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 Rabbi
Benjamin David
E-mail Ben
Rabbi Benjamin David was born in
Philadelphia and raised in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey. He attended Muhlenberg
College, where he majored in English and
held concentrations in Creative Writing
and Judaic Studies. He spent his junior
year at Goldsmiths College in London,
which afforded him the opportunity to
travel extensively throughout Europe. He
graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta
Kappa, from Muhlenberg in 1999. He then
enrolled in the rabbinic program at the
Hebrew Union College –
Jewish Institute of Religion, first in
Jerusalem, then in New York.
Following
ordination Rabbi David served as a
member of the core faculty at the
Skirball Center for Jewish Learning and
studied modern Hebrew Literature at the
Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia
University. He currently serves as
Assistant Rabbi at Temple Sinai in
Roslyn Heights.
Ben ran for his
junior high school, high school, and
college track and field team. Growing
up, he represented South Jersey at the
International Maccabi Games in
Baltimore, participated in numerous 5K
and 10K runs, and occasionally tried to
keep up with his dad, who ran regularly
along Cooper River. Ben's first three
marathons were the New Jersey Marathon
in 2003, the Vermont City Marathon in
2004, and the ING New York City Marathon
in 2005.
Ben and his wife
Lisa live in Forest Hills, Queens. They
enjoy Indian food, live music, and good
books. They welcomed their daughter Noa
Grace David into the world on October 1,
2007.
 Rabbi
Michael Friedman
Michael S.
Friedman grew up in Great Neck, New
York, where his family was proud to be
dedicated members of Temple Beth-El.
Michael holds a B.A. in History from
Yale University and was ordained by
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion in 2004. Michael currently
serves as Assistant Rabbi at Temple
B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ. For
two years after ordination, Michael
served as Director of Junior and Senior
High School Programs at the Union for
Reform Judaism. Michael also volunteered
as Program Director for Project
Understanding, an interfaith experience
for Jewish and Catholic youth on Long
Island. Prior to ordination, Michael
spent two years as Rabbinic Intern at
Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale,
New York and a year as Rabbinic Intern
at the New York Kollel. In his free
time, Michael likes to play golf, hike,
ski, cook and read. Oh, and of course
run.
 Student
Rabbi Jessy Gross
Jessy
Gross is a rabbinical student at Hebew
Union College - Jewish Institute for
Religion. Jessy grew up on both sides of
the Potomac River in both Northern
Virginia and in Maryland, where she
attended the University of Maryland,
College Park and considerd herself to be
a National Champion as if she had
anything to do with the 2002 National
basketball championship. Jessy also
spent many of her summers at the URJ
Camp Harlam. After graduating from UMD
and spending most of her free time
helping her friends transition from just
another college band to national touring
groups with fanbase, Jessy moved to San
Francisco. During her two years in the
Bay area she worked as a youth advisor
at Peninsula Temple Sholom in
Burlingame, CA and in development and
event planning for the Jewish Community
Federation of the Greater East Bay, only
to return to Maryland and work for
Jewish artist, Gary Rosenthal as the
Director of the Hiddur Mitzvah Project.
During this time, and surprising not
during her time promoting bands, she
also produced her first music festival.
The New Orleans International Jewish
Music Festival was part of a larger
effort to re-invigorate the New Orleans
Jewish community after Hurricane
Katrina.
Jessy
has completed the New Orleans Mardi Gras
half marathon (Feb, 2003) and the full
Adidas Dublin Marathon (with a Guinnes
marathon that followed) Halloween, 2005.
She is currently coordinating the 4th
Annual Israel Movement for Progressive
Judaism Ride4Reform which is a 220 mile
bike ride throughout Israel that raises
money for Progressive Jewish communities
and education in Israel.
Jessy
returns to the States in May to continue
her studies in Los Angeles, CA.
 Rabbi
Maurice 'Mo' Salth
Rabbi
Maurice Salth (also known as Rabbi Mo)
has served Temple Beth-El as a rabbinic
intern since 2002. In July of 2005,
Rabbi Salth joined Temple Beth-El as a
full-time rabbi and our and in July of
2006 he will become Temple Beth-El’s
Director of Jewish Learning. Rabbi Salth
is passionate about Judaism and Jewish
community. Throughout his life before,
during and now after rabbinical school
he has volunteered and served in
leadership roles where he has had the
