Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship
for Reform Rabbis
Meet the 2023–2024 Cohort
Meet the 2024–2025 Cohort
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is proud to announce the second Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship, a selective yearlong professional development program for early-career Reform rabbis to provide the tools and resources to incorporate Israel and Jewish peoplehood more fully into their practice.
In these challenging times for Jews in North America—with elections on the horizon and a growing need for leadership on campuses—rabbinic leadership is more critical than ever. This year, we’ve doubled the number of fellows!
This fellowship is made possible in part by the Hochberg Family Foundation, the Lisa and Michael Leffell Foundation, Maimonides Fund, the Paul E. Singer Foundation, and the Zalik Foundation Fund.
Highlights
Seven-Day Symposium in Israel
Recognizing that there is no better way to gain a deep understanding of Israel — or form a committed community — than by traveling together, the fellowship’s seven-day symposium in Israel will focus on deepening your understanding of Zionist intellectual principles and today’s political, social and economic realities, and forming bonds with the leaders and members of the Reform movement in Israel.
Mentorship Program
Fellows will be matched with veteran Reform rabbis and experts in their fields who will dedicate their time to your growth and help you take your leadership to the next level. Together, you will set goals and develop the skill areas where you most wish to have impact.
Seminars in FL and NY
After the Israel seminar, you’ll join together with your cohort twice more in person — in Florida and New York — to strengthen your bonds and share experiences. In each seminar, we will engage and learn from leading state-side experts on Zionism today.
Online Study Sessions
We will meet remotely for five online study sessions with thought leaders. These study sessions will deepen our understanding of Zionism and Jewish peoplehood and provide a safe space for you to question the material being presented and to express any concerns and struggles.
Reform Zionist Network
The intimate nature of this program, along with the establishment of a private group on social media— The Reform Zionist Network — will work to continue strengthening your bonds as you serve as a resource for one another. Going forward, you’ll have each other’s backs whenever your views on Israel are confronted by challenges.
For any questions, contact Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, Ph.D., at tkaplowitz@swfs.org or (212) 877-4050, ext. 225.
2024–2025 Rabbinic Fellowship Cohort
Rabbi Lisa Bock
Jewish Community of Ojai, California
Rabbi Lisa Bock serves the Jewish Community of Ojai, is a mussar facilitator with The Mussar Institute, provides spiritual care to hospice patients and families for Buena Vista Hospice and teaches in various other settings. She is an active member of the Ojai Interfaith Council, bringing many community leaders and volunteers together to work towards the betterment of the Ojai Valley. She is passionate about learning and teaching and teaches on current events through the lens of Talmud and Torah. She also serves on the Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din as a board member and treasurer.
Prior to attending seminary at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California and becoming a rabbi, she was a businesswoman and real estate appraiser, and before that, a computer systems analyst. She loves to walk with her husband Ken and their Labrador Shira.
Rabbi Yael Dadoun, RJE
Congregation Mishkan Or
Beachwood, Ohio
Rabbi Yael Dadoun is a leader and educator in the Jewish community, known for her innovative approach to spiritual leadership, education, and building a meaningful connection to Israel. She has dedicated her career to fostering inclusive and diverse Jewish communities, emphasizing Zionism and lifelong learning.
With a Moroccan-Tunisian background, she aims to build bridges and enhance Jewish diversity in the Reform movement. A dynamic speaker and passionate advocate for women’s roles in religious leadership, Rabbi Dadoun inspires others with her commitment to advancing contemporary Jewish values. Through her efforts, she continues to make Judaism as accessible as possible, finding creative conduits to bring people in while instilling a deep love of Jewish ritual.
She earned her rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and holds a master’s in Jewish education from HUC-JIR, New York.
Rabbi Sydney Danziger
Masa Seattle, Washington
Rabbi Sydney, Masa Seattle’s founding rabbi, has a wealth of experience within progressive Jewish communities across the United States, from a classical Reform congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a pluralistic, non-denominational community in Seattle, Washington. Most recently, she was the senior rabbi at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue, Washington. Prior to that, she was the rabbinic fellow at the Kavana Cooperative, a non-denominational Jewish emergent network community in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.
Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rabbi Sydney attended New York University and the University of New Mexico, graduating with a degree in political science and journalism. After college, she became a labor union organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. In 2006, she became the director of National Initiatives for the Birthright Israel Foundation. During her rabbinical training at Hebrew Union College, she interned at a variety of synagogues and Jewish organizations, from Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York, to Congregation Albert in New Mexico and Hillel at UCLA. Rabbi Sydney was also the recipient of the coveted Schusterman Rabbinical Fellowship. Following her ordination in May 2013, she served as an assistant rabbi at Temple Isaac M. Wise in Cincinnati.
Rabbi Sydney loves living in the Pacific Northwest. Having been raised in a desert, Rabbi Sydney enjoys listening to the rain while snuggling on the couch with her husband, Ben, 6-year-old son, Jacob, and their two beautiful golden retrievers, Mel and Izzy.
Rabbi Jeff Dreifus
Associate Rabbi, Temple Israel
Memphis, Tennessee
Rabbi Jeff Dreifus serves as associate rabbi of Temple Israel in Memphis, TN, where his family has worshipped for six generations. Rabbi Jeff received rabbinic ordination from HUC-JIR in New York City in May 2021. As a student, he served congregations in Juneau, AK and Rye, NY. Prior to his rabbinical studies, Jeff worked in investment banking and for a green tech startup. Rabbi Jeff also co-founded the TI Fellowship for college students and recent graduates, which was recognized by Slingshot as one of the most innovative Jewish programs in the U.S.
He graduated cum laude from WashU in St. Louis with a B.A. in economics and environmental studies. Rabbi Jeff is a proud alumnus of and faculty member for Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Mississippi.
