Deborah Goldberg (she/her) was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH in May 2021. She was thrilled to join Congregation Rodeph Sholom in July of 2021 as our assistant rabbi. Deborah attended Washington University in St. Louis, MO, where she studied history and political science, graduating with college honors in 2013. She grew up in the Chicagoland area and spent her summers as a camper, staff member, and unit head in Wisconsin at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, the Reform Movement’s first summer camp. Deborah returned to camp for two summers during rabbinical school to serve as the summer program director. Before starting her studies at HUC-JIR, she served as an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC, and as the teen programs coordinator at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago, IL. While in school, Deborah served communities in Columbus and Sandusky, OH, as well as Grand Forks, ND. She is the proud recipient of the Rabbi Morris H. Youngerman Memorial Prize for best sermon delivered during the academic year 2019-2020.

Deborah is proud to work with Sholom 20s & 30s, our community building initiative for 20s and 30s in NYC. At Sholom 20s & 30s, we celebrate Shabbat and Jewish holidays, connect to Jewish wisdom, and meet old and new friends. Deborah also leads our Discovering Judaism course, our introduction to Judaism class for anyone looking to learn more about Judaism and Jewish life. She loves sharing her love of Jewish learning with students! She is passionate about building Jewish communities that are warm and inclusive, that enrich people’s lives with meaningful Jewish engagement, and that help people feel connected to Judaism and each other.

When she isn’t working or reading for fun, you can find Deborah exploring museums, trying new restaurants, or petting as many dogs as she possibly can.

Justin Callis (he/him), our Cantorial Intern, is a fourth-year student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. He is the recipient of the Reuben Peretz Abelson Prize for dedication to Yiddish Song, the Temple Israel of Boston Cantorial Prize, and the Lee Gura Memorial Prize for Aptitude in Synagogue Choral Music.

A native of West Hartford, CT, he was an active participant in his home congregation of Congregation Beth Israel. Justin earned a Bachelor of Science in Theatre and English and a Certificate in Music Theatre from Northwestern University in 2011. While in Chicago, IL, he was an active participant in its religious music scene, having worked there as a teaching artist, music director, and composer. He also worked extensively with youth of all ages and backgrounds.

Justin then served as the student cantor for East End Temple in New York City and Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC. For Justin, becoming a cantor has been a lifelong calling. He told the Washington Jewish Week (July 27, 2021), “I’ve always had the experience of, whenever I walk into a synagogue, someone always asks me, ‘Are you a cantor? You should be a cantor!’”

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Rabbi Robert N. Levine, DD, led Congregation Rodeph Sholom for three decades, its tenth Senior Rabbi from 1991 to 2021. An inspiring teacher, speaker, counselor, and frequent guest of local and national media, he has been beloved by congregants and community alike.

Rabbi Levine was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1977 and received his Doctor of Divinity Degree in March 2002. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia College.

Rabbi Levine is the author of three books. What God Can Do For You Now: For Seekers Who Want to Believe; Where Are You When I Need You? Befriending God When Life Hurts; and There Is No Messiah and You’re It: The Stunning Transformation of Judaism’s Most Provocative Idea.

Especially active in communal affairs, he is a past President of the New York Board of Rabbis, as well as having served as Vice-President and Chairman of its Interfaith Committee. He was Chair of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue with the Archdiocese of New York, the publications committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and is a member of the Commission of Religious Leaders of New York City, the American Jewish Committee, and Synergy/UJA Federation. He served on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Clergy Advocacy Board and the Muslim Jewish Advisory Council.

Among his many awards are the New York Board of Rabbis’ Maria and Joel Finkle Prize for Rabbi of the Year; the International Humanitarian Award by the World Union for Progressive Judaism alongside Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel; the Westy Award from the West Side Spirit; the Champion of Choice from NARAL; the All Stars Project Bridge Building Award for Leadership in Community Relations; and he was inducted into the Manhattan Jewish Hall of Fame in 2020 by the Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative.

