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Our Programming Staff |
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Congregation Beth Am is served by an outstanding clergy and programming staff.
Rabbi Janet Marder, a Los Angeles native, graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz and was ordained in 1979 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Following ordination, she pursued graduate studies in the Department of Comparative Literature at UCLA, specializing in Modern Hebrew and Yiddish. In 1983, she became the first ordained rabbi of Beth Chayim Chadashim, a Los Angeles synagogue with special outreach for lesbian and gay Jews. During her five years with that congregation, she founded NECHAMA, a Federation-funded program of AIDS education for the Jewish community. From 1988 to 1999, Rabbi Marder served the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, providing leadership and guidance to Reform synagogues in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. In August 1999, she became Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA. Rabbi Marder's articles have appeared in Reform Judaism magazine, the Reconstructionist, Sh'ma and several anthologies. She has served as President of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, the first woman and the first non-congregational rabbi to be elected to that office. In April 2003, after serving as Vice President, Rabbi Marder was elected the first woman president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She is married to a colleague, Rabbi Sheldon Marder of the Jewish Home in San Francisco. Together they share the joys and challenges of raising two daughters, Betsy and Rachel.
Rabbi Josh Zweiback joined the Beth Am staff in 1998. He came here as the Adult Learning Coordinator and held the unique honor of being the first full-time, adult-learning specialist in a Reform synagogue in the
United States
. He was then promoted to the newly established position of Senior Educator and led the team that runs all of our education programs, both youth and adult. His time is now most fully devoted to Beth Am's pastoral needs - he leads worship services, officiates at lifecycle events, and helps our members whenever needed, during happy and sad times in their lives.
The Rabbi is a musician who, as a member of the group Mah Tovu, composes, records, produces, and performs original, contemporary Jewish music. Mah Tovu has released three CDs and two books including "Days of Wonder, Nights Of Peace," which offers family prayers and songs for morning and bedtime. Rabbi Zweiback was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his bachelor's degree in 1991 from Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Princeton he was awarded the Isadore and Helen Sacks prize for Outstanding Jewish Scholarship. The Rabbi holds masters' degrees in both Hebrew Letters and in Jewish Education from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). He was ordained in May, 1998, from the New York campus. He is a visiting lecturer at HUC’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education. Rabbi Zweiback works together with Rabbi Adam Allenberg and Shaina Wasserman as the staff of Beth Am's Social Action Committee, a task that embodies a passion for tzedakah he has had from his youth. He is the founder and executive director of KAVOD, a non-profit tzedakah collective located in his home town. KAVOD has distributed more than $600,000 since its inception in 1993 with an overhead of under $100. Fourteen fellow graduates of HUC-JIR programs serve on the KAVOD board. Rabbi Zweiback serves on the editorial board of BabagaNewz, a new Jewish magazine published by the Avi Chai Foundation and Jewish Family and Life for kids in grades 4-6. The Rabbi is a runner with one marathon under his soles and runs almost weekly with a small group of "runners" from Beth Am. He digs Bob Dylan. He is married to Jacqueline Hantgan, director of community events at the Jewish Community Center, and also a teacher in Beth Am’s Shabbaton program. They are the parents of three daughters.
She plays French Horn, saxophone and drums. She's played with the Saratoga Community Band and worked with her local high school marching band. She went through undergraduate school on a music scholarship. Not only that, but the executive director of Congregation Beth Am, Debbie Coutant, is a big-time shofar sounder -- she's been a synagogue ba'alat tekiah for the past 18 years. Debbie has been to Israel twice and looks forward to the day when she can return for an extended period and attend an Ulpan school and learn Hebrew. "But, that will have to wait for now." Because for now she has a synagogue to run. As the executive director of Beth Am she indeed runs the place. She reports to Rabbi Janet Marder and consults and implements policy set by the board of directors. She's in charge of the money -- getting it, spending it and reporting on it. She works with many of the synagogue's committees and oversees all of the computer technology, finance and communications. Plain and simple, she makes it happen. She's an avid outdoorswoman and environmentalist and recently bought a Prius hybrid car that cuts down on gas usage and pollution. She and Cary, her husband of 24 years, are the parents of a daughter who is attending Syracuse University. For the three years prior to coming to Beth Am Ms. Coutant was the executive director of the synagogue she attends, Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos. While there she spear-headed a program to install solar power. That got her an award from the National Association of Temple Administrators. She achieved Senior Status at the Hebrew Unioin College/National Association of Temple Administrators Institute (HUC/NATA) in 2004. She is a member of the NATA Board and the Chair of NATA Consulting. Before Congregation Shir Hadash she was Chief Executive Officer of an IBM subsidiary and put in several years doing executive stuff for some local software firms both on staff and as a consultant. And, she spent ten years at Hewlett-Packard, again doing software. Lots of software? Well, she does have a master's degree in computer science, which goes with her bachelor's in psychology, both from the University of Arizona. She was born and raised on Long Island, but came west to go to the University of Arizona, where she met Cary. After graduate school they both came to H-P. Cary is still there. Why Beth Am? "Beth Am is a great place to work and serve. The lay leadership and congregants here are committed to the community, and are wonderful to associate with. The staff is talented and a blast to work with." Since her arrival at Beth Am she has been responsible for many procedural changes, including the way that youth education registration is done, fundraising and development, accounting procedures, marketing and communications. She hits the gym regularly, and she and Cary do some scuba diving in very exotic places. She has seen a lot of sharks and knows how to handle them. Now, that may be useful.
