Cantor
Deborah Jacobson
Cantor
Deborah Jacobson
Cantor Jacobson came to
Temple Ahavat Shalom
July, 2005, from Temple Beth El in
Stamford
Connecticut
where she served as cantor for three years. While completing her studies
for her masters and ordination,
she served as Cantor at the West End Synagogue in
New York City
.
She received her Masters in
sacred music and diploma of Hazzan (Cantor) from the
H.
L.
Miller
Cantorial
School
of the Jewish Theological
Seminary in
New York City
in May 2002. While
studying at the seminary, which included one year of study at Machon
Schechter in
Jerusalem
, she received the H. L.
Miller Fellowship as one who will make a significant contribution in the
musical life of the Jewish communities she will serve. Her goals
as cantor include encouraging all congregants to participate more fully
in the services and in the community. She looks forward to sharing her
great love of Judaism - in it's texts, music, traditions, and people.
"I hope to involve our
Temple Ahavat Shalom
family in the joy,
sacredness, and blessing of our heritage."
Born in
Cleveland
,
Ohio
, Jacobson was raised in
New Rochelle
,
NY
and is a graduate of the
Westchester
Day School
in
Mamaroneck
,
NY
. She received her B.A.
in Theater/Voice and Literature from
New York
University
. Before entering the
Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997, she was a teacher in public and
religious schools, as well as a performer in several off-Broadway plays,
including "The Diary of Anne Frank," a number of TV shows and
cabaret performances. Her book, Survival Jobs: 154 Ways to Make
Money While Pursuing Your Dream, has been published in two editions
(1996 self-published and 1998 by Broadway Books) and was a Quality
Paperback Book Club selection. A new edition of this book, titled,
150 Jobs You Can Start Today, was published in October, 2003, by
Broadway Books. Deborah was
also featured on Women’s Day TV on a segment about women clergy.
Her first CD, Shabbat Unplugged, was released in June 2005.
Cantor Jacobson lives with her husband Jordan and daughters Maya and Shira
in
Clearwater
,
FL.
Rabbi
Sundheim (Auxiliary Rabbi)
Rabbi
Frank Sundheim is a native of Philadelphia, PA.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1958.
He and his wife Adrianne have three children and five
grandchildren.
Rabbi and Mrs. Sundheim
reside in our community.
Rabbi
Sundheim served for two years as an U.S. Army Chaplain at Ft. Sill,
Oklahoma, for six years as Spiritual Leader of Congregation Ohev Shalom
in Huntington, W VA and for twenty years as the rabbi of Congregation
Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, FL. In
1986, he became the regional director of the Southeast Council of the
Union of American Hebrew Congregations a position which he held until
his retirement in 1997. In
retirement, he served for three years as a part-time rabbi at Temple
Beth David in Spring Hill, FL.
He
joined our staff in the spring of 2000 in the newly created part-time
position of Auxiliary Rabbi; his main focus being to assist Rabbi Gary
Klein in pulpit and pastoral duties and to create programs in Adult
Jewish Growth. As such he
has created several new adult education opportunities for the
congregation.
Ellyse Vosselmann advises our
Jr. Youth (grades 6-8).
Ellyse has lived in Palm Harbor for the past nine years with her
husband Gary, and two children Emily, and Seth.
Mrs. Vosselmann has a degree in social work from New York
University and currently is a pharmaceutical sales representative. Ellyse
enjoys fostering the friendships that develop among our Jr. Youth Group
members.
Landy
Gonzalez is the Director of Education and Programming at our
congregation. She came to Palm Harbor from Seattle , Washington in 1995
with her husband Ross and children Sarah and Benjamin. She attended
Jacksonville University, where she was a music major and played the
violin. Ms. Gonzalez holds a Childhood Development Associate Degree in
Early Childhood Center Management, and served as the principal of the
Krieger Early Childhood Center at Temple Ahavat Shalom from 1995 through
2001. She has oversight responsibility for the Krieger Early Childhood
and for our youth groups. Her
primary responsibility, however, is the direction of our Werner
Religious School.
As
a Jew by choice, Ms. Gonzalez experiences Judaism with both eyes open.
She views every experience, holiday, ritual, and simcha as an
opportunity to learn, to grow, and to embrace Jewish our heritage and
culture. It is with great joy that she passes these experiences on to
our children and to our adults.
Barbara
Smith works with our children as our congregation’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah
preparation coordinator and primary tutor.
She has held this position for the past ten years. Born in
Baltimore, Maryland, Mrs. Smith was a leader in the local Jewish
community and attended Baltimore Hebrew University as well as the
University of Maryland. Barbara and her husband Norman have two
children. Brenda, her daughter, is an advertising account
executive in New York City. Alan, her son, is a doctor in Ft.
Collins, Colorado.Hebrew is a life experience, not just class
time. From playing games to developing curriculum, Barbara brings
vibrancy and meaning to Jewish Education.
Our
Senior Youth Group has a wonderful, enthusiastic advisor, Anne-Marie
Cumming. Anne-Marie
Cumming has been a member of Temple Ahavat Shalom for the past fourteen
years. She holds a
degree in business from The Monterey Institute of International Studies. Anne-Marie
shares a commitment to making Judaism an important part of the identity
of each teen with whom she spends time.
Elaine
Wolstein is the heart and soul of Religious Education at Temple Ahavat
Shalom.She and her husband David were among the founding families of our
synagogue and Elaine was our first Religious school principal. Elaine
has been certified as a religious school director by the union of
American Hebrew Congregations and has been teaching the children of
Temple Ahavat Shalom for the past 18 years. She is one of our children’s
Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutors, and she is our primary adult/ B’Nai Mitzvah
teacher as well as one of our Judaic music teachers. Elaine also serves
as an advisor to our Director of Education and our Early Childhood
Principal. Mrs. Wolstein and her husband David, have four children and
four grandchildren.
Our
Family