Rabbi Levine and his wife Gina are blessed with three children, their spouses, and grandchildren.

Cantor Sam Rosen grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, and completed Bachelor’s degrees in Music (Ethnomusicology) and Jewish Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2013, he moved to New York City and earned a Master’s degree in Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (2015) and was ordained as a cantor by the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR in May 2022. An avid home cook, Sam loves sharing recipes and culinary creations with friends and family near and far. Since August 2022 he has served as Cantor at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), the LGBTQ synagogue of New York City.

Kirsten Agresta Copely is an international award-winning harpist and composer who has made music in four continents for heads of state (U.S. President Obama, Mexican President Felipé Calderon), in blockbuster movie soundtracks (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian), alongside Billboard 100 artists (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé), on late night television (Saturday Night Live), and on the most recognized world stages as a classical artist. Copely served as the Associate Professor of Harp at Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music (2017-2021) and Affiliated Artist at Sarah Lawrence College (2003-2014). A Voting Member of The Recording Academy (NARAS), member of ASCAP and the World Harp Congress Board of Directors, she holds degrees from Indiana University (B.M. & M.M.). 

Sam Chung was born in Seoul and raised in Vancouver. Sam received his Bachelor in Classical Cello Performance at MSM in May of 2021 with a commencement award (Hugo Kortschak Award) for outstanding achievement in chamber music. An avid string quartet player, Sam has performed at the WQXR Radio station Midday Special concert (Elysian String Quartet) and also the opening of the MET museum’s art gallery opening concert. Most recently, he returned to Manhattan School of Music with a shared studio of David Geber and Philippe Muller under President’s award scholarship for Masters in Classical Cello Performance. Meanwhile his newly established String Quartet, ‘Dyllis String Quartet’ was accepted into the prestigious International Mozart Competition Salzburg 15th edition and participated in the Robert Mann String Quartet Seminar.  

Cantor Jonathan Comisar’s eclectic music background includes Eastman School of Music (pre-college), Oberlin Conservatory (piano) and a Masters in classical composition from the Manhattan School of Music. Comisar is an ordained Cantor with a Masters in Sacred Music from the Hebrew Union College Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music and currently serves as spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Torah in Florham Park, NJ. He is a highly esteemed and sought after composer of Jewish themed music and has received numerous commissions and artist residencies from synagogues and Jewish organizations throughout North America. Cantor Jonathan Comisar has served on the faculty of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music since 2009, teaching classes on music theory, arranging, and composition.  He brings a unique spark of musical creativity to his coaching/mentorship of cantorial students, teaching and encouraging them to bring all of their musical talents to their future congregations.  

J. David Williams was born in the small Tennessee town of Paris and was exposed to music from the very beginning owing to the fact that his mother is a church musician, choir director, and singer. After high school, he attended Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, Memphis State University, and received his Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He then moved to New York City and studied organ at The Juilliard School for a Master’s degree, then later at Manhattan School of Music for a Doctoral degree. Mr. Williams has held numerous church positions including Associate Organist at The Riverside Church, and temple positions including Music Director and Soloist at Progressive Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom. Presently, he is the Music Director at Congregation Rodeph Sholom and Director of Music at The Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York. 

Corey Schutzer, bass, can currently be heard on Broadway in the Tony-nominated production, New York, New York, having played in numerous productions prior. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Corey now performs and records regularly with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and has held a chair for the past 8 seasons of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The highlight of his week is performing in Erev Shabbat services every Friday at Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

John Hadfield (Drums/percussion) As a composer and percussionist, John Hadfield’s dedication to music has taken him from his native Missouri to concert halls and clubs across the world. He has released three albums of his own compositions—John Hadfield’s Paris Quartet, The Eye of Gordon and Displaced and has composed for many projects, including Heard By Others, a duo project with Lenny Pickett, Believers a trio with Brad Shepik and Sam Minaie, For James  a duo with Ron Blake, as well as the feature-length documentary After Spring. In 2019 he composed and performed in Apologue 2047, a multimedia performance art piece directed by Zhang Yimo which explored themes of the relationships of humans and technology.  John’s ability to cross genres has allowed him to appear with a broad range of artists such as Kinan Azmeh’s City Band, Nguyen Le’s STREAMS Quartet, the Saturday Night Live Band on NBC, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Silk Road Ensemble. He has collaborated on more than 100 recordings, including the GRAMMY award winner Yo-Yo Ma and Friends, Songs of Joy and Peace.  