Rabbi Jeff met his wife, Rachael Brill, in Israel. They live in Memphis with their dog Abbey Road, their cat Lil, and their daughter. They enjoy skiing, rock climbing, and cooking together as a family.
Rabbi Ashley Englander
Director of Lifelong Engagement, Congregation Ahavath Chesed
Jacksonville, Florida
Rabbi Englander is the director of lifelong engagement at Congregation Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in religious studies. Afterward, she attended and was ordained at HUC-JIR Cincinnati. Throughout her academic years, Rabbi Englander explored topics that have become essential to her rabbinate: Jewish ecology, Jewish-American history and Israel studies. She was an AIPAC Leffell fellow, student rabbi in South Dakota, rabbinic intern at several Jewish organizations and avid garden volunteer. As a proud Zionist, she finds any opportunity in her rabbinate – youth and adult education, sermons, programming, and prayer services – to stress the importance of the Jewish people’s connection with Israel.
Rabbi Englander is a mom to a two-year-old son and is a dedicated wife to her husband, Austin.
Rabbi Jonathan Falco
Assistant Rabbi, Temple Shaari Emeth
Manalapan, New Jersey
Rabbi Jonathan Falco was born and raised in Westchester, New York. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies from Emory University in 2014, he lived in Israel for a year to improve his Hebrew fluency before returning to the U.S. to serve the American Jewish community as the engagement associate for UD Hillel.
Two years later, he moved to the heart of Jerusalem as a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR. While studying on the Cincinnati campus, he served as student rabbi to a number of communities, including Terre Haute, IN; Sioux Falls, SD; New Iberia, LA; and Cincinnati, OH.
Rabbi Falco has proudly served as the assistant rabbi at Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, NJ since his ordination in 2022. In his spare time, you can find him diving into a new book, going on walks with his fiancée Rebecca or playing with their Orange Tabby kitten, Esti.
Rabbi Zachary Goodman
Associate Rabbi, Isaac M. Wise Temple
Cincinnati, Ohio
Rabbi Zachary Goodman was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and attended the University of Texas in Austin before he was ordained on the Cincinnati campus of HUC-JIR. Following his ordination in 2019, Rabbi Goodman served as the assistant rabbi at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto before joining the Wise Temple community in Cincinnati during the summer of 2022. While living in Canada, he served on the ARZA Canada board and currently sits on the board of AJC Cincinnati.
Rabbi Goodman is passionate about Jewish history, Israel education and experiences and learning in its many forms. Rabbi Goodman has created Jewish education identity curricula for youth and adults, worked extensively in directing youth leadership programs, and led and served as a staff resource to various Israel experiences for teens and young adults. Rabbi Goodman loves exploring the outdoors, cooking, making music, and spending time with his two sons.
Rabbi Brent Gutmann
Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth Zion
Buffalo, New York
Brent P. Gutmann (ordained HUC-JIR Cincinnati 2013) became senior rabbi of Temple Beth Zion (TBZ) of Buffalo, NY in July 2022. He previously served congregations In Michigan and New Zealand. Beloved for his fresh sermons, deep wisdom, and genuine kindness, his arrival contributed to a renaissance at TBZ.
Rabbi Gutmann’s recent impact includes co-founding a Freedom Seder to deepen Black and Jewish unity and co-creating the Blum Jewish Education Project, whose workshops on symbolism, immigration and antisemitism have been experienced by over 1800 participants since its launch this year.
This past year, the organized WNY Jewish community nominated him to be their sole speaker before the Buffalo Common Council in opposition to an over-simplified and one-sided Mideast ceasefire resolution put forward by a coalition of pro-Palestinian organizations. He also serves on the Leadership Team of the Religious Action Center of NY. Rabbi Gutmann resides in North Buffalo with his wife and four daughters.
Rabbi Ari Jun
Director, Jewish Community Relations Council
Cincinnati, Ohio
Ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2015, Rabbi Ari Jun has pursued a career that includes community organizing, scholarship on Jewish literature, congregational leadership, and higher education administration. He is devoted to social justice and tikkun olam, working to address pressing concerns facing our communities. He firmly believes in the power of education and has established various initiatives to give individuals the knowledge and skills they need to sustain and improve their lives.
Rabbi Jun promotes the values of inclusivity and justice, advocating on behalf of the Jewish community and other marginalized groups. Likewise, he actively engages in interfaith dialogue and is known for his passion for cross-cultural collaboration and community building.
Rabbi Jun lives with his wife Hara and their two cats in Cincinnati, Ohio, near to many other family members who are lifelong Cincinnatians.
Rabbi Cassi Kail
Director of Jewish Life and University Chaplain. Chapman University
Orange, California
Rabbi Cassi Kail serves as the director of Jewish Life for Chapman University, creating opportunities for Jewish students, faculty, and staff to celebrate their Jewish identities. Working in Chapman’s Fish Interfaith Center, she is a skilled educator passionate about multifaith dialogue. Previously the rabbi of congregations in New York and California, she was also co-founder of the 20s and 30s minyan The Wandering Jews of Astoria.
Rabbi Kail was ordained in 2011 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she also received an MA in Hebrew literature. She currently serves on the convention committee for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a Los Angeles leader for the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, and on the board of Harbor Connects, which supports neighbors and service providers in the fight against poverty. She lives in southern California with her husband, Josh, and their children, Noam and Talia.
Rabbi Yaron Kapitulnik
Senior Rabbi, Temple Judea
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Rabbi Yaron Kapitulnik serves as senior rabbi of Temple Judea, where he began his career in 2010. As the congregation’s leader, Rabbi Yaron works to create a community where each member is inspired to lead a richer Jewish life, be it through joyous worship, thoughtful learning experiences, a social connection over a cup of coffee, or empathetic pastoral care.
