Temple Emanuel Board of Directors 2023-24
OFFICERS
President: Lewis Shaffer president@tegnh.org
First Vice President: Asi Carmeli 1vp@tegnh.org
Second Vice President: Alan Kliger 2vp@tegnh.org
Secretary: Rebecca Olshansky secretary@tegnh.org
Treasurer: Len Farber treasurer@tegnh.org
Assistant Treasurer: Melissa Perkal treasurer@tegnh.org
DIRECTORS
Immediate Past President: Robin Levine-Ritterman
Max Berkowitz
Doug Fenichel
Vlad Katsovich
Howard Koenig
Marcia Landesman
Phoenix Matarazzo
Mathew Nierenberg
Matthew Rothbard
Donna Wardle
SISTERHOOD REPRESENTATIVE
Susan Pinsky Bleeks sisterhood@tegnh.org
YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE
Ava Shanbrom
Lew Shaffer, president@tegnh.org
Lew Shaffer has been a member of TE since days after he and his wife Caryn and their two sons moved to Woodbridge in 1999. Lew had his Bar Mitzvah at an Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn and he and his family had also belonged to a conservative and then a reform synagogue prior to moving from New York. Lew and Caryn have found a home at TE. This is Lew’s second time as President, as he served initially more than a decade ago.
Lew worked as a corporate lawyer prior to his retirement at the end of 2021. In addition to keeping busy by getting in Caryn’s way, he serves on the boards/committees on a variety of professional, religious and community organizations. He also golfs poorly, cooks and all too frequently shops on Amazon. Lew also enjoys being a grandparent.
Rabbi Michael Farbman, Rabbi@TEGNH.org
Born in Vitebsk, Belarus, Rabbi Farbman received his semicha (rabbinic ordination) at the Leo Baeck College, Reform Rabbinical Seminary in London, UK. Rabbi Farbman holds a B.A. and M.A. in Hebrew and Jewish Studies, as well as a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Yale Divinity School.
Since his Ordination in 2001 Rabbi Farbman served the West London Synagogue of British Jews in London, UK; helped build Sha’arei Shalom Progressive Jewish Community in St. Petersburg, Russia, and served as Rabbi-in Residence at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC. In 2009 Rabbi Farbman became the rabbi of Temple Emanuel, succeeding the much beloved Rabbi Gerald Brieger z’l.
Rabbi Farbman serves on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and is an active member of the Orange Interfaith Clergy group. He serves on the board of Columbus House, and he is a faculty member at URJ Camp Eisner. In addition, Rabbi Farbman is the immediate past President of the New Haven Board of Rabbis and Cantors and was recently appointed by Governor Lamont to the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council.
Olga Markus, Religious School Director. School@TEGNH.org
Olga Markus was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and played an active role in the resurgence of Jewish life and practice there in the early 1990s. Olga holds a Master’s Degree in Russian Language and Literature and an MA in Religious Education from the University of London. Olga has over 20 years of experience as a Jewish educator and non-profit professional, with diverse international involvement in Jewish education, project and grant management, and vision-driven program design. In her professional career, Olga worked as Senior Educator at West London Synagogue in London, UK; Regional Director of Education for the World Union of Reform Judaism in Russia; Educator in Residence at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington DC, Assistant Executive Director at the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations in New York City, and most recently as Program Director, Jewish Education and Engagement at the Jewish Federations of North America. She is passionate about Jewish learning, values, practice, Israel, and community life. Olga is proud to be a member of the Temple Emanuel community and is excited to work with dedicated TE lay leaders and professional team to help TE Religious School go from strength to strength.
High Holy Day Cantorial Soloists Laurel Shader and Anna Zonderman
Laurel Shader, a member of Temple Emanuel since 1985, has been a High Holy Day cantorial soloist at TE since 1996. She has also been the music director/arranger for the Temple Emanuel house band since its debut in the fall of 2009. By day, Laurel is the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Fair Haven Community Health Center. She lives in Orange with her husband, Jon Zonderman, and is the mother of two musical young adults, Anna and Jacob Zonderman.
Anna Zonderman has been a cantorial soloist at Temple Emanuel since 2004. She also leads the children’s High Holy Day services at TE. She was a member of the Elm City Girls’ Choir from 1994-2006 when she graduated and became a member and section leader of the Clark University Choirs as well as a founding member and director of FOURtissimo, a women’s acapella quartet.
Cantorial Soloist at Bnei Mitzvah services – Susan Pinsky Bleeks
Susan Pinsky Bleeks has spent her entire adult life involved in her twin passions of Jewish Education and Music. She & her husband Tom joined Temple Emanuel in 1979 and within a few years she started teaching at the Religious School. Two years later, she became the Education Director of the school – a role she maintained for the next 25 years until June 2009. In 1996, she was asked to be a Cantorial Soloist for the High Holidays, as well as Soloist for the Bnai Mitzvah services. While she retired from singing at the High Holidays in 2005, she continues singing at “her” children’s special days and is honored to have been part of 185 Temple Emanuel simchas.
Other hats that Susan wears at TE are Caring Community Committee chairperson, Sisterhood President, and Sisterhood’s Book Discussion Group founder and Chair. Susan and her husband Tom reside in Bethany.