Oak Park Temple Clergy
Please reach out to Oak Park Temple clergy via our contact form.
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 He focuses on fostering a creative a loving community that serves the needs of its members and works to continually bring the world closer to justice. Max currently serves on the board of The Leaders Network, a West Side collaborative that seeks to create flourishing communities with independent leadership, economic justice and equal educational opportunities for all. He is currently working with a task force to establish a credit union on the West Side of Chicago. He has served on the board of his local Community of Congregations and in that organization has been a leader in building bridges and serving as a connector between diverse communities.
He volunteers as rabbinic advisor to the Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council and with OSRUI’s (a Jewish summer camp) advisory committee where he has volunteered for two weeks every summer for the last 19 year.
Max is married to Leslie and they have three children.
Email Rabbi Max Weiss
Daniel Kirzane, Associate Rabbi
Rabbi Daniel Kirzane was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (New York City) in 2014. He has previously served The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah in Overland Park, KS and Congregation Beth Haverim Shir Shalom, in Mahwah, NJ.
Rabbi Kirzane is a member of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Coordinating Committee and the HUC-JIR Rabbinical School Alumni Council and Alumni Leadership Council. He is also an active member of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Rabbi Kirzane sustains an active interest in scholarship, education, and community-building. Email Rabbi Kirzane.
Cantor Agnes Valdman
Cantor Agnes Valdman was ordained at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2023. During her time as a student, she served congregations in Jerusalem, Israel, York, PA, and Port Washington, NY. Cantor Valdman is passionate about Jewish music, liturgy, and education and sees the three as a cohesive unit where one’s connection to Judaism can authentically grow and evolve. Email Cantor Valdman
Cantor Valdman is married to Edon, an audio engineer and musician. The Valdmans are thrilled to call Oak Park their new home!
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.
Julie Yugend-Green, Cantor Emerita
Julie Yugend-Green served as Cantor from 1997 to 2023. During her tenure countless programs of music and study were established, from Artist in Residence weekends to the forming of Oak Park Temple’s acoustic band Tsimmis; from hundreds of students of all ages learning to chant Torah to congregational tours organized by the Cantor to Israel and Eastern Europe. Upon assuming emerita status, Cantor Yugend-Green continues to serve the community as director of the Chevra Kadisha .
From her earliest days at Oak Park Temple, the community became, and continues to be, home to Cantor Emerita Yugend-Green and her family.