Rabbi Kapitulnik graduated and was ordained in 2010 from the New York campus of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion where he was selected as a participant in the Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Rabbinic Fellows Program. Rabbi Kapitulnik is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he earned a bachelor’s degree in geography with a major in education and has a diverse background including serving as a paratrooper and paramedic in the Israeli armed forces, graduating from Israel’s Ministry of Tourism School and serving as an environmental guide in Ein Gedi.
Rabbi Kapitulnik has four children, twin girls, Roni and Tom, Danielle and Yonatan. He is a runner, avid chess player, reader and chef.
Rabbi Samuel Kaye
Associate Rabbi, Holy Blossom Temple
Toronto, Ontario
Rabbi Samuel Kaye is the associate rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He is an alumnus of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College. Rabbi Kaye has studied at the iCenter, undergone spiritual counselor training through the Elaine Breslow Institute with Beit T’shuvah, and is a “Future Changemaker” fellow with Pardes North America. He is on the board of ARZA Canada, an alumnus of the Leffel Israel Fellowship with AIPAC, and served The Temple in Atlanta from 2018 until 2022.
Rabbi Kaye is an accomplished educator and community organizer. During the most recent sabbatical year, 5782, Rabbi Kaye created and led the “21st Century Shmitah” initiative which purchased, and forgave, over $13.5 million dollars worth of defaulted medical debt for residents of Georgia. His is currently teaching a two-year Beit Midrash utilizing the Hartman Institutes “Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism” curriculum.
Rabbi Deborah Lewis
Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Community
California
Deborah Lewis (Debi) serves as the rabbi of the Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Community. A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, she moved to Santa Barbara more than 20 years ago. She also serves as the community rabbi for the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, where she focuses on outreach and providing volunteer visitors to anyone who can benefit from community and connection.
Rabbi Lewis seeks to embrace those coming to the tradition for the first time, including educated Jews and those once estranged, blended families of every flavor, individuals of all capacities, and all ethnic, racial and gender pluralities.
She has a bachelor’s in Jewish studies from Gratz College and graduated with a Master of Arts from the Academy for Jewish Religion in 2021. She is also a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her wife, Traci, and their two dogs, Lucy and Ollie.
Rabbi Leora Londy
Assistant Rabbi, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester
Chappaqua, New York
Rabbi Leora T. Londy is the assistant rabbi at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaqua, NY. Before moving to New York, she served as a rabbi, educator, and community organizer at the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism in Tel Aviv, where she was actively involved in the Reform Movement’s social activism for over twenty years.
Ordained by HUC-JIR in Jerusalem in 2022, Rabbi Londy holds a BA in international relations from Reichman University, an MA in Jewish Studies from Ono Academic College, a teaching certificate from Levinsky College of Education, and a bibliotherapy certificate from HUC-JIR’s Blaustein Center for Pastoral Care. Before becoming a rabbi, she worked at the Israel Religious Action Center in Jerusalem and taught middle and high school in Holon through Teach First Israel’s Hotam program.
In Chappaqua, Rabbi Londy serves on the Interfaith Council and as a mashgicha for a local kosher restaurant. She is also a writer, having her pieces published by Kveller, The Times of Israel, and in several book collections. She resides with her husband, Omer, and their three young children and multiple pets in White Plains, NY.
Rabbi Jessica Lowenthal
Rabbi and Education Director, Temple Beth Shalom
Melrose, Massachusetts
Since stepping foot in Israel as a junior in high school, Rabbi Lowenthal knew that this land would be a part of her life’s work. Taking every opportunity to visit and study in Jerusalem, she believes deeply in both the necessity of the modern State of Israel and its existence as a Jewish Democracy.
Rabbi Lowenthal is the rabbi and education director at Temple Beth Shalom in Melrose, MA. She teaches on early Zionism, Second Temple period and more. She has taught national programs through the URJ and 18Doors and co-teaches Conversations Unpacking Whiteness through TBS.
Rabbi Lowenthal graduated from The George Washington University in 2008. She completed her MA/MBA in nonprofit management from the Hornstein program at Brandeis University. She was ordained from Hebrew College in Newton, MA in 2019. Rabbi Lowenthal lives in Stoneham, MA with her husband, two sons, and dog.
Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser
Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanuel
Kensington, Maryland
Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser joined Temple Emanuel as senior rabbi on July 1st, 2020. Prior to this, he served Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA and Temple Sinai in Washington, DC as associate rabbi. Rabbi Adam was ordained from the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2009. Rabbi Adam hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan and received his bachelor’s in history from the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
Rabbi Adam is passionate about creating meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds. He is especially interested in building relationships with the people he serves. Rabbi Adam also enjoys teaching Torah using a wide array of texts, making worship engaging and fulfilling, advocating for a just and peaceful Israel, facilitating mussar (Jewish ethics) classes, and working for justice locally and globally. Rabbi Adam also serves as a volunteer chaplain for the DC Metropolitan Police Department.
Rabbi Adam’s other interests include musical theater, cooking and baking, swimming, reading, and raising his three children, Eliza, Simon, and Stella, with his husband, Shalom, and their dog, Annie.
Rabbi Lyle S. Rothman, MARE, R.J.E.
The Community Synagogue
Port Washington, New York
Rabbi Lyle S. Rothman is a Long Islander raised in East Meadow, NY. Since 2023, he has served as an associate rabbi at The Community Synagogue of Port Washington, NY. For the better part of the past decade, he worked at Hillel as the rabbi and spiritual leader on campus. Most recently he served as the campus rabbi and chief experience officer at University of Miami Hillel.
Rabbi Rothman was ordained and received an MA in religious education from the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-JIR in May 2012. He has taken part in the Shalom Hartman Institute Fellowship and has appeared on MTV News discussing the importance of LGBTQ inclusion and sharing his own coming out story. Rabbi Rothman loves to cook and always wanted to be a TV weatherman. He resides in Manhasset, NY with his husband Sam and their dog Mia.
