For the conference agenda, click here.
GREETING and NEXT STEPS
Mark S. Anshan
Coordinator, Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism
Mark S. Anshan is a lawyer and a former Canadian diplomat, serving on several nonprofit boards. He provides legal, business, strategic and organizational advice to not-for-profits and charities.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mark served in the Canadian foreign service at the United Nations and the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm. Having served as a senior executive, chair and board member, he has been involved in managing and reorganizing several companies and nonprofits. He has extensive experience in management, strategic planning, governance and organizing businesses. He serves on several boards in the Canadian Jewish community and beyond. Mark is a past president of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, past president of ARZA Canada and past chair of ARZENU. He served on the Union for Reform Judaism board of trustees and as vice chair. He currently serves as a director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, Project Abraham and other organizations.
INTRODUCTION TO KEYNOTE
Rabbi Neal Katz
Rabbi, Congregation Beth El
Neal Katz has been the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Tyler, Texas, since his ordination from Hebew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2003.
Neal is active in a number of nonprofit organizations in Tyler. He has served as the board chair for the Hospice of East Texas and the Mosaic Counseling Center and he is presently the chair of The Tyler Loop, a local journalism project. Neal currently serves on the Texas Freedom Network’s statewide board and is secretary of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis. Neal is also a member of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition.
Neal is also a musician, with four solo CDs to his name. He and his wife Jennifer have three children — two in college and one in high school.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Rabbi Dr. Tracy Kaplowitz
Israel Fellow, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Coordinator, Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism
Rabbi Tracy J. Kaplowitz, Ph.D., is the inaugural Marilyn G. and Joseph B. Schwartz Israel Fellow at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and the Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism conference coordinator. She came to Stephen Wise from JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, which ensures the quality of Jewish life for Jews in the U.S. military and the Veterans Administration.
An experienced spiritual leader and educator, Rabbi Kaplowitz served as a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and on the professional staff of both the Schechter School of Long Island and the Jewish Education Project. She was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and earned her doctorate in the sociology of education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Rabbi Kaplowitz is a member of both the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Rabbinical Assembly.
SUMMARY
Rabbi Jeff Salkin
Rabbi, Temple Israel of West Palm Beach
Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin is one of American Judaism’s most prolific and most-quoted rabbis. His blog, “Martini Judaism: for those who want to be shaken and stirred,” published by Religion News Service, won a 2022 Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council for best religion blog of the year, as well as two previous awards. His essays have appeared in the Washington Post, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Tablet, Mosaic, Forward and JTA. He has discussed the American political scene on CNN and the BBC and has contributed articles to scholarly journals. His 10 books discuss such subjects as b’nai mitzvah, Israel, masculinity, and Jewish culture, and include three Torah commentaries. He delivered the keynote on religion and spirituality at the world-famous Chautauqua Institution, where he also participated in interreligious dialogues in international forums. His colleagues have described him as “courageous,” “always relevant,” and “one of American Judaism’s true public intellectuals.” His new book on the future of liberal Judaism will be published this autumn.
Rabbi Salkin serves as the rabbi of Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Florida, and his hobbies include music, movies, bicycling, and consuming vast quantities of coffee.
MUSICAL SERVICES
Cantor Daniel Singer
Cantor, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Cantor Daniel Signer is as comfortable singing 18th-century classical liturgical repertoire or leading the congregation in traditional Hasidic or Sephardic melodies as he is performing Jewish pop a cappella with Six13 or singing roles with the Yiddish theater. He has served as the cantor of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue since 2006. “A singing community” is one of Cantor Singer’s major goals, and together with Senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, he has implemented a revolutionary model of worship for the congregation.
Cantor Singer majored in music and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin in Superior and holds master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in sacred music from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in Jerusalem and Manhattan. Before entering the cantorate, he was voice department chair, opera workshop director, and head start coordinator at the Flint School for the Performing Arts, and a resident artist with the Toledo Opera and other regional and international vocal arts programs including the Israel Vocal Arts and Brevard Music Center. Cantor Singer is a member of the American Conference of Cantors and the Cantor’s Assembly.
Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism is sponsored by Amplify Israel: A Stephen Wise Free Synagogue initiative. Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is a 501(c)(3) religious organization (Tax ID #13-1628215) and any donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowable by law.
