Geiger School for Cantorial Arts in Berlin, Germany. His essays, writings and poems have been included in books by leading Jewish scholars and he has also been featured in a number of documentary films including the popular 'Hava Nagila,' and 'The Other Men in Black.'
Danny has had a long and celebrated career on TV (Law and Order/One Life to Live), on Broadway, and in film. He has written four books, including, 'Apollonia', 'The Passion, The Beauty, The Heartbreak: Israel Through Poetry and Music', 'Spiritual Cooking in The Time of The Plague' and his latest - 'Kingdom Become.'
Danny has been a faculty member for major organizations including Limmud, the URJ, and the Wexner Heritage Foundation, and is deeply involved in interfaith dialogue. As a pioneer in Jewish Arts education, Danny directed Hava Nashira, Tiferet, Tehila and The Jewish Arts Institute. A much sought-after Scholar/Artist-in-Residence, Danny has spent over four decades traveling the world, inspiring, teaching, and rekindling the love of Judaism through Torah, Hassidut, Jewish culture, and the Arts.
Click arrow to hear Rabbi Chazzan Maseng sing Ma Tovu
Rabbi Rachel Axelrad
Associate Rabbi
RabbiRachel@My-DOS.org
Rabbi Rachel Axelrad was ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, in 2020. She has 20 years of experience as a Shaliach Tzibur in multiple service formats. She is experienced in providing pastoral care to individuals needing spiritual support, whether in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice, or at funerals and memorial services.
Her expertise is in working with adults of all ages, especially seniors, whether active, independent, or frail. She has a special interest in working with dementia patients. Her chaplaincy experience includes a 1-year internship at Pomona Valley Hospital, where she worked with patients and families in various stages of crisis. She considers pastoral care a critical element of a rabbi’s role in the community and is always available to congregants needing spiritual support.
Before joining the rabbinate, Rabbi Rachel worked as a CPA and Systems Analyst in various corporate environments. She met her husband of 44 years at Pomona College in Claremont, where she concentrated on Russian Area Studies.
She and her husband have two beautiful princesses and one grandchild. They had been residents of Claremont and Upland for over 40 years. Rabbi Rachel now resides in the Coachella Valley, were she teaches from her home and leads services at local synagogues. We are blessed by her presence at Desert Outreach Synagogue.
Randy Lester-Wilson
Chaplain
Chaplain Randy found his home in Judaism in 2003. Raised in the Lutheran church, when he was a senior in high school, he had a “born-again” Christian experience.
Soon after, he began attending a full-gospel (Charismatic) church. This faith community was not a welcoming environment for someone who happened to be a Christian and openly gay. In 1986, he found a place that welcomed his spirituality and sexuality: the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. It was here where his Chaplaincy began.
Chaplain Randy was licensed as a member of the Clergy in 1989 and ordained in 1993. Visiting congregants in the hospital, making home visits, and calling to check-in on parishioners were all part of his duties and responsibilities. He served this denomination for 13 years until he found his spiritual center within Judaism. As a result, he spent two summers at the training for lay leaders at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. In 2005, he became the “Caring Community” Chair at a synagogue in the Inland Empire.
His responsibilities consisted of doing what comes naturally for Chaplains: supporting individuals mentally-emotionally-spiritually as they navigate life.
Randy enjoys being a “cheerleader for humanity;” holding someone’s hand and heart brings untold joy and fulfillment. “Being present and establishing meaningful connections are ways I live out tikkun olam."