Rabbi Cantor Jordan Shaner
Associate Rabbi, Temple Sinai Congregation
Toronto, Ontario
Rabbi-Cantor Jordan Shaner is the associate rabbi at Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto, Ontario. A native of Denver, Colorado, Jordan was ordained as a Hazzan and a rabbi at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and began his career in Toronto in 2019. Rabbi Shaner’s work at Temple Sinai has focused on engaging emerging professionals, youth and young families.
He has helped to create programs like Circle Time Shabbat, a Shabbat celebration for young children and their grownups on Shabbat mornings and Tackling Talmud, a Talmud class on leadership and life for young professionals. He has been on the board of Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto, and currently sits on the rabbinic advisory boards of New Israel Fund Canada and Hillel Ontario. He was a Sinai and Synapses Fellow (’20-21 cohort) and participated in the second cohort of UJA Toronto’s Innovation in Israel Education seminar. In his time at Temple Sinai, he is most proud of the work he has done providing welcoming guidance to dozens of same-sex couples from Israel, who often come to Toronto to have children via surrogacy.
Jordan is married to Kate, a violinist and music educator, and is the father of three-year-old Meir.
Rabbi Caroline Sim
Temple Am Echad
Lynbrook, New York
Rabbi Sim is committed to fostering and nurturing connections, and expanding Jewish knowledge and understanding. She is currently the rabbi of Temple Am Echad in Lynbrook, New York, and serves as the secretary for the Long Island Board of Rabbis. She was formerly the director of rabbinic services at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, where she served as the rabbi for congregations without a full-time clergy presence across thirteen states.
She has degrees from the Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, and was ordained at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati.
Rabbi Cantor Meeka Simerly
Temple Adas Shalom
Havre De Grace, Maryland
Cantor Meeka Simerly, a proud Sabra-American born in Haifa, was raised in a secular Zionist environment. After moving to California in 1995 to study music, she rediscovered her Jewish heritage and developed a profound connection to Reform Judaism. Her passion for music and Jewish life flourished as she became actively involved in congregations and organizations across California.
After earning cantorial and master’s degrees from the Academy for Jewish Religion California (AJRCA), she served as cantor at Temple Emanu-El in San Jose, CA, for 10 years, during which she earned a second master’s in rabbinic studies in 2016. Her journey then led her to the East Coast, where she served Temple Beth Tikvah in New Jersey for six years.
Now the rabbi of Temple Adas Shalom in Harford County, MD, she has led projects like the HarCo Interfaith Council and a discussion group for Israeli rabbis affiliated with the CCAR. In her free time, Rabbi Simerly enjoys reading, horseback riding, hiking, and kayaking with her better half, Dave Simerly, and their dogs Oreo and Mocha.
Rabbi Samuel Stern
Temple Beth Sholom
Topeka, Kansas
Rabbi Samuel Stern serves as the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, KS. Ordained in 2021 from HUC-JIR, Rabbi Stern is a passionate advocate for Israel and Jewish Peoplehood, which has led to his participation in the Amplify Israel fellowship.
His leadership and advocacy have been recognized by AIPAC and the Shalom Hartman Institute, earning him exclusive fellowships.
Rabbi Stern’s scholarly contributions can be found in the CCAR Journal and as part of the 929 Project on 929 English. He shares his life with his wife Caryn, a dedicated epidemiologist for the Department of Defense.
Rabbi Samantha Trief
Temple Sinai
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Rabbi Samantha (Sam) Trief has been a part of Temple Sinai since her ordination in 2016 from the HUC-JIR New York campus. Sam is amazed by the Atlanta Jewish community and loves serving the board of the FIDF Southeast Region, Jewish Abilities Atlanta and the Jewish Fertility Fund.
At Sinai, Sam takes great pride in creating programming for women and young families, leading Sinai’s inclusion committee and caring for the pastoral needs of the congregation. Of course, Israel is at the center of Sam’s rabbinate, and she often preaches about Israel and Zionism. Sam is a graduate of LEAD, Leadership Atlanta’s program for new and emerging professionals.
Rabbi Trief is married to Rabbi Natan Trief (an Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship alum) and they are the proud parents of Rafael (Rafi) and Maayan (Maya). They love their Labradoodle, Huckleberry, too! In Sam’s free time she loves to workout and play mahjong.
Rabbi Michael Walden
Shir Hadash
Los Gatos, California
Rabbi Michael Walden earned his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell College where he graduated as the Outstanding Senior in Intercultural Life. He studied medical biochemistry for his Master of Science in 2015 after serving as an MCAT tutor. His passion for experiential education inspired him to create the pilot program in science education at Grin City’s artist residency, serve as a hiking guide in Denali, Alaska, and become an experiential Jewish educator at the pluralistic organization Livnot U’Lehibanot in Tzfat.
His experiences helping young Jewish adults discover themselves led him to the University of Arizona Hillel, where, as an Ezra Fellow, he pioneered interfaith programs, mentored students, and established the organization’s Jewish educational and student engagement program.
An Eagle Scout, Michael is a Birthright Israel Fellow, and has a graduate certificate in Israel education. During his time in Israel, he studied Krav Maga and Jiu-Jitsu on a MASA initiative and graduated from the Pardes Summer Program.
Rabbi Walden aspires to serve the North American Jewish future by promoting the search for meaning, innovative education and Jewish social programs. In his free time, he reads obsessively, exercises passionately and dances terribly. He serves on the CCAR Responsa Committee.
