Rabbi Alan E. Litwak assumed the position of Senior Rabbi of our Congregation on July 1, 2002. Rabbi Litwak provides our congregation with a wealth of experience in teaching, pastoral counseling, social justice efforts, youth work, organizational development, and Jewish camping. He is considered to be an engaging and dynamic teacher. His classroom experience spans the entire age spectrum from early childhood, teenagers, college students, and adults. He is highly regarded for his extensive work with young people in youth group, camping, classroom, and worship settings. His rabbinate has been marked by speaking for Jewish issues at the local and state levels, frequent contributions to local Jewish publications, and service as a board member for a number of local and regional organizations. He has also written for national publications of the Reform movement and Torah Aura publishers. Rabbi Litwak was born and raised in Northern California and is a product of the Reform movement. Following his ordination in 1996, he served for six years as a Rabbi at Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany, New York. During his years in rabbinic school, he served congregations in both Southern and Northern California, Long Island, and New York City. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. When he has the time, Rabbi Litwak loves to cook, is a wine enthusiast, and occasionally dabbles in artistic endeavors. He and his wife, Deborah, have three daughters, Hannah, Naomi, and Yael.
Rabbi David N. Young is our Associate Rabbi. He comes to our community with a wealth of youth, teaching, camping, and pulpit experience. He has served congregations in New York City, Alaska, Ohio, North Carolina, and has taught middle-school, high school, and adults. In addition, Rabbi Young spent two summers at the Reform movement's Crane Lake Camp in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During his time at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Young received several prestigious awards and served as the President of the rabbinic student body. Rabbi Young grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was involved in Jewish youth organizations. He received a B.A. in Theatre from Bradley University. Pursuing his love for acting, he moved to Los Angeles, only to discover that his love for Judaism was stronger. Rabbi Young brings all of his passionate commitment to Jewish life to our youth, educational and spiritual programming, and he looks forward to a great many new and innovative programs at Temple Sinai over the coming years. He currently serves as a chaplain for the North Miami Beach Police Department and sits on the Advisory Board of the Association for Jewish Special Education. Rabbi Young is married to Cantor Natalie Young and they are the proud parents of three children: Gabriel, Alexander, and Isabella. Rabbi Young posts regularly to his blog.
Cantor Michael Kruk assumed his position on July 1, 2003. He was born in Tchernovitz, Ukraine. From the age of six, he studied music, violin and piano. He completed vocal studies in a music college and served in the Red Army Choir as a soloist. Cantor Kruk emigrated to Israel and continued his vocal studies at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv University and received his Bachelor of Music degree with a major in voice and a minor in violin. In Israel he met and married his wife, Paula. He continued his voice studies at the Juilliard School-American Opera Center and has performed operatic roles for the Israeli Rubin Opera Company, the National Radio & Television Orchestra, and the Bronx Opera House and has appeared in concerts and recitals throughout Israel and Russia. In search of his Jewish identity and his love for cantorial music, and aware that now as an American Jew he could pursue them openly, Cantor Kruk began a new phase in his vocal career in 1989 by entering Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He was invested as a Cantor in 1993 and served for ten years at Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation in New York City. Cantor Kruk and his wife Paula have a daughter, Nili.
Susan Warech has been Director of Administration of our congregation since July 1, 2004. Prior to her becoming a member of the staff, Susan spent many years as an active temple partner. She was president of the Sinai Parent Association and chaired the Jacobson Sinai Academy Day School Commission. Susan was a member of the Board of Trustees for 15 years, 6 of those years as a vice-president. In her prior professional life, Susan served as a professional bookkeeper. Susan was born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey. She moved to Florida in 1979. Susan has two children, Jonathan and Katie, both graduates of Jacobson Sinai Academy. Susan considers Temple Sinai her home away from home.
Dani Einsohn, Director of Development, grew up in New York where she was active in NFTY and Reform Jewish camps. She spent three years of her childhood in Curacao and a year in Israel. Dani began her career in the Jewish world at Temple Sinai. In the late 70s through the early 90s, Dani taught 3rd grade Sunday school, 7th grade Hebrew, and Judaica High School here. With that excellent foundation, Dani went on to various professional roles with the Alexander Muss High School in Israel as Director of Admissions, National Alumni Director and National Director of Development. She has been a Program Coordinator for Temple Beth Emet in Cooper City and was Director of Development for Hillel at the University of Florida. Dani comes to us most recently from her position as Executive Director of Bet Breira Samu-El Or Olom in Kendall and is thrilled to come home to Temple Sinai! She is eager to greet old friends and new and looks forward to working with all of us to ensure a bright future for our entire Temple Sinai community. Dani is the mother of three grown sons (Benjamin, David and Sam) who happily remember chasing the Temple Sinai peacocks.
David Prashker is Temple Sinai’s Director of Education. He was brought up in the United Kingdom, has lived in France and Canada, and spent many years on kibbutzim in Israel, during both the Yom Kippur and Shalom ha-Galil wars. He holds a Bachelor and a Master of Arts degree, the latter in Drama and Theatre Studies, and qualified as a teacher of English at the University of London. Between 1990 and 2004 he was in charge of the last Jewish boarding facility in Europe, Polack's House at Clifton College in England, where he was also Head of Hebrew & Jewish Studies and established the school’s Special Educational Needs unit. David served on the Court of the University of Bath, and was the Founding Chair of both DAVAR, the Jewish Institute in Bristol, and the Bristol Ann Frank Society. He was Director of The Leo Baeck Day School in Toronto from 2004, during which time he served on the Board of the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism and the Executive of the Toronto Hebrew Day Schools Principals Association. In January 2010, he was installed as president of PARDeS, the Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools, and he is a member of the URJ Lifelong Learning Commission"s Day School Task Force. He has two daughters, Hannah and Naomi, both of whom are students at universities in England. Alongside his passion for education and for all things Jewish, he devotes much of his spare time to writing, and has self-published both poetry, novels and essays.
