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Our Clergy

Rabbi Adena Blum (she/her) grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and began her Jewish journey at Har Sinai Temple. She is an alumna of The Lawrenceville School and Brandeis University, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and a minor in Religious Studies. She received Master of Arts degrees in Hebrew Literature and Religious Education from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where she was also ordained in May 2014.​

Prior to her service at Congregation Beth Chaim, Rabbi Blum served as the rabbinic intern at Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah, NJ, and Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, NJ. She has also served a number of other Reform synagogues, one Hillel, two hospitals, two URJ summer camps, and several other institutions where she engaged in teaching, preaching, leading worship, and programming for people of all ages and stages.

​Rabbi Blum is a member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, the Women’s Rabbinic Network, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She is passionate about education, Israel, spirituality, and forging meaningful relationships. In her free time, Rabbi Blum enjoys good food, traveling the world, indoor cycling, and spending time with her husband Sean and sons Jonah and Ari.

 

Cantor Jordan Goldstein (they/he) grew up highly involved in the music of their home synagogue, Congregation Ner Tamid of Las Vegas, NV. They began as a singer in the youth choir, followed their early love of Jewish music to become a nationally recognized song leader in NFTY (the National Federation of Temple Youth) and the Reform movement, and finally made the move to the cantorate. Cantor Goldstein has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and Global Politics from Washington & Lee University and became a Master of Sacred Music at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where they were ordained in May of 2023.  

Cantor Goldstein served as the cantorial intern at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY while working at and collaborating with many synagogues and communities in the New York City area as an educator, musical leader, activist, and aide for students with disabilities. He has worked at 4 different URJ camps, acting as the Head Song Leader at 2 of them. Some of his notable work includes being a co-founder and director of the organization Kol HaChaverim (an online space for LGBTQIA+ Jews to gather and sing together) and participating in the early organization and think tank of Yom HaTzedek and the Tzedek Box project.  

Cantor Goldstein cares deeply about building community, weaving together traditions new and old, and dreaming big about the future of American Judaism. They are rarely found without a guitar nearby, and spend much of their free time playing, singing, and writing music.  

 

Rabbi Rebecca Kaufman (she/her) grew up right here in West Windsor, New Jersey and she is delighted to be serving as Congregation Beth Chaim’s Assistant Rabbi.

Rabbi Kaufman previously served as a rabbinic intern at Shir Ami in Newtown, PA. For two years she served as the student rabbi at Congregation Beth Jacob in El Centro, CA leading services in English and Spanish. Before deciding to become a rabbi, Rabbi Kaufman lived in New York and was the Program Director at Amplifier, where she developed workshops and conferences and taught Jewish leaders how to build giving circles: groups of people who pool money and donate it together. Prior to that, she was a founding member of Echoing Green’s Work on Purpose program, where she taught a career development curriculum to hundreds of faculty at universities. She was also an advisor for the Jewish Community Youth Foundation’s teen philanthropy program.

Rabbi Kaufman earned an AB from Princeton University in history focusing on Latin America.  She received her Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she was ordained in 2023. She lives with her husband, Tavi, a software engineer and oncology researcher, and their children Ari and Lily. 

Our Education Team

Anne Berman-Waldorf, RJE, Director of Lifelong Education (she/her)

For over two decades, I have had the honor of sharing my educational vision with the Beth Chaim community. Our schools are dynamic and creative. We offer programs for all ages and all learning abilities. Our professional faculty works closely with me as we develop and grow our Jewish learning opportunities. The Pre-School and the Religious School are only part of my responsibilities; as Director of Lifelong Education, I work to bring a robust and diverse array of programming for adults and families to our community of learners.

My goal is to bring Jewish learning for Jewish living to you and your family in ways that help you experience the joy Judaism brings. Josh and I had the pleasure of raising our two children at Beth Chaim, a place where they were nurtured, supported and became adults in the eyes of the Jewish community. I would love to welcome your family to my Beth Chaim and share with you the values, support and learning our “House of Life” has to offer.