Rabbi Adam Wright
Temple Emanu-El
Birmingham, Alabama
Rabbi Adam M. Wright is the spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El (Birmingham, AL). Adam earned his BA in religion and Judaic studies from Wheaton College. After earning a master’s in theological studies from Vanderbilt University, he then enrolled at the Hebrew Union College, earning his MA in Hebrew letters and Jewish education, and a graduate certificate in Jewish non-profit management. He is currently pursuing his doctorate at HUC-JIR, focusing on contemporary Jew-hatred. Adam served as the associate rabbi at Temple Solel in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California from 2014-2019 and now serves on the Rabbis United board for Stand With Us.
Adam is married to Rachel Wright, who is an internist and pediatrician at UAB, and they share daughter Lillian and twins Maisie and Teddy. Rabbi Wright played four years of collegiate tennis and is an avid Detroit Red Wings and Lions fan.
Rabbinic Fellowship Advisory Board
Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim
Auxillary Rabbi, Park Synagogue
Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim is the creator of Celebrating Jewish Life, a subscription series in Cleveland consisting of six Jewish holiday experiences for unaffiliated adults.
Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1988, “Rabbi Rosie” is currently the auxiliary rabbi at Park Synagogue after having served as the associate rabbi at The Temple-Tifereth Israel until 2018.
Passionate about building Jewish community through meaningful worship and learning and dedicated to deepening connection to Israel, Rosie serves as the chairperson of the Israel Bonds Rabbinic Advisory Council and is a member of the National Board of AIPAC, the advisory board of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, Jewish Federation of Cleveland, the Cleveland Jewish News, and Cleveland United Way.
A Sephardic Jew with Turkish family origins, she is married to Marshall Barron and they celebrate Jewish life with their daughter Shira and son-in-law Adam.
Rabbi Joseph R. Black
Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanuel Denver
Rabbi Black is Temple Emanuel’s senior rabbi. He was rabbi of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque from 1996 to 2010 and assistant and associate rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis from 1987 to1996. He received a bachelor’s in education from Northwestern University and his master’s and ordination from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) Cincinnati. In 2012, he earned a doctorate of divinity from HUC-JIR.
Rabbi Black serves as chaplain in the Colorado House of Representatives and is past president of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council. In Albuquerque, he volunteered with Albuquerque Academy’s board of trustees, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s board of trustees, Roadrunner Food Bank, Presbyterian Hospital’s ethics committee, the Martin Luther King Multi-Cultural Council, New Mexico Organ Donor Service and New Mexico Religious Coalition for Inclusion and Non-discrimination. He was a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis) and the Union for Reform Judaism/CCAR commissions for religious living and youth.
Rabbi Black has five critically acclaimed Jewish music albums, two children’s books featured by PJLibrary, a songbook and two videos. Moment Magazine named him a top 10 artist in the categories Jewish of children’s music and male, adult contemporary Jewish music. He and his wife Sue share two children, Elana and Ethan.
Rabbi David Gelfand
Rabbi, Temple Israel of the City of New York
Rabbi David Gelfand of Temple Israel of the City of New York is passionate about teaching Jewish values. An outspoken voice for social justice, interfaith relations and inclusion, he has been recognized by the World Union for Progressive Judaism with an “International Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Pursuit of Justice,” and is an honorary WUPJ board member. He serves on the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s board of governors.
Previously rabbi of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, he began his career at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, New York. He also served Har Sinai in New Jersey and Fairmount Temple in Ohio. He served as national officer at the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D.C., promoting dialogue and civility for over a decade. He has been active in a number of Zionist and Israeli organizations and institutions, including AIPAC.
He and his wife Kathy, who share four children, reside in New York City and East Hampton.
Rabbi David Gerber
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Gates of Prayer
Rabbi David Gerber is an innovative and dedicated Jewish leader who has been serving as the senior rabbi of Congregation Gates of Prayer since 2018. An active member of the New Orleans Clergy Council and the Interfaith Council, he is also a regular contributor and collaborator with the National World War II Museum and serves on the rabbinic councils of Zioness and StandWithUs.
Rabbi Gerber is known for his passion for innovative programming and engagement, exemplified by the success of Gatesfest, Metairie’s premier music and arts festival, and the congregation’s $1 million investment to ensure that students can afford Jewish summer camp. He is also passionate about teaching topics such as mussar, Talmud, and the supernatural, and frequently speaks at local high schools and colleges about combating antisemitism.
Rabbi Gerber is married to his better half, Lauren, who serves as the head of the Parent’s Association at the Jewish Community Day School where their children, Paige and Tessa, attend. Together, they live in Metairie with their two dogs and three cats.
Rabbi Edwin Goldberg
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Shalom of The Woodlands
Rabbi Edwin Goldberg serves as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom of The Woodlands. He received his rabbinic ordination and doctorate in Hebrew literature from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Rabbi Goldberg is the author of many books including:“Swords and Plowshares: Jewish Views of War and Peace,” “Love Tales from the Talmud” and “Saying No and Letting Go: Jewish Wisdom on Making Room for What Matters Most.”
He was the coordinating editor of the Reform Jewish High Holy Day prayerbook, “Mishkan HaNefesh.” Recently, he was the co-editor of “Because My Soul Longs for You.” Additionally, Rabbi Goldberg serves as the editor of the CCAR journal, “The Reform Jewish Quarterly,” and he is president of the Houston Rabbinical Association.
Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein
Senior Rabbi, Temple Israel of Memphis
Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein — regarded as “everyone’s rabbi” — is a fixture of Memphis’s greater faith community and the national Reform Jewish movement. As Temple Israel’s eighth senior rabbi in its 170-year history, Greenstein’s 33-year tenure and legacy live through intergenerational engagement and relevance of Reform Jewish values, which sustain Temple’s position as Tennessee’s oldest and largest synagogue in a four-state region.
Greenstein was recognized as Memphis Magazine’s first “Memphian of the Year” (2013) and the first rabbi in history to preach at the Washington Cathedral on a Major State Day for Tennessee (2005). He has served on the national board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, represented the Reform movement in the World Zionist Congress, guided the dedication of the first non-Orthodox synagogue in the City of Shoham outside of Tel Aviv, and continues to mentor Israeli Reform rabbis. Presently, Rabbi Greenstesin serves on the International Advisory Council of the Israel Movement for Reform Judaism.
