Leslie Sporn: Executive Director









    Mindy Schreff: Director-- Rudy and Linda Slucker Religious School

    Mindy has been in the field of Jewish education for almost 15 years, in many capacities. She has been a classroom educator in several grades, Family Educator, Assistant Director as well as an Adult Educator. Mindy is skilled at guiding learners of all ages through their Jewish journeys, so that they find their own connections.
    Mindy loves to learn as much as she loves to teach.  She has completed many courses and workshops in Jewish education, Holocaust Education, Family Education and Storahtelling Training and Service Learning for teens. In addition, Mindy has been a Mentor in
    Moreh with Mentors since 2004 and is the 2009 recipient of the Hoffman/Grinspoon-Steinhard Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
    In her limited spare time……She combines her commitment to Tikkun Olam with her skills as an avid fiber artist; Mindy often knits, crochet and quilts items for people in need.

    Contact Mindy

    Carol Paster- Director--Iris Family Pre-School

    Carol Paster has been director of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel’s Iris Family Preschool for 13 years, after teaching for 7 years in their preschool and kindergarten programs.
    A perpetual student, Carol holds a BA in Art Education, an MA in Early Childhood Special Education, has extensive background in furniture construction and is currently enrolled in the Jewish Early Childhood Education Certificate program at Gratz College.
     
    Carol is an active partner with The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of MetroWest NJ. She is a leader in its Early Childhood Director’s Network and a pioneer in its Early Childhood Community of Practice (EC CoP). Carol’s innovative programs have been recognized by the community with several awards and grants (The Hoffman Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and LaZuz grants for family outreach programs.)
    As one who has trouble resisting the urge to volunteer her time and energy, Carol has been on the board of the ECE-RJ (Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism), serving as chair of their annual national conference held Philadelphia.
    Carol serves as secretary for Habitat for Humanity Newark’s board of directors as well as co-chair of Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build.









    Tracy Horwitz- Program Director

    Tracy Horwitz is a native of New Jersey and a child of our Congregation. As program Director, she works with pre-school aged children through senior adults with an emphasis on working with the high school population of our Temple community. A licensed social worker with an MSW and Jewish Communal Certificate from Yeshiva University, Tracy has worked in the Jewish Communal field for 18 years both at our Congregation and JCC MetroWest. As  a social worker, Tracy is able to create unique mental health programs for all ages. In addition, Tracy coordinates our adult education programs.









    Sunny Seglin- Assistant to the Rabbis




    Beth Sandweis-Temple Social Worker through the JFS Synagogue Social Work Consultation Program

    A psychotherapist for over 25 years, Beth has counseled individuals, couples, families and groups in a variety of settings, including private practice. Beth lived in Israel for 10 years where she worked with the Ministry of Education’s Psychological Services in Jerusalem and as the on-site director of Wesleyan University’s Semester Abroad Program.
     
    She received an MA in Psychology from The New College of California, and an MSW from Rutgers University.  Through her post graduate training in family systems therapy at the Ackerman Institute in NYC she brings a perspective that focuses on the resilience and strength of the families and the communities that she encounters in her work.
     
    Beth is a long time student and practitioner of meditation, She co-founded the Jewish Meditation Center in Montclair New Jersey where she teaches mindfulness meditation. She leads a weekly Hebrew chant/meditation group at TSTI for people with an interest in exploring meditative practices or for those who simply need a “time out” in the midst of our busy lives.
     
    In her capacity as the JFS Metro West Temple Social Worker at TSTI, Beth provides consultation to the Temple community, advocacy, crisis intervention, short term counseling and referrals for mental health services. She leads several groups at TSTI –Touched by Grief, Chat and Chew Support Group for Preschool Parents , Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing for 7
    th and 8th graders. A new BabyTime group for parents of babies 0-2 is forming and will begin in January.
     
    Being a Social Worker at TSTI combines many of the aspects of life to which Beth  has always been passionate –Jewish community, psychology, spirituality, and the natural tendency of individuals, families and groups to  reach toward health and wellness. She is honored to be a part of TSTI community.
     






