Religious Leadership
Because CBST is unaffilated with any single movement, we benefit from having religious leadership that represents Reconstructionist, Conservative and Reform Judiasm.
Rabbi Kleinbaum serves as the spiritual leader of CBST and is regarded as one of the most important rabbis in America. The national Jewish weekly, The Forward , named her as one of the country’s 50 top Jewish leaders and The New York Jewish Week identified her as one of the 45 leading young American Jewish leaders in New York.
Rabbi Rachel Weiss, Assistant Rabbi
Rabbi Weiss joined CBST as our Assistant Rabbi in August 2010. Rabbi Weiss first joined CBST as a Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinial Intern in from 2006-2008. Prior to returning to CBST as Assistant Rabbi, she served as the Rabbi of Congregation Am Haskalah in Allentown, PA, the Lehigh Valley's Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation.
Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen, Writer/ Consultant
Rabbi Cohen became a full-time rabbi at CBST in August, 2002, three months after she was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Passionately committed to progressive and feminist Judaism, she is an activist and an advocate for full inclusion and celebration of LGBT Jews in the Conservative movement and the larger Jewish world.
Israeli mezzo soprano Re’ut Ben-Ze’ev won critical acclaim for her “impassioned…” “…bold, committed account…” (The New York Times), “intense expression and pure voice” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ), “emotionally and vocally masterful performance” (New Music Connoisseur ) and “outstandingly beautiful voice and performance” (YIVO News.) Passionate about music of many genres, she has performed operatic and concert repertoire as well as cutting-edge collaborations and is an avid promoter of a wide range of Jewish music.
Read about former CBST Cantors and Rabbis and where they are now.