A proud alumnus of Cornell University, Harvard University, and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Rabbii Greenstein was named as a Cornell National Scholar and a Kennedy Fellow, and he received his doctrate of divinity in 2016.
Rabbi Jonathan L. Hecht, Ph.D.
Interim Rabbi, Temple Har Shalom
Rabbi Jonathan L. Hecht is serving as interim rabbi at Temple Har Shalom in Park City, Utah, a dynamic and growing community in the future host city of the 2034 Winter Olympic Games. Rabbi Hecht served as the dean and director of the Rabbinic Program at HUC-JIR’s Cincinnati campus, in a city he now calls home.
Ordained at HUC-JIR in 1987, he then received his doctorate in Jewish history from New York University in 1993. Interested in medieval Jewish history and mysticism, he has taught at HUC-JIR, University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Jewish Theological Seminary, Stony Brook University, Hofstra University and Hunter College.
Active in Jewish camping and youth work, community organizing, innovation and congregational system design, Rabbi Hecht served as a chaplain in the New York Air National Guard for 10 years and as a congregational rabbi for 25 years before returning to HUC-JIR in a leadership role. Deeply engaged in Jewish learning, Rabbi Hecht is also senior rabbinic fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and has spent much time traveling to Israel. He has also spent time in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Russia.
Rabbi Hecht is a golfer and a road cyclist, and enjoys crossword puzzles, reading, museums and movies. He and his wife, Gladys Rosenblum, reside in Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. With a fiery voice, a listening heart and a brilliant mind, Rabbi Hirsch articulates a clear vision for the survival and success of American Judaism while tending compassionately to the needs of his growing congregation. In 2018, The Jerusalem Post named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year” and City & State praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews.
Prior to his arrival at Stephen Wise, he served for 12 years as executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Israel arm of the North American Reform movement. An accomplished teacher, author and public speaker, he is also a trained lawyer and a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces.
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe
Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe serves as senior rabbi for Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. He also serves as co-chair of the Chappaqua Interfaith Committee and sits on Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s President’s Rabbinic Council and AIPAC’s National Rabbinic Council, and is a fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Leadership Initiative. Before arriving at Temple Beth El, Rabbi Jaffe served as rabbi and education director of Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, where he sat on the boards of the Jewish Community Federation’s Peoplehood Commission, the San Francisco Interfaith Coalition and the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis and wrote a column for J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, and later served as education director for URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, California. He received his bachelor’s in philosophy and history from Duke University and studied abroad at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Prior to his ordination, Rabbi Jaffe served student pulpits in Great Falls, Montana, and Las Vegas and he spent a year working as the education director of Temple Beth Torah in Fremont, California, and creating the San Francisco Bureau of Jewish Education’s Teen-to-Teen program.
Rabbi Neal Katz
Rabbi, Congregation Beth El
Neal Katz has been the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Tyler, Texas, since his ordination from Hebrew 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.
Rabbi Jan Katzew, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Emeritus, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Rabbi Jan Katzew, Ph.D., is associate professor emeritus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he taught Jewish thought and education, and was director of service learning and senior educator of the EMA program. Jan was ordained in 1983 and after serving as a rabbi/educator at The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York, when he was a Jerusalem fellow, he earned a doctorate from the Hebrew University.
For 15 years Jan led a team that comprised the department of lifelong Jewish learning and the Reform movement’s Commission on Lifelong Learning at the Union for Reform Judaism. In that capacity, he was responsible for designing, developing and supporting educational resources for early childhood centers, congregational schools, day schools and adult learning communities throughout the world. Jan’s educational vision and work were deemed worthy of grants from the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Covenant Foundation. Since the iCenter for Israel Education’s inception in 2008, Jan has been a consultant there, mentoring students from multiple graduate schools and seminaries. Jan is the author of popular and scholarly articles in multiple fields that include Israel education, interfaith dialogue, mussar, medieval Hebrew poetry, moral Development, and educational philosophy and practice.
Rabbi Marc Kline
Interim Senior Rabbi, Ohev Sholom
Rabbi Marc Kline retired his law license to go to Rabbinical school. Ordained in 1995, he now serves as interim senior rabbi at Temple Ohev Sholom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Over his career, Rabbi Kline has served in three previous communities rebuilding congregations; consulted with many on matters of vision and leadership training; and been active in justice and interfaith work regionally and globally. Marc’s primary focus as a rabbi roots in a several-thousand-year-old precept found in Pirkei Avot: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what good am I? If not now, when?” He works to bridge the chasms that alienate people from each other. In that role, he has served in many local, regional, national, and international leadership capacities.
Rabbi Kline has served on a number of rabbinic missions to work for peace and pluralism in Israel, in roles on the rabbinic council of ARZA and J-Street, and in an advisory capacity with Taghyeer, a national Palestinian empowerment organization. Through his board memberships with Being the Blessing and the Jerusalem Peace Institute, Rabbi Kline works to promote equity and equality for marginalized people on an international level.
Rabbi Dan Levin
Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth-El of Boca Raton
Rabbi Dan Levin serves as senior rabbi of Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, Florida. He seeks to synthesize the spiritual wisdom found in Jewish text and tradition with our contemporary lives while fostering opportunities for transformational learning, spiritual experience, moral growth, community service, and social justice, and creating connections to the people and the state of Israel.
Rabbi Levin has served Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion as a member of the Alumni Leadership Council, as an original member of the President’s Rabbinical Council, and as a partner in the Kalsman Institute for Judaism and Health. He serves on the Central Conference of American Rabbis’s Budget and Finance Committee and is a past president of the southeast region of the CCAR. He also served as a member of the Reform Movement’s Think Tank.
