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Rabbi
Alan E. Litwak, rabbi.litwak@tsnd.org 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.
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Rabbi David N. Young, rabbi.young@tsnd.org Rabbi David N.Young is our new Assistant 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. Rabbi Young is married to Cantor Natalie Young and they are the proud parents of two boys: Gabriel and Alexander. |
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Cantor Michael Kruk,
cantor.kruk@tsnd.org 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 daughter, Nili.
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Susan
Warech, Director of Administration, susan.warech@tsnd.org of our congregation
since July 1, 2004. Prior to her becoming a member of the staff,
Susan spent many years as an active temple member. 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 and her husband, Scott moved to Florida in 1979.
Susan and Scott have two children, Jonathan and Katie, both
graduates of Jacobson Sinai Academy. Susan considers Temple
Sinai her home away from home. |
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David Prashker, Director of Education, david.prashker@tsnd.org is Temple Sinai’s new 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. He remains a serving member of the Board of PARDeS, the Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools. 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. |
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