Actually, it’s simple mathematics; mix a deep love of Judaism with a passion for tikkun olam and a desire to repair more than just one piece of the world. That’s the way Adam Allenberg did it, and in so doing he did what sure made his mother happy, he became a rabbi. Rabbi Allenberg, the newest member of Beth Am’s rabbinical squad, is officially the congregation’s Program Director; he works, as part of his job, with the Tzedek Council and the Green Team, to help further its environmental efforts. He’s the point-man on several outreach efforts and will focus a lot on various Beth Am community-building programs, membership, the chavurah committee as well as activities involving college students and the Roots Collective, Beth Am’s 20s and 30s group. And, he’ll do what all rabbis do – he’ll teach. He’s one of the instructors for the Confirmation Class at Peninsula Havurah High, and on Sundays he shares the teaching with other Beth Am clergy for a 15-week course on Building Blocks of Judaism. Early on he had given some thought to chemistry for his life’s work. The rabbinate won out after he heard a rabbi at a NFTY national convention in high school. That did it. “His stories really touched me,” recalls Rabbi Allenberg. “I left the room where he was talking thinking I could do that.” And, he realized, that being in the rabbinate would allow him to expand his environmental obsession by teaming up with and leading like-minded people who also want to fix the world. As part of his plans for tikkun olam, he hopes to write one or more responsa on things like fair trade, sustainable farming and other related subjects. The rabbinate was the answer for Adam Allenberg, after all chemistry, as he learned as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, was all about memorizing rules and then learning all the exceptions to the rules. “And, in truth, I am more comfortable with people than with formulas and elements,” Rabbi Allenberg muses. He was introduced to Israel as a high school student and spent his junior year of undergraduate in Jerusalem. He, of course, spent a second year there during rabbinical school. The Rabbi was ordained May 2007, and in addition to a rabbinical degree he received masters’ degrees in Jewish Education and in Hebrew Letters, all from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). He’s another music lover, especially Bluegrass. That instrument he often plays at Friday evening services is a mandolin. He also plays guitar and dabbles with hand drums. But why Beth Am? “If I could have picked any place in the country Beth Am would be it. This is a blessing beyond comparison,” says the rabbi. “I wanted to be in a place where I could be part of a team and learn from my colleagues; I wanted to do something a little different; I wanted to do community building.” Rabbi Allenberg was born in Memphis, but spent most of his teenage years in various mid-American metropolitan areas. He went to college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He and Lauren, his fiancée, a social worker in Los Gatos, live in Mountain View. Biography written by Elliot Sopkin.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the warm and bright community of Congregation Beth Am," says our new cantor, Lauren Bandman. "I have already learned that Beth Am is a place where study, worship, spirituality, song, teamwork and kindness are integral threads within the fabric of its community--a place I look forward to calling 'home.'" Cantor Lauren Bandman comes to Beth Am newly invested from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music in New York City, bringing knowledge, wisdom, warmth, and professionalism that will help her continue to build on our wonderful cantorial tradition. While earning her cantorial investiture, Lauren served Temple B'nai B'rith in Kingston, PA, and Temple Emanu-El in Edison. NJ, and she tutored B'nai Mitzvah students at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. She also had the pleasure of teaching Introduction to Judaism through the Greater New York Council of Reform Synagogues, as well as being on the staff at Transcontinential Music Publications, the world's leading publisher of Jewish music since 1938 (both are divisions of the Union for Reform Judaism). Lauren has served as guest cantor and scholar-in-residence in synagogues throughout the U.S. Before entering cantorial school, she received her Bachelor of Music Education from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, where she was actively involved in the Jewish community, both through professional Hillel leadership and her multi-faceted involvement at Temple Israel. Lauren can be heard singing several tracks on the CD, A Collection of Soulful Jewish Melodies: Nigun Anthology -- Volume I (TMP). She has also performed at the Makor/Steinhardt Center in New York City. Inna Benjaminson, Émigré / Program Director