He was a featured writer for the Union for Reform Judaism’s “Ten Minutes of Torah,” and is a panelist with the American Religious Town Hall. Rabbi Levin is also an active alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and a senior rabbinic fellow with the Shalom Hartman Institute. He studies with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
Rabbi Bennett Miller
Rabbi Emeritus, Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple
Rabbi Bennett F. Miller served as senior rabbi of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is the congregation’s first rabbi emeritus. He is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism’s board of trustees and of the faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is co-chair of the URJ’s newly established Israel Reform Zionism Committee. Rabbi Miller previously served as national chair of the Association of Reform Zionists of America, is a past president of the New Jersey Association of Reform Rabbis and of the New Jersey Coalition of Religious Leaders, and held numerous leadership positions at other organizations. A native of Rochester, N.Y., earned his master’s from and was ordained by HUC-JIR in Cincinnati.
The author of two books, “Reform Jewish Identity: Developing A Program Of Ministry To Guide The New Member Of A Reform Synagogue to Mature Jewish Living” and “Siduree: A Prayerbook For Young Children, The Songs Of Anshe Emeth For Shabbat,” and numerous creative worship services, Rabbi Miller has also been published widely in the press. He and his wife Joan live in Monroe Township, New Jersey, and are the proud parents of two daughters and grandparents to their combined six children.
Rabbi Leon Morris
President, Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
A leading educator in the field of adult Jewish study, Rabbi Leon Morris is the president of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
He was the founding director of Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning (now the Streicker Center) at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. For 15 years, he was the rabbi of Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, New York — and he spent four as its first resident rabbi. Together with his wife, Dasee Berkowitz, Rabbi Morris transformed Temple Adas Israel into a year-round vibrant congregation and added more than one hundred new families, couples and individuals during his tenure.
Ordained in 1997 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, Rabbi Morris writes frequently for Israeli and American Jewish publications and is a contributor to “Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief” and “Platforms and Prayer Books: Theological and Liturgical Perspectives on Reform Judaism.” He was one of four editors of “Mishkan HaNefesh,” the new American Reform High Holy Days prayer book published in 2015.
He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three children.
Rabbi Geri Newburge
Senior Rabbi, Main Line Reform Temple
Rabbi Geri Newburge is the senior rabbi at Main Line Reform Temple. During her tenure as a rabbi, she has focused her efforts on pastoral care, building connections with youth, interfaith relationships, social action and crafting meaningful worship experiences.
Rabbi Newburge is also honored to be included on the national rabbinic advisory board for StandWithUs and the Jewish National Fund-USA Rabbis For Israel Advisory Committee. She previously served as the associate rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and she has spent time in leadership roles with the Delaware Valley Area Reform Rabbis and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Rabbi Newburge grew up in South Florida, graduated from the University of Miami (Go Canes!) with a bachelor’s in religious studies, and earned ner master’s in religion from the Claremont School of Theology. She was ordained as a rabbi from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Rabbi Newburge is married to Rabbi Eric Goldberg, rabbi educator at Congregation Shir Ami in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and they are the proud parents of their son Jay.
Rabbi Eric Polokoff
Rabbi Eric Polokoff is B’nai Israel of Southbury’s founding rabbi and has serving there since 1997. As a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Yale Divinity School, he is now a dedicated teacher, pastor, speaker and community leader. He is proud of his congregation’s Israel advocacy and its work with the Anti-Defamation League, AIPAC and Jewish National Fund. Rabbi Polokoff is a member of ADL’s Connecticut executive committee and serves as an ADL associate national commissioner. He also moderates the Southbury Clergy Association, chairs the Connecticut Community Foundation’s Pathways for Older Adults Committee, is an ex officio member of the Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut, and is associate chaplain of the Taft School.
Rabbi Polokoff is known regionally as one of “The Three Amigos” for his work with a monsignor and an imam to extend interfaith understanding. He has two adult daughters with his wife, Dr. Ellen Polokoff.
Rabbi Rena Rifkin, RJE
Rabbi Rena Rifkin, RJE, received her master’s in Jewish education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education in 2008 and was ordained by HUC-JIR in 2010. During her time as a student, she was a Mandel Fellow for clergy-educators and worked in various communities throughout Los Angeles and New York City, including Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York.
Following ordination, she served North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, New York, as the director of lifelong learning, and most recently was coordinator of faculty and family engagement at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.
Rabbi Rifkin grew up at and continues to have strong ties with the URJ Camp Eisner and she is a member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators’ board. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Scott, and their three children, Eden, Simon and Micah.
Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg
Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg is the senior rabbi of United Hebrew. She is the chair of the St. Louis Jewish Federation Israel and Overseas Committee and is a member of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition.
Rabbi Rosenberg is a past president of the St. Louis Rabbinical Association and past chair of the Jewish Fund for Human Need. She has served on the boards of the St. Louis Jewish Federation and St. Louis Hillel Foundation and Nishmah: The St. Louis Jewish Women’s Project, and she chaired the 2015 convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
A graduate of Boston University, with a bachelor’s in religion and culture, Rabbi Rosenberg received her master’s in Hebrew letters and her rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Cincinnati in 2001 She and her husband H. Lee share three children: Zoë, Joseph and Sadie.
Rabbi Jeff Salkin
An Online Salon for Jewish Ideas
RNS Contributing Editor, Author + Writer
Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin is one of American Judaism’s most prolific and 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 inter-religious 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 is the co-director of Wisdom Without Walls: an online salon for Jewish ideas, and he recently served as the interim rabbi of Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Florida. His hobbies include music, movies, bicycling, and consuming vast quantities of coffee.