Elana Arian is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, and is one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music today. Elana’s music is part of Jewish life across the globe, and her compositions are sung in spiritual communities, summer camps, and synagogues from Louisville to London, from Chicago to the Czech Republic, and everywhere in between. Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira, the Wexner Heritage Foundation, Shirei Chagiga, and as an instructor at the Hebrew Union Collegein New York, where she teaches in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. 

Elana has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and perhaps most memorably, five separate appearances at the (Obama) White House. She lives in New York with her wife, Julia, and their two daughters, Maya and Acadia. 

Bio coming soon!

Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianist/composers of his generation.  He actively tours worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody.

Rosenthal’s orchestral performances include solo and featured appearances with The Detroit Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony The Boston Pops, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Fort Worth Symphony.  Rosenthal performed Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue for the opening concert of the 92nd Street Y’s 2015-16 season. The New York Times called his playing “notable both for its flair and languid, sultry expressive gestures.” In 2014 Rosenthal performed Rhapsody in Blue at Town Hall in a concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of its premiere.

Known for his sweet and “sumptuous” (New York Times) tone, American-born Doori Na took up violin at the age of four and began his studies with Li Lin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He quickly made his first performance with orchestra at age seven with the Peninsula Youth Symphony as the first prize winner of the concerto competition. Thereafter Mr. Na went on to win top prizes in The Sound of Music Festival, The Korea Times Youth Music Competition, the Chinese Music Teacher’s Association, The Menuhin Dowling Young Artist Competition, The Junior Bach Festival, VOCE of the Music Teacher’s Association of California, and The Pacific Musical Society. Receiving full scholarships to private high school Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, he moved to Los Angeles to study with renown violin teacher, Robert Lipsett, at The Colburn Music School. There he appeared as soloist with the Palisades Symphony, Brentwood Symphony, and Torrance Symphony. During that time, the summer of 2004 was Mr. Na’s first time at the Perlman Music Program where his expression and musical identity were greatly influenced. He has been a part of the program ever since and participated in many of their special residencies in Florida, Vermont, New York, and Israel.

Currently living in New York City, Mr. Na plays with numerous ensembles around the city. He has played with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with tours in the US, Japan, and Europe performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Musiverien in Vienna. Other orchestras include American Symphony Orchestra at Bard College, American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House, and Riverside Symphony at the Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.  The music of our time has also been an integral part of Mr. Na’s New York life. He is part of the New Music Project of Argento Chamber Ensemble performing the works of Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, Tristan Murail, and many more. One of his favorite groups to work with is New Chamber Ballet, where he has been a member since 2013. He provides live solo music for dance at their regular venue of City Center Studios and have also gone on tour to Lake Tahoe, Germany, and Guatemala.