The rabbi grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. , and did her undergraduate studies at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She first thought about becoming a rabbi at her Bat Mitzvah, when her rabbi told her that her Bat Mitzvah “charge” was to become a rabbi. Now she says, “I love what I do. I get to engage with people and teach Torah—what could be better than that?” Rabbi Clayman has been invited to do workshops and presentations for the Rhea Hirsch School of Education Alumni Association, the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education, the Women’s Rabbinic Network, Women of Reform Judaism, and the Union for Reform Judaism. She also serves on the advocacy team of the National Association of Temple Educators. The rabbi is an avid hiker, having done extended trips in Utah, Montana , the Canadian Rockies, England, Italy and Israel. In the summer of 2000 she went to Alaska to take an Outdoor Educators’ course with the National Outdoor Leadership School . Her husband, Rabbi John Fishman, is working on a Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature and is a teacher in Shabbaton. They live in Mountain View.
A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with degrees in English and French, Mandy has had adventures living in France, Jerusalem, New York, and Los Angeles. But as a native of the Bay Area, she is thrilled to be back in her home stomping ground. Mandy has worked in non-profit organizations since 1993, when she was a new graduate looking for her passion. Her first position was raising funds for pediatric cancer and AIDS research at the Neil Bogart Memorial Labs in Los Angeles, and that sealed her destiny in the non-profit sector. Next it was off to New York, where she produced fundraising special events for Cancer Care, a social service agency in Manhattan . From 2000-2007 Mandy served as the Regional Director for ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America) and WUPJ (World Union for Progressive Judaism) in Los Angeles>. During this time she raised awareness and funds for the international Reform movement and had the fascinating opportunity to work with Progressive Jews from all over the world. Mandy is deeply devoted to Jewish life and the myriad ways that it can be enhanced by the Beth Am community. When she is not working, Mandy can usually be found with her kids Max (age 7) and Sadie (age 4) and with her husband Dennis, who is a rabbi at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo. Mandy’s family feels doubly blessed to be a part of two synagogue communities. Sarah Lauing, Youth Advisorslauing@betham.org
S
ara
Sherrie Rose Maleson grew up in the Beth Am community and is very glad to be joining the Beth Am staff as Gan Ami Director. She has worked at the Palo Alto Jewish Community Center’s T’enna Preschool (where she attended as a young child) as Afternoon Program Coordinator and Early Childhood Teacher for the past five years. She received a BA in Psychology in 2002 from Scripps College where she was very active in student life. In 2005, she earned an MA in Human Development, specializing in Early Childhood Education, from Pacific Oaks College . Sherrie Rose loves spending time with her dog, taking art classes, and working for the benefit of young children!
Robyn Siegel is completing her Masters in Education at San Jose State University. She has lived in Israel (even served in the Israeli army!), taught in many religious schools and has been a popular teacher at Beth Am. Robyn has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Economics at UC Berkeley, and she worked as an accountant before following her true calling to be a Jewish educator. She is an avid runner, and she and her husband live in San Jose.
Shaina Wasserman completed Joint Masters Degrees in Jewish Education and Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles in May 2006. Shaina hails from Chicago, IL where she grew up with her parents and identical twin sister, Beth. She loves swapping stories with other twins. Since graduating from Brandeis University in 2001, Shaina has worked for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and several religious schools. Shaina is passionate about Israel , social justice and social action. In her spare time, Shaina enjoys hiking and playing Sudoku.