Rabbi Judith Lazarus Siegal
Rabbi Judith Lazarus Siegal is honored to be the senior rabbi of Temple Judea. Originally from New Orleans, Rabbi Siegal was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in May 2006 with a master’s in Hebrew literature. She also has a master’s in social work from the University of Texas in Austin. She has served as a rabbi at Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida, since her ordination, and became the senior rabbi in 2014.
Rabbi Siegal currently serves on the executive committee of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, on the board of the Southeast Area Council of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and was the vice president of programming for the CCAR. She is a past chair of the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews Interfaith Clergy Dialogue and was awarded the Clergy Silver Medallion in 2018. She has been a fellow for the Jewish Outreach Institute’s Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates and has studied at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, as well as the Mussar Institute, and she is always looking for new and interesting study opportunities. She received the Clergy of the Year award in 2014 and was selected as one of the 2020 Florida Influencers by the Miami Herald.
Rabbi Siegal is married to Brian Siegal, who is the director of the American Jewish Committee of Miami and Broward, and they have three children, Ben, Josh, and Ella.
Rabbi Yael Splansky
Baskin-Garson Senior Rabbinic Chair, Holy Blossom Temple of Toronto
Yael Splansky is the senior rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple, which was founded in 1856 as the first synagogue of Toronto. Rabbi Splansky is a fourth-generation Reform rabbi, immediate past president of the Toronto Board of Rabbis, and a senior rabbinic fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute. In celebration of her 25 years of leadership, she was awarded Holy Blossom’s Baskin-Garson Senior Rabbinic Chair.
Rabbi Splansky was recently recognized by the Canadian Parliament with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award for her commitment to refugee relief, support and advocacy for the unhoused, and building bridges among faith communities.
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger
Rabbi, Hillel at the University of Wisconsin
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger is in her 25th year serving as rabbi at Hillel at the University of Wisconsin. She received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and her master’s and ordination from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1997. In 2022, she was awarded a doctorate of divinity by HUC-JIR.
At Hillel, Rabbi Steinberger provides opportunities for students on the UW campus to explore spiritual practices, experience Jewish learning, ask difficult questions and come together for Shabbat and holidays. She helps students create and expand their Jewish lives and practices during their college years and represents Hillel in the larger Jewish and university communities.
Rabbi Steinberger has served on the Central Conference of American Rabbis board as well as a chair of the clergy task force for Jewish Women’s International. She has participated in Israel cohort learning and facilitated student groups with the Shalom Hartman Institute and Resetting the Table.
Rabbi Steinberger loves biking, swimming, dancing, laughing and sitting still. There are too many books and not enough time. She has three adult children with her husband, UW Hillel Executive Director Greg Steinberger.
Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot
Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot is best known for her joyful spirit, soulful singing and passion for Jewish learning. In her 21st year at Temple Judea of Tarzana, California, and jointly ordained as rabbi and cantor, Alison is dedicated to revitalizing worship, integrating the ancient sounds of Jewish tradition with contemporary music, and making the beauty and joy of Jewish texts and liturgy accessible to all.
Alison’s training includes master’s in sacred music and Hebrew letters, as well as her double ordination, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institue of Religion, a bachelor’s from Wesleyan University, and certificates from British American Drama Academy in London, William Esper Studios in New York, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Alison is currently a visiting instructor at HUC-JIR in LA.
She has served on the executive council of the Cantors Assembly, and the board of directors of StandWithUs, Rabbis United and AKLA, and she is an active leader in the American Conference of Cantors and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Alison has worked as an actress in New York and London and was awarded a Spielberg Fellowship to teach Jewish theater.
A native of the San Fernando Valley, Alison resides in Porter Ranch with her husband, Michael, and children Jacob, Abby and Daniel.
Rabbi David Woznica
Rabbi David Woznica has served Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles since 2004. In addition to his pulpit responsibilities, he created the temple’s Center for Jewish Life — with an extraordinary lecture series and one of the largest Melton schools in the United States. He is the first recipient of the Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin Rabbinic Chair, established in memory of the congregation’s founding rabbi.
Rabbi Woznica began his career at the 92nd Street Y in New York, where he was named founding director of the 92Y Bronfman Center for Jewish Life. Over an 11-year period, he is credited for creating one of the most distinguished and dynamic centers of Jewish life in the world. Over the past 30 years, at both the 92Y and at Stephen Wise Temple, Rabbi Woznica has been in dialogue with nearly 100 international figures — including Elie Wiesel, Rabbi Harold Kushner, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, Alan Dershowitz, Eric Garcetti, Adin Steinsaltz, David Brooks, Cynthia Ozick, and Rev. John Hagee — gathering a total of some 70,000 attendees. He is among the Young President’s Organization’s highest-rated speakers, and has given speeches at synagogues and Jewish organizations throughout the United States as well as in Canada and South America.
He shares his life with his wife Beverly Woznica and they are the proud parents of two young men.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — we can’t wait to review your application!
The Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship will differ in many significant ways from the AIPAC Leffell Fellowship:
- You have traded in your student ID for real-life professional experience. While the topic of Israel is dynamic, so are you. Assessing material from your perspective as a rabbi today will yield significantly different observations than when you were a student.
- Cross-denominational conversations may help develop and elucidate an understanding of values that are denominationally specific. The Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship will focus entirely on Reform Judaism and the Reform settings in which you function as a professional.
- We promise the material will be new to you. You will learn and grow in this program.
Yes. Let us know you are interested and when to anticipate scheduling conflicts. We will try our hardest to make everything work out.
We anticipate a 2024–25 cohort of 24 rabbis.
Through the application process, you will identify the areas in which you wish to accomplish significant growth. You will be paired based on a mutual interest in that area, along with other factors.
For any other questions, contact Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, Ph.D., at tkaplowitz@swfs.org or (212) 877-4050, ext. 225.
The Amplify Israel Rabbinic Fellowship is a project of 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.