    Mission Statement

    The purpose of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel shall be to maintain a Congregation devoted to the fundamental values of the Synagogue:

    Worship (Avodah), Learning (Torah), and Loving Acts (Gemilut Chasadim)

    We welcome all who wish to participate in the traditions and rituals of the Jewish people.  Our goal is to perpetuate the religious principles and moral values of Judaism by providing an environment for worship, education, spirituality, and service for our members and the larger community.

    We commit to achieving this goal by creating a Jewish Congregation characterized by:

    Faith (emunah): Congregants who embrace a sense of the sacred (kedushah), of religious and moral obligations (mitzvot) and a commitment to the covenant (berit) between God and the Jewish people.

    Study (Talmud Torah): Congregants who learn and teach our texts, history and traditions.

    Worship (avodah): Congregants who seek to relate their lives to God, through prayer and other means of expressing their spiritual connection.

    Observance and Celebration (shemirah va’chagigah): Congregants who enhance their communal, family and personal lives through Jewish observances and celebrations in both the synagogue and the home.

    Morality (musar): Congregants who reflect high moral standards in their careers and personal lives and who advocate those same values in our society and world.

    Social Justice (tikkun olam): Congregants who take responsibility for mending our world through individual and collective action - the quest for social justice, enhancement of individual dignity, encouragement of self-reliance, pursuit of peace and freedom, resistance to the enemies of peace and freedom, and the wise use of our natural resources to enhance our lives and preserve a habitable planet for future generations.

    Love of Zion (Ahavat Tsiyon): Congregants who affirm their historic and spiritual bond to the Land of Israel and work to strengthen a democratic, just and religiously pluralistic society in the State of Israel.

    Reform Judaism (Yahadut Mitkademet): Congregants who find in the Reform movement the means to enhance the spiritual content and moral purpose of their lives.


    "> Volunteer Leaders

    Executive Committee of the Board
    2010 - 2011


    President – Jay Rice

    VP Administration – Rob Ozer

    VP Finance – Max Weisenfeld

    VP Development – Susan Wishnow

    VP Religious Living – Wendy Ferber

    VP Membership – Lisa Tilton-Levine

    VP Education – David Leit

    VP Community – Jules Nissim

    Treasurer – Jeff DuBowy

    Secretary – Lynne Crawford

    Advisor – Jack Fersko

    Advisor – Gail Barry

    Past Pres: Hope Pomerantz


    Board of Trustees


    Debra Bernstein
    Renee Helfenstein
    Philip Hoch
    Russell Kaplan
    Laurie Landau
    K.  Adam Leight
    Karen Masters
    Andrea McCauley
    Gary Potters
    Helene Sorin
    Lisa Tilton-Levine

    Presidential Appts:


    RS chair: Ben Deutsch

    Early Childhood: Carrie Nussbaum

    Gates: David Baum

    Finance Chair: Not yet named

    Finance Sec'y: Elliot Sommer

    Acting Co-Finance sec'y: Joel Scharf

    Past Presidents


    Hope Pomerantz
    Jack Fersko
    Ellen Barocas
    Pauline Pollack
    Paul Rosenberg
    Arnold Budin
    Florence Seglin
    Martin Feitlowitz
    Ethel Sidney
    Daniel Goldberg
    Rudy Slucker
    Sheldon Gross
    Richard Staenberg
    Henry Kay
    Barbara Stoller
    Edward Lidz
    Lee Weinberg
    Annette Littman

    Honorary Trustees


    Norma Benisch
    David Bershad
    Matty Goldberg
    Ramon Green
    Senator Frank Lautenberg
    Jerome Lieb
    Dr. Harold Littman
    Audrey Weiss

    Gates of Israel Foundation
    Rabbi Daniel Cohen is a native of New Jersey. He was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1993. For the last fifteen years he has served Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, South Orange, where he has been the Senior Rabbi for the past eight years. 

    Rabbi Cohen is a graduate of Duke University, holds a Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic Ordination from the HUC-JIR. He received his Doctorate in Pastoral Counseling from HUC-JIR and the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health. Rabbi Cohen Doctoral project was an examination of the emotional impact of a first child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah on the entire family system. Rabbi Cohen is also a Certified Bereavement Facilitator and is certified in hypnotherapy.

