Synagogue Life

Cancer Scare Gave Him a Goal

By:

Aaron Passman

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Joshua Kalev had an unusual pastime. "As a child, I used to arrange my stuffed animals as a congregation and lead services for them," he said. "I was always in awe of my rabbi and what he got to do." Kalev, who now leads Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, said he'd...

Synagogue Life

He Brings Activism to New Pulpit

By:

Michelle Mostovy-Eisenberg, JE Feature

Over the years, Rabbi Pinchas Klein has fought for causes and issues that he's considered important. First, there was Soviet Jewry, then he spoke out against the Cambodian genocide. And then, in April 2007, Klein strove to heighten awareness of the existential threat that Iran posed to Israel. He joined 21 other rabbis in protest outside the United Nations. The...

Synagogue Life

Duo Takes Different Paths to Arrive at Same Destination

By:

Michelle Mostovy-Eisenberg, JE Feature

Lauren Brody-Hyett and Samantha Safran have quite a few things in common: Both are rabbinical students at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote (Brody-Hyett is in her fifth year; Safran in her third) and both have known since they were young that they wanted to be rabbis. Together, though they're not yet ordained, they will share the role of spiritual...

Synagogue Life

Wright Synagogue Receives Another Prestigious Honor

By:

Michelle Mostovy-Eisenberg, JE Feature

On Sunday, Sept. 21, sunny skies and a mild breeze greeted the more than 70 people who'd gathered on the front lawn of Beth Sholom Congregation to honor the historic structure that towered behind them -- the Mt. Sinai-inspired synagogue designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright -- which has been recognized with a state historic marker. Just before noon,...

Synagogue Life

A 'Down-to-Earth' Rabbi for Similar Shul

By:

Michelle Mostovy-Eisenberg, JE Feature

Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy had a pretty full summer: She got married in August, and then she and her husband, Josh, an attorney, moved from Pittsburgh to Langhorne, so she could assume the position of spiritual leader at Tzedek v'Shalom, a Reconstructionist congregation in Newtown, Bucks County. In addition to her pulpit duties, Boswell-Levy, 32, will also serve as religious school...