Violinist Michael Roth is a native of Scarsdale, NY and received his early musical training with Frances Magnes at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He attended Oberlin College and Conservatory, continuing his studies with Marilyn McDonald. At Oberlin, he won the Kaufman Prize for violin and First Prize in the Ohio String Teacher’s Association Competition. He completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Massachusetts where he worked with the distinguished American violinist and pedagogue Charles Treger and was a recipient of the Julian Olevsky Award. Mr. Roth is currently associate concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and has appeared in chamber music and as a soloist with the company, most recently in the debut of “Slice Too Sharp”, a ballet of Biber and Vivaldi violin concerti, and “After the Rain”, violin music of Arvo Part. In addition he is a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Principal 2nd violin of the Westchester Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra and the New York Pops. He was concertmaster of the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra for many years and often appeared as soloist there, as well as at the Caramoor and Bard Music Festivals. He has played and toured internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Soloists.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Roth has collaborated on violin and viola with artists such as Eugene Drucker, Menahem Pressler, James Buswell, Steven Doane, Hamao Fujiwara and members of the Brentano, Manhattan and Ying Quartets, and recently presented a recital of contemporary Cuban solo violin and chamber music in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall under the auspices of the American Composers Orchestra. With Orpheus, the Eos Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, The New York Pops and the American Composers Orchestra and others, Mr. Roth has recorded for the Sony, Angel, Telarc, Decca, BMG, Point Music, ESSA.Y. and Arbors Music labels.

Mr. Roth has recorded for the Sony, Angel, Telarc, Decca, BMG, Point Music, ESSA.Y. and Arbors Music labels.

Sarah Adams, viola, performs locally with the New York Chamber Ensemble, the Claring Chamber Players, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Friends of Mozart, and the Saratoga Chamber Players.

She is principal violist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Riverside Symphony and the violist of the Roerich Quartet,performing and recording in NYC, upstate New York and Vermont.

Formerly violist with the Cassatt Quartet and assistant principal violist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Adams is a member of the American Ballet Theatre, and performs with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Opera Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others.

She has performed as soloist with the Jupiter and Riverside

Symphonies in Alice Tully Hall as well as in recital with the New York Viola Society.

Ms. Adams’ festival appearances include the Bard Music Festival, the Cape May Music Festival, the Windham Music Festival, the Sherman Chamber Music Festival, and the Catskill Mountain Foundation concerts.

Ms. Adams has been teaching viola and chamber music at Columbia University since 1993.

Daniel Bailen is a bassist, guitarist, singer and award-winning songwriter born and raised in New York City. His performing experience began at the Metropolitan Opera’s Children’s Chorus where he appeared in over 10 operas and was a featured soloist in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, singing alongside the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Rene Fleming and Placido Domingo.

Daniel’s band, BAILEN, with his twin brother and sister, have toured internationally. Their debut record, Thrilled to Be Here, was released on Fantasy Records and produced by Grammy winning producer, John Congleton. Rolling Stone Magazine titled their review “Bailen conjure CS&N, Fleetwood Mac and TLC on an impressive debut”. Their song “I Was Wrong” reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Chart and their album garnered praise from artists of all generations including David Crosby to Hozier, who took them as his opening act on his 2019 U.S tour. NPR voted their song “Something Tells Me” #5 on the Best Songs of 2019, and Spotify included it on their list of best alternative songs of the past decade. Bailen has also toured and worked with Amos Lee, Grace Potter, Joseph, Local Natives, The Lone Bellow, Head and The Heart, Lucius, and X Ambassadors. They have performed their music on CBS this Morning, The Today Show, and Dermot O’Leary’s BBC Radio2 produced music for Hulu’s “Looking For Alaska” and FX’s “Son’s of Anarchy.”

Daniel has also performed extensively as an actor-musician. He has starred in the hit Off-Broadway show, What’s it All About; Bacharach Reimagined directed by Steven Hoggett at New York Theatre Workshop and The Menier Chocolate Factory in London. The show was renamed Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined when it transferred to London’s West End, which Daniel also starred in. He was featured on Upright Bass, Electric Bass, Cello, Guitars and Vocals.

As a bassist Daniel has also toured extensively with Grammy nominated Jazz virtuoso, Raul Midon, and appears on records, or has performed with, Burt Bacharach, Bill Withers, Jonathan Batiste, Dianne Reeves, Liz Wright and the New York Pops.

