Our Mission & Vision
Vision
We envision a world where every person thrives and lives a life of meaning.
Mission
Through Judaism, we help people thrive through community, social responsibility, and growth of mind, body, and soul.
OUR MISSION
Rodeph Sholom is an extended family of people who care about each other and our community. We strive to educate and inspire children, youth, and adults to participate actively in worship, Torah study, and Jewish life experience, and to put Reform Jewish religious and ethical principles into action. We seek to enrich the lives of our members, to contribute to the continuance and vitality of the Jewish people, and to help repair the world.
OUR VISION
CRS inspires congregants to lives filled with meaning and purpose in a spiritual community nourished by Jewish traditions, texts and prayer, and anchored by our relationship with God.
• We gain strength from engaging together as a Jewish community: worshiping together in joyous and transformative prayer; learning together; standing together in pursuit of justice, and embracing our Jewish heritage and our covenant with God.
• CRS invites congregants and families at all levels of Jewish knowledge to life-long learning that deepens Jewish identity, develops Jewish literacy, encourages spiritual growth and builds personal bonds.
• We recognize the importance of our relationship with Israel and world Jewry through visits, advocacy, active dialogue, and support of the State of Israel and its Reform Movement.
• Inspiring Jewish engagement requires the collective efforts of the clergy, staff, lay leadership and the congregation. The highest priority for our highly respected and experienced clergy and our staff is to engage congregants by developing meaningful personal relationships throughout the synagogue community. The lay leadership and congregation inspire through their own Jewish engagement and active participation in synagogue life.
CRS is committed to aid those in need and to pursue social justice, embodying the highest Jewish values.
• We have the greatest impact when we act together as a Jewish community to repair the world. We stand side by side to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and take other action that we are commanded to take as Jews. These actions fulfill our Jewish obligations, and strengthen our bonds of community.
CRS is a large, historic, and vibrant congregation, while also maintaining the warmth and intimacy of a small shul.
• We are a hub of Jewish activity; our synagogue and schools are filled with congregants and families actively engaged in Jewish life each day. As part of this large and lively community, we seek multiple opportunities for smaller groups of congregants to engage together in areas of shared interest. Through these small groups, integrated into the congregation as a whole, members get to know each other and form long-lasting friendships.
CRS is a congregation where members strive to know each other, care for each other and form deep personal relationships within the community.
• We seek to be a congregation where members are known and feel connected and where we find purpose, meaning and a sense of belonging. It is a point of pride that our members are from many different backgrounds and stages of life who find inspiration and friendship from being part of our synagogue community.
• We celebrate together in times of joy, take care of each other in times of illness, bereavement and other times of need, and we strive to know when our help is required without being asked. We are a place of thanksgiving for the high points of our lives, and a place of comfort for the low points.
• Our vision is a place where congregants are welcomed in each other’s homes and offer hospitality for Shabbat dinners, holiday meals, and other occasions. We enjoy each other’s company both inside and outside the synagogue, and ensure that no one in our community is alone.
CRS inspires our children to love their Jewish heritage and become engaged members of the Jewish community throughout their lives.
• CRS is a leader in Jewish education through the Rodeph Sholom School (our Reform Jewish Day School) and the Rodeph Sholom Religious School. Our schools are warm, dynamic communities, where our children are guided by Jewish knowledge, values and ethics, and are taught to embrace Judaism with joy.
• We are an integrated school and synagogue community. Congregants across all ages are invested in the education of our children, and our school families are invested in the communal life of our congregation. The parents and children in the Rodeph Sholom School – like our Religious School families – are highly engaged in all aspects of synagogue life.
We are a diverse, inclusive and welcoming community, with members at many different stages of their Jewish journeys.
• CRS cultivates an inclusive environment in which all current and prospective members feel welcome and embraced, regardless of race, gender, economic status, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• We are a spiritual home to congregants just starting their Jewish journeys, to congregants highly engaged in Jewish practice, and to everyone in between. We welcome all people who seek a connection to Jewish life; we value non-Jewish individuals who are part of our community and encourage their involvement.
• CRS has long had a strong commitment to those with special needs, providing special needs worship services and educational opportunities, accessible buildings, and other accommodations. We are proud of our ability to provide all families and children the opportunity to worship and learn together in an accessible, interactive, and sensitive environment.
