Board of Trustees - Beth Israel

Rabbi - Rachel Brown

Rabbi Rachel Brown is an adventurer whose route to becoming a rabbi has included attaining a degree in architecture, apprenticing as a carpenter and woodworker, and traveling the Pacific Northwest by bicycle.

President - Josh Levy

Josh grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and attended the Solomon Schechter Day School through 5th grade. He was an active member of the Young Judaea, a Zionist youth movement. He studied History and Jewish Studies in college, which led to a Master’s Degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and a PhD in Medieval Jewish History from New York University.

Vice President - Karen McAleer

Treasurer - Robin Kaufman

I am Robin Kaufman and I have been the treasurer of BITWT for 13 years. I have been a member of our synagogue for 32 years.

I live in Westlake and when I’m not volunteering for the temple, I run Aztec Steel – a family-owned Steel company in Elyria.

Educator - Debbie Chessin

Debbie Chessin brings over a decade of secular and religious school teaching experience to Beth Israel-The West Temple. She has served as the Education Director at our congregation for more than eight years. In addition to her work in Jewish and Hebrew Studies at Tel Aviv University, she has degrees in Law and Sociology. She oversees the religious school program of Beth Israel-The West Temple, and teaches some classes, while also planning and implementing education programming for the entire congregation.

Facilities - Justin Morse

Justin Morse grew up at Temple Beth Israel. He started with Consecration and continued to Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation right on Triskett Road. He is happy to be able to give back to our center for Jewish Life on the west side.

Chairman of Ritual Committee - Luis Fernandez

Chairman of the Ritual Committee and helps conduct Shabbat services. He is also a member of the Live Broadcast Team. He joined BI-TWT in 2003 and has served three terms as President. He is an Emeritus Professor of Economics at Oberlin College, where his specialties were statistical methods and game theory. He relaxes by playing piano, tennis, skiing, and traveling.

Co-Chair of Membership Committee - Beryl Palnik

Co-Chair of Membership Committee - Jenny Sedlak

Rabbi Emerita - Enid C. Lader

When Rabbi Enid Lader assumed her position as rabbi of Beth Israel – The West Temple on August 1, 2012, she was already a longstanding member and leader of our congregation. Prior to taking that role, she served as the spiritual leader and rabbi for Knesseth Israel Temple in Wooster, Ohio, for ten years. During that time, she studied at the Academy of Jewish Religion in New York and was ordained on May 13, 2010. Rabbi Enid, as she is affectionately known, began her career in Jewish education at Beth Israel, where she served as volunteer principal of the Religious School and then, after her completion of the Cleveland Fellows Program in 1994, held the community-funded position of Director of Congregational and Family Education at Beth Israel – The West Temple.