Rabbi Emeritus Sidney Akselrad (z"l) Rabbi Sidney Akselrad was Beth Am's Senior Rabbi from 1962-1986 and continued to be a leader in the spiritual life of our congregation until his death November 14, 2006. He was past president of the Western Association of Reform Rabbis, and the Palo Alto Ministerial Association. He was also a recipient of the Jewish Community Service Award and the Stanford University Hospital Distinguished Service Award. Rabbi Akselrad was devoted to promoting civil rights throughout his life. He was founder of the Opportunity Industrialization Center West (OICW), which trained thousands of minority workers. He participated with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Riders and marched for civil rights in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. Rabbi Akselrad's deep personal commitment served as an example and inspiration
Rabbi Emeritus Richard A. Block Rabbi Block was ordained and awarded a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH, in 1982, receiving numerous awards for academic distinction, writing, and sermonic excellence. Upon ordination, he was chosen Rabbi of Greenwich Reform Synagogue, Riverside, CT. While in Greenwich, he served as the President of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy and was a founder of Jewish Community Services of Greenwich, a highly respected social service agency. In 1986, he received the Humanitarian Award of the Council of Churches and Synagogues of Lower Fairfield County, CT, for community leadership "worthy of esteem and commendation" that "made a significant difference in his community and in our whole region." Rabbi Block was Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, CA, from 1987 until 1999. His achievements there included: a process of educational innovation that inspired a national partnership, the "Experiment in Congregational Education;" the creation of a nationally recognized program to integrate emigres from the former Soviet Union in Jewish life; and the Koret Synagogue Initiative, a unique collaboration between synagogues, the Koret Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation, aimed at reinvigorating synagogue life. The Mid-Peninsula Jewish Community Day School, of which he was a founder, created a scholarship fund in his name, and he received the Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco's 1999 "FAMMY Award," "in appreciation of extraordinary caring and dedicated community service." Rabbi Block's community leadership includes serving as Secretary of the Rabbinical Pension Board of the Reform Movement and chair of its Strategic Planning Committee. He is the author of numerous publications. He and Susan G. Block have been married since 1969. They have two sons, Joshua, 29, a political and media consultant, and Zachary, 26, a journalist. Prior to his rabbinical studies, Rabbi Block graduated with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the law review. He was a law clerk to a US District Court judge and served in the US Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps, including a term as a Special Assistant US Attorney, in San Diego and as a faculty member of the Naval Justice School in Newport, RI. Rabbi Block is the immediate past president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Headquartered in Jerusalem, the World Union is the international body of Reform, Liberal, Progressive, and Reconstructionist Jews. Representing nearly 2 million persons in 43 countries, it is the world's largest organization of religiously affiliated Jews. Rabbi Block has served as Senior Rabbi, The Temple - Tifereth Israel, Cleveland and Beachwood, OH since May 1, 2001. Cantor Emerita Kay Greenwald In August 1997, Cantor Kay Greenwald became Congregations Beth Am's Cantor after serving for 5 years as Assistant and then Associate Cantor. She chants and leads services, and oversees our Bar and Bat Mitzvah programs. In 1993, Cantor Greenwald introduced our spring musical production performed by kids in the congregation, called "Be a Jewish Star". This is now an annual event at Beth Am. Cantor Greenwald enjoys teaching adults, as well as her work with the Music Committee. Before attending Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music, Cantor Greewald pursued her Masters from the Eastman School of Music and sang opera throughout the world. She was the first woman to serve as clergy at Beth Am. Cantor Greenwald is President of the American Conference of Cantors, the professional cantorial organization of the Reform Movement. Cantor Emeritus David Unterman Cantor David Unterman was Beth Am's Cantor from 1981 to 1997. He continues to be a popular teacher of Jewish Spirituality and often participates in musical events at Beth Am. Cantor Unterman is a veteran of musical theater and opera. He sang with the San Francisco and New York Metropolitan Operas, the Lamplighters and the American Savoyards. He is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion School and Sacred Music. During his many years as Cantor, he trained hundreds of our young congregants for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah as well as many adults who participated in our Adult B'nai Mitzvah program. David also led the volunteer adult choir and worked with the Music Committee. |
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h Lauing
is thrilled to be back in the Beth Am community, where she grew from a scared kindergartener in Sunday Program into a shy Bat Mitzvah and finally into a raucous BATY member! She is a recent graduate of
Middlebury
College
in
Vermont
, where she majored in Religion with a minor in French. Her experience with Hillel, the foundation for Jewish life on college campuses, solidified her already growing love for the Jewish community, and she served as Social Action chair and then President on the board of the Middlebury chapter. She also spent seven months in
Paris
, where she developed an appreciation for good wine and fine cheeses, among her more academic pursuits, which included writing her final senior project on liberal Judaism and liturgy in
France
. Sarah is very happy to escape Parisian rain and
Vermont
snow for the sunny Bay Area, however, and looks forward to her many roles at Beth Am with BATY, BAJY Avodah, Madrichim, and teaching in the education programs.
Robyn Siegel
Shaina Wasserman