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2017-2018 Officers and Board of Directors
Temple Officers (Term Ends January 2019)
President: Shari Schindler
Executive Vice President: Liz Simon
Finance Vice President: Aaron Lebovitz
Vice President Without Portfolio: Jenn George
Building Vice President: David Katz
Treasurer: Dan Zoloto
Secretary: Alan Fox
Immediate Past President: Deborah H. Holdstein
Continuing representatives of Temple committees are as follows:
Randy Gillett (Religious School)
Carolyn Sherman (Glasser Preschool)
Amelia Hardy (Women of Oak Park Temple)
Susan Cicelsky (Adult Education)
Allison Cowett (Social Action)
Sarah Lewensohn (Development and Annual Giving)
Jimmy Korshak (Worship)
Marc Imowitz (Membership)
Karen Muriello (Communications)
Continuing At-Large Board Members (Term Ends January 2019)
Doris Angell
Amy Drescher-Crumpley
Janice Moskoff
Elliot Regenstein
At-Large Board Members (Term Ends January 2020)
Jeffrey Bergman
Ali Mandell
Maurie Stern
Oak Park Temple Clergy
Max Weiss
Rabbi
Max Weiss and his family came to the Oak Park Temple community in 2009. Ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997, he has served congregations in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Rabbi Weiss currently serves as Chair of the Rabbinic Advisory committee of Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute and is active in interfaith dialogue and community outreach programs. He has particular interest in lifelong Jewish education and is passionate about American Jewish history. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk, please email Rabbi Max Weiss or call the Temple office.
Julie Yugend-Green
Cantor
Julie Yugend-Green appointed cantor of Oak Park Temple in 1997, holds a degree of Master of Sacred Music from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and was invested as Cantor in 1994. Cantor Yugend-Green has instituted dynamic programs of music and study including the establishment of Shalshelet – Oak Park Temple’s Council for Music and the Arts. She is committed to fostering our community’s relationship with Eretz Yisrael, and has led several several congregational tours of Israel and Eastern Europe. In 2013, Cantor Yugend-Green became a founding member of the West Suburban Chevra Kadisha, a partnership between Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion and West Suburban Temple Har Zion. Email Cantor Julie Yugend-Green.
Gary S. Gerson
Rabbi Emeritus
Gary S. Gerson served as Senior Rabbi from 1979 to 2009. Reflecting on his tenure, he is most proud of having facilitated a vibrant congregational program of adult studies that culminated in the building of our adult learning center. With this as a backdrop, upon his assuming emeritus status, the Rabbi Gary S. Gerson Chair in Adult Education was created and endowed. Through this vehicle, Rabbi Gerson continues to serve the congregation with his courses in Jewish text, Jewish thought, and the foundational texts of the Jewish mystical tradition. In addition, Rabbi Gerson continues to serve as a resource in other areas of congregational life.
About Us
Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion dates back to the 1919 merger of the Zion Congregation (founded in 1864) and the B’nai Abraham Congregation (founded in 1871). Originally known as Washington Boulevard Temple and located on Chicago’s West Side, the congregation dedicated its current home at 1235 North Harlem Avenue in Oak Park in 1957 and has since been known as Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion.
Over the years, Oak Park Temple has enjoyed the talents of a number of respected rabbis. Samuel Schwartz guided the congregation for over twenty years, shepherding the successful merger of the two founding temples. He was succeeded by Gunther Plaut, renowned commentator and editor of The Torah: A Modern Commentary.
The congregation continued to flourish under Rabbi Leonard J. Mervis, who served from 1951 to 1979. A committed scholar and leader in Jewish studies, Rabbi Mervis also brought focus and insight to the complex social issues of his time.
Contact Oak Park Temple
Phone: 708-386-3937
Fax: 708-386-0955
Address: 1235 N. Harlem Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302
Oak Park Temple is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Oak Park Temple is a member of The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). This website conforms to the privacy policy set forth by the URJ.