    Rabbi Cohen lives in Morris County with his wife Elana.

    Contact Rabbi Cohen




    Rabbi Miller is proud to be a part of the Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel family.  A native of New Jersey, Rabbi Miller graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1990 with a B.A. in Communication Science and a certificate in Jewish Studies.  She also earned a Masters of Arts in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and was ordained in 1999.  While at HUC-JIR Rabbi Miller wrote her thesis on "The Sermons of Rabbi Azariah Figo: A Portrait of an Italian Renaissance Rabbi." Rabbi Miller holds a Masters of Arts in Religious Education at the Hebrew Union College.

    Rabbi Miller joined TSTI in 1999 as the Assistant Rabbi and became the Associate Rabbi in 2001.  Rabbi Miller serves on the board of Bridges Outreach, an organization that works to help the homeless and on board of the Community Advocates of St. Barnabus Hospital. 

    Rabbi Miller lives in West Orange with her husband Nathan Lynn and their three children, Sam, Meg and Jack. 

    Contact Rabbi Miller



    Cantor Aronson was invested as Cantor in 1967. TSTI is Cantor's first and only pulpit. In 1970 he received his Religious School Principal certification from Hebrew Union College. Cantor Aronson went on to attend Yeshiva University where he received a Master of Social Work in 1986. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Hebrew Union College. From 1970 to 1986 he was the Director of Education at TSTI. Cantor Aronson was the creator and Director of the Parenting Center at TSTI from 1985-1990.

    During his tenure as Cantor at Sharey Tefilo – Sharey Tefilo-Israel, Cantor Aronson brought many and various musical venues to the worship experience. Cantor Aronson has been intimately involved with Israel his entire career and has coordinated programs between several schools in Israel and TSTI’s Hebrew school in South Orange. He is also the founder of Change-for-Change, which is a children’s tzudakah fund that has been actively supporting tzudakah projects in Israel as well as at home. Currently, in addition to his cantorial duties, Cantor Aronson is involved in a pastoral role in the congregation.

    Contact Cantor Aronson




    Cantor Finn has been a member of TSTI since 1984. Over the years she has been head of the Volunteer Choir and Outreach Committee. She attended two summer programs of ParaRabbinic study at Hebrew Union College. She studied at both Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Hawaii for her undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance. Joan received her Masters of Music degree in Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She was invested as Cantor in spring of 2010 by the Academy of Jewish Music in Riverdale, New York.

    Contact Cantor Finn



    Rabbi Harvey Goldman, Rabbi Emeritus
    Rabbi Herbert Weiner, Rabbi Emeritus
    ">

    Our Gates of Israel Foundation

    The Gates of Israel Foundation was established in 1992 as a separately incorporated foundation created to service the long-term financial needs of the Congregation. Its responsibilities include the prudent investment of Temple endowment funds.

    In the 1990's, the Gates oversaw the capital campaign that raised approximately $1.5 million for renovations of classrooms and offices. More recently, it loaned the upfront funding for the professional consultants for the Capital and Endowment Campaign that is well on the way to raising in excess of $5.1 million. It will also act as borrower in any construction financing required for the Temple's capital improvements. Additionally, the Gates currently manages endowments such as the Joan and Alan Bildner High Holiday Fund.

    The Gates Board remains committed to preserving and protecting the financial security of our Congregation.

    BOARD OF GOVERNORS

    President...

    Vice President...

    Treasurer...

    Secretary...
    David Baum

    Stuart Falkin

    Jerry Warshaw

    Jay Rice
    BOARD MEMBERS

    Hope Pomerantz
    Jesse Bayer
    JAck Fersko
    Michael Francis
    Adam Leight
    Gary Shedlin
    Jerry Warshaw
    Len Weiss
    David Wishnow
    LIFE MEMBERS
    Thomas Bass
    Rudy Slucker

    PAST PRESIDENTS
    Rudy Slucker
    Jay Rice
    Howard Gellis

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Leslie Y. Sporn