• Our vision involves not just inclusion, but active inclusion; not just diversity, but embracing diversity; not just welcoming, but engaging everyone in the Jewish community as unique and worthy individuals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Praised by the New York Times as “irresistible in both music and performance.” flutist, 
Rabbi Mira Weller (she/her) received her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in May 2022. She studied Culture and Politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and received her Master’s in Jewish Education at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR. She is the proud recipient of awards for her studies in rabbinic literature, her work in Jewish education, and she was granted the Myrtle Lorch Pfaelzer-Monroe Pfaelzer Award for an Outstanding Female Rabbinical School Student (2022). Rabbi Mira speaks Hebrew and Spanish (so please practice with her!). She has a passion for uncovering new possibilities in the great wealth of our tradition and for making music inspired by Judaism’s many cultures. Her guilty pleasures include cupcakes, classical music, and philosophy.
Alan Goodis is a touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan tours throughout the US to serve as an Artist-In-Residence and performer at Temples, Youth Conventions and Jewish summer camps.
Julie Silver is one of the most celebrated and beloved performers in the world of contemporary Jewish music today. She tours throughout the world, and has been engaging audiences with her gorgeous compositions and liturgical settings, her lyrical guitar playing, her dynamic stage presence, and her megawatt smile for over 25 years.
Dan is a product of the URJ Jewish camping movement. He has toured Jewish summer camps across North America for the last 15 years. A classically trained singer, Dan received his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at the University of North Carolina. In 1995, realizing the potential of music to make powerful connections with Jewish youth, Dan established the Jewish rock band Eighteen. Since that time, Dan and Eighteen have released 13 albums. Songs like, L’takein, B’tzelem Elo-him, Kehillah Kedoshah, Chazak, Sweet As Honey, and Asher Yatzar have become Jewish communal anthems throughout North America.
Naomi Less is an internationally celebrated singer/songwriter, ritualist and educator. Beloved for her warm smile and inviting presence, communities celebrate her imagination and innovation, tenderness and pizzazz! Her original music is sung in worship communities worldwide. Naomi serves as Co-Founder, Ritual Leader and Associate Director of Lab/Shul and is a leader in amplifying women’s voices through her work at Songleader Boot Camp and her Jewish Women Rock show on Jewish Rock Radio. Naomiadvocates for people struggling with fertility journeys as a performance artist and speaker for Uprooted: A Jewish Response to Fertility Challenges. Fun fact: Naomi and her husband wrote the song shine/Yivarech’cha, a Friday night blessing, specifically composed for URJ Crane Lake Camp, sung every Friday night in the dining hall.
Her destiny became obvious to Joanie Leeds’ parents when, at the tender age of 2, Joanie grabbed the performer’s mic at a party and belted out the entire song“Tomorrow” from Annie. Jaws dropped! No one could remember ever hearing a big voice like that coming from one so tiny and certainly no one would have thought she would one day earn a GRAMMY® Award for her original music.
A composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, Elana Arian is one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music. 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 CzechRepublic, and everywhere in between. Elana just released her fourth album of original music, The Other Side of Fear, and her compositions have been published in countless Transcontinental Music collections. Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira (Oconomowoc, WI), the Wexner Heritage Foundation (Aspen, CO), Shirei Chagiga (London, England), and as an instructor at the Hebrew Union College in 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.
Known for his unique, engaging, and deeply soulful approach, Noah Aronson is considered one of the most sought after Jewish musicians in North America, making over 65 community appearances each year.
There is a reason why Time Magazine has listed Michelle in their Top Ten list of Jewish rock stars.
Kol B’Seder has been composing and performing contemporary Jewish music since the early1970s. Rabbi Dan Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper met as college students; over the past 50years they have released numerous CDs and songbooks. With Debbie Friedman (z”l) and others, they forged a new musical sound for American Jewish camps, schools and synagogues. Their songs, such as “Shalom Rav,” “Modeh Ani,” and “Lo Alecha,” have become traditionalJewish melodies around the world. They are delighted to be inaugurating their fiftieth anniversary celebration by appearing in support of URJ camps, where they first composed and incubated many of their early songs.
New York bassist Roger Wagner enjoys a long and diverse career. As soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral bassist, Mr. Wagner has appeared on many of the world’s great concert stages.
Margaret Kampmeier, 
Leonard Bernstein described 
Sarah Adams 
Michael Roth
Our initiative for young children and their grown-ups provides a slate of offerings including Shabbat and holiday celebrations, music, classroom readiness programs, and new parent experiences. During the pandemic, we have leaned on $1m of seed funding for Sholom Sprouts established through this campaign as we offer age-appropriate virtual programs for our families with young children, who are the future of our community. We look forward to welcoming our littlest members and their grown-ups back to our new fifth floor, as well as hiring a Program Assistant to increase the capacity of Sholom Sprouts to grow. This program provides a crucial entry-point to the congregation and membership for young families.