The older daughter of Steve and Marion Berman, Anne grew up in South Windsor, Connecticut, at Temple Beth Hillel and attended both Kutz Camp and the Eisner Camp Institute, where she went through the ranks from camper to Unit Head. She received her Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987, majoring in Religious Thought. Anne received her Masters of Arts in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She also holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Arts Degree in Jewish History from Baltimore Hebrew University.

Anne is a Past President of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE) and was honored with the title of Reform Jewish Educator in 2016.

During her career, Anne has spent time as a Social Worker, working with battered women and their children. She worked in Community Relations at the Baltimore Jewish Council and served for 7 years as the Program Director at Temple Isaiah in Columbia, Maryland. Prior to working at Beth Chaim, Anne was the Director of Family Programming at Beth El Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was Director of the Berman-Lipovsky Project Mispacha, an alternative family education track within the Religious School.

​Anne is married to Joshua Waldorf and they are the parents of two children, Sam and Lily.​



Robin ResnickAssistant Director of Early Childhood Education (she/her)

Robin joined the staff at Congregation Beth Chaim’s Preschool as a teacher in 2012. As a preschool teacher, her passion for making a difference in the lives of children and their families grew. Robin believes that every child should have a positive learning experience so that they can become lifelong learners. She has been in her current role since 2015 and is thrilled to work with a dedicated group of teachers and administrators.

​Robin graduated with honors from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. As an undergraduate Robin did extensive research on the socialization of children and its impact on early education. Robin furthered her education by taking graduate courses at the College of William and Mary.

Her interest in working with children extends beyond the preschool, Robin is also a Girl Scout leader, a certified Kid’s Yoga instructor, and a cheerleading coach.

​Robin is married to Dr. Michael Resnick and has three daughters Lucy, Molly, and Abby.

​Please stop by and check out our amazing preschool and meet our fabulous teachers!

Our Administrative Team

 

Wendy Levenkron, Bookkeeper (she/her)

Wendy joined Beth Chaim in June 2019. She grew up in Central New Jersey and graduated from University of Delaware and then attended Villanova University. After living in Philadelphia for a few years where she met her husband, she moved back to Manalapan and raised her two sons. Wendy enjoys traveling, the beach, Broadway musicals and spending time with family and friends.

 

 

 

 

Sheryl Brown, Communications Coordinator (she/her)

Sheryl grew up in Suffolk County, Long Island, moving to NJ while attending Rutgers University, where she got her BS in Biotechnology. After working in the bioremediation industry for 25 years, she changed careers and became a teacher, teaching special education students math and science. During summer 2022, Sheryl joined the Beth Chaim staff on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, but it ended up being such a good fit that the arrangement was made permanent! Sheryl and her husband Ken have been members of the congregation for many years, and her 2 sons, Sam and Ryan, attended Religious School and became B’Mitzvah at Beth Chaim.

When not at work, Sheryl loves to read, run, and cheer on Ryan at his wrestling meets! She is a certified EMT and Life Member of the Plainsboro Rescue Squad, and teaches Autism Awareness for First Responders to nurses, paramedics, EMTs, firefighters, and law enforcement.

 

 

 

 

Seidy Arauz, Facilities Manager (she/her)

Seidy has been at Beth Chaim since May 2005. She was promoted to Facilities Manager in 2014. Seidy ensures that all of the day-to-day operations of our synagogue, including Pre-School, run smoothly.  ​Seidy has a daughter, Catharine. She enjoys dancing, spending time with family and visiting Costa Rica.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darra Lipper, Membership Engagement Coordinator (she/her)

Darra was born in New Orleans, LA, and grew up in Freehold Township.  She graduated with honors from Rutgers University with a major in Communication and a minor in Hebraic Studies.  Darra is married to David and has two children, Ethan and Becca.  When she is not kayaking with her husband, she loves reading with her Goldendoodle, Molly, and Labradoodle, Nellie, perched on her lap.

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784