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Rabbi Alan E. Litwak assumed the position of Senior Rabbi of Temple Sinai on July 1, 2002.

Rabbi Litwak was raised in Northern California and is a product of the Reform Jewish movement.  He has served congregations in both Southern and Northern California, as well as Long Island, Manhattan, and Albany, New York.

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 an engaging and dynamic teacher of all age groups.  During his six years in Albany, Rabbi Litwak was an on-going speaker for Jewish issues at the New York State Capital, a frequent contributor to the local Jewish newspaper, and a board member for a number of local and regional organizations.  He has served in a variety of leadership positions for the Reform Jewish movement.  Currently, he serves as a Governor, as the Immediate Past Chair of the Alumni Leadership Council, and on the President’s Rabbinic Council for his alma mater, Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion.  Recently, in South Florida, he has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as President of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami and on the Board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, as well as the Rabbinic Dean for NFTY Southern Tropical Region.  His past involvement includes work with Jewish Community Services of South Florida, the NY AFL-CIO, and Planned Parenthood.  He has written for national publications of the Reform movement and Torah Aura publishers.

When he has the time, Rabbi Litwak is a very serious wine enthusiast, adequately pretends to be a chef, and occasionally dabbles in artistic endeavors.  He and his wife, Deborah, have three daughters, Hannah, Naomi, and Yael. Email Rabbi Alan Litwak HERE.


Cantor Norman Cohen Falah is the full-time Cantor at Temple Sinai. Norman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973, the son of an Ashkenazi mother and a Sephardic father. Both these traditions bore a strong influence on his upbringing, inspiring him to pursue a lifelong celebration of the two cultures. In his early twenties, Norman ‘heard the call’ and decided to study Hazzanut at the Latin-American Rabbinical Seminary. He also studied guitar and piano at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Buenos Aires. He has taken part in seminars exploring the Torah and musical and pedagogical techniques in Israel. In his early career he was awarded a number of prestigious prizes for composition.

After serving as Hazzan in Argentina for eight years, in 2003, Norman decided to move to the Netherlands as full-time Chazan at the Liberaal Joodse Gemeente (Liberal Jewish Community) in Amsterdam. During his two-year stay, he organized the first children’s song festival to have taken place in the 60 years since the establishment of the community. In 2005, Norman was appointed full-time Cantor at Belsize Square Synagogue, London with special responsibilities for B’nei Mitzvah. During the six years of service he mastered the synagogue’s German musical tradition of Lewandowski and Sulzer, enriching it with his unique style with Sephardic and Latin-American Hazzanut. He also notated into computer all the music of the synagogue’s services bringing its rich musical tradition up-to-date, and creating a digital music library.

As a composer, Norman has written many songs, mostly in his native Spanish. He has also written several liturgical compositions, some of which have been adopted by congregations in Argentina for use in their services.

Now Cantor Cohen Falah’s journey has brought him, along with his wife, Florencia (Flor) to Temple Sinai. A versatile, soulful and energetic performer, Cantor Norman sings in seven languages, in a variety of styles and for all ages. Norman is also very well known for his leyning skills. He is capable of chanting the Torah and the Haftarah in three different nusachot (musical traditions): Eastern European, Western European and Sepharad-Yerushalmi. His Ashkenazi and Sephardic background and training allow him to create a unique spiritual experience at shul, at weddings and at concerts. Cantor Norman has been a tutor at the European Academy for Jewish Liturgy (EAJL), a full member of Cantorlat (the Latin-American Cantors Organization) and an international member of the American Cantors Assembly.
Cantor Norman has just released his new CD, TefiLatina! A Celebration of Jewish Music with a Latin Twist. The CD portrays a wide spectrum of music from Latin American Jewish liturgy to modern Hebrew songs, from Sephardic to Yiddish music, and from boleros to tangos. Visit Cantor Norman’s website: www.cantornorman.com. Email Cantor Norman HERE.


Susan Warech – Director of Administration

Susan 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. Email Susan Warech HERE.



Rabbi David Paskin - Director of Youth Education, rabbi.david@tsnd.org
I am bursting with excitement to get to know each and every one of you! My name is David Paskin (aka “Rabbi David”) and I am thrilled to be a part of the Temple Sinai community as the Director of Youth and Family Engagement. I have been learning and celebrating with families and children for over two decades.