Praised by the New York Times as “irresistible in both music and performance.” flutist, Susan Rotholz continues to be in demand as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician and teacher. Winner of Young Concert Artists with Hexagon Piano and Winds and of Concert Artists Guild as soloist, Susan is Principal Flute of the Greenwich Symphony, The New York Pops and The New York Chamber Ensemble and is a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Little Orchestra Society.  She has performed as soloist and toured nationally and internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Susan Rotholz is co-founder of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble presenting multi-genre chamber music concerts, she also appears each season with the Cape May Music Festival, Greenwich Chamber Players the Sebago Long Lake Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music at Rodeph Sholom and the Saratoga Chamber Players.

Susan attended the Yale School of Music in 1979-81 and the Marlboro Music Festival in 1980 and 1981 and through the Marlboro Festival, became the principal flutist with the New England Bach Festival for the following 25 years. Her recordings of the complete Bach Flute Sonatas and the Solo Partita with the late forte–pianist, Kenneth Cooper and the more recently released American Tapestry, Duos for Flute and Piano with pianist, Margaret Kampmeier have continually been received with acclaim. Susan is Professor at Vassar College, Columbia University, ACSM at Queens College and Manhattan School of Music Pre–college.

Ron comes to us from Brotherhood Synagogue, where he was Director of Development and Membership. Prior to Brotherhood, he had a long career in the financial services sector, having led high profile corporate efforts at institutions such as National Australia Bank, Noble Group, MarexSpectron, Merrill Lynch and Oppenheimer & Co. Throughout his career he has been deeply involved and connected to synagogue life. For more than seven years, Ron served as President of Temple Beth El of Great Neck, where his strong managerial experience, people skills and financial acumen was of tremendous value in leading such a historic congregation. He has served as Co-Chair of UJA-Synergy’s North Shore Presidents Roundtable and has provided support and counsel to numerous charitable organizations in the NY metro area. Ron loves the outdoors and is an avid biker and hiker, as well as a Yankees and Knicks fan.

Annie Epstein is a senior at Northwestern University majoring in Journalism with minors in Psychology and Jewish Studies. She’s currently finishing up her term as Co-President of Northwestern Hillel. Annie attended RSS since preschool, worked with the Rodeph Sholom Theater Company, and served as Youth Group Board President.

Kai Falkenberg currently serves as EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at G/O Media, a digital publishing company with 10+ category-leading sites, including Quartz, Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jezebel, Kotaku, The Root and The Onion. Kai brings to that role over 20 years of expertise in media law including M&A, data privacy, intellectual property, labor relations, compliance, litigation and other matters.

Prior to joining G/O, Kai served as Acting Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media Entertainment where she oversaw NYC Media, the country’s largest municipal broadcast network, and the regulation of all film and television production in NYC. In addition to her role as a C-Suite executive, Kai teaches media law at Columbia Law School where she originated and teaches the country’s first course on the Law & Regulation of Social Media. Earlier in her career she served in senior legal roles at several media companies including Forbes and NBC. She was the President of The Jewish Week Media Group and currently serves as a board member for a number of organizations including the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, the Gotham Institute for Film & Media, 70 Faces Media and the NFT platform known as Voice.

Kai began her legal career at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Columbia Law School, where she was a Kent Scholar and Senior Editor of the Law Review. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and their two children.

Debora serves as the Vice President, Brand & Marketing at ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). In her role, she is responsible for creating awareness of and engagement with ADL and its brand through impactful integrated campaigns and events. Her team works to tell ADL’s story and address its mission, “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all,” in addition to managing direct response marketing efforts and all engagements within the sports and entertainment industries.

Debora joined ADL in August 2017, as a consultant, program manager following a career in the sports industry. Prior to ADL, Debora’s experience includes leading marketing efforts for the 2017 World Baseball Classic during her second stint at Major League Baseball, being Director of Marketing for Thuzio, an influencer marketing and sports events company, and serving as Manager of Communications and Digital Marketing for the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee.

Debora has a BA in History and minor in Jewish Studies from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives on the UWS with her husband Bryan and daughters Jamie (RSS ’34) and Rory. Aside from her family and friends, she loves the Yankees, dumplings, pizza and puns.