I currently live in Boca Raton with my wife, Heather and two of my daughters; Ayelet who is a sophomore in high school and Nomi who is a fourth grader. My eldest, Dalia is a junior at the University of Miami. We moved to Florida in 2014 from the Boston area where I served as a congregational rabbi for 17 years at Temple Beth Abraham in Canton, Massachusetts and a teacher and administrator at both the Rashi school, a Reform Jewish Day School and Kehillah Schechter Academy.

I’m known as the “Rock n ’Roll Rabbi” having written and produced six albums of contemporary Jewish music. I’ve been honored to share my music all around the country and in Israel. Learn more about me at www.davidpaskin.com. Email David Paskin HERE.

 


Emeritus

Rabbi Emeritus Ralph P. Kingsley Rabbi Ralph P. Kingsley came to Temple Sinai in 1967 after having served as an Air Force Chaplain and as the Rabbi of the Garden City Jewish Center in Long Island. Under his leadership, until his retirement in 1998, Temple Sinai grew from 150 families who had just purchased what had been the old Greynolds Park Stables on the banks of the Oleta River, to becoming a major Reform Congregation. It is noted not only for its joyful worship style but for its Liberal Jewish Day School which extends from Early Childhood through eighth grade.

During the years of his rabbinate, Rabbi Kingsley guided Temple Sinai in its move from its Classical Reform beginnings back to the warmth and richness of the tradition. At retirement, in honor of his thirty one years of devoted service, the award- winning synagogue building was named after him.

While doing all of the things that rabbis customarily do, Rabbi Kingsley found time to be active with the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami (twice president), the Greater Miami Jewish Federation (the first rabbi to serve as an elected board member), and by extension, the Rabbinic Cabinet of the UJA. He had leadership roles on the national and local boards of the American Jewish Congress, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis serving on its Ethics Committee and as chair of the Soviet Jewry Committee. For fun, he ran five marathons. Today, he walks and bikes instead.

During retirement Rabbi Kingsley has served several congregations part time and occasionally conducts services and teaches Torah at Temple Sinai. He has also written a Memoir: MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, which will be available through Amazon soon. Summers continue to be spent with his “beautiful beloved Brenda” in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. And whenever possible, time is spent with their two sons, Evan (Dara) and Jonathan (Wendy) and their four grandchildren: Ava, Elizabeth, Julia and Max.

Cantor Emeritus Irving Shulkes In his home and Yeshiva environment, Cantor Irving Shulkes has always been close to the Jewish Musical Idiom. Following his graduation from Brooklyn College, he taught speech at Boys High in Brooklyn. In the army, during the Korean War, he served as an English Instructor to Puerto Rican soldiers. His specialty was “Survival English.” He also conducted Services at the Synagogue in San Juan, thirty miles away.

It was during this period that the idea of serving Jewish congregational life was strengthened. Completing his studies at the Hebrew Union College in New York, he was invested as Cantor-Educator. Subsequently, he earned his M.A. in music from Teachers College, Columbia University, with a specialty in choral conducting. Cantor Shulkes served congregations in Floral Park, New York and Teaneck, New Jersey, before finding his future home with Temple Sinai in 1970.

An active member in his profession, Cantor Shulkes was elected to the executive board of The American Conference of Cantors. He served as a board member, Convention Chairman, Treasurer and later Vice President until his move to Florida. After a short time, he was elected President of the Cantors Association of Greater Miami. In June of 1998, after 28 years of service to Temple Sinai and 23 impressive and highly successful Annual Spring Music Festivals, he become Cantor Emeritus. On March 14, 2000, Cantor Shulkes was awarded an honorary Doctorate at the Hebrew Union College in New York City in recognition of his dynamic contribution to Jewish life. In 2008, he was awarded a Lifetime of Service Award in recognition of his 50th anniversary in the Cantorate.

Cantor Shulkes is married to Joanne. They have two children, Ron (Sara) and Heather (Chris) and are proud grandparents of Nate, Bennett and Ethan with more to come. Since his retirement, Cantor Shulkes has been officiating at services aboard cruise ships and, with Joanne, has traveled widely to many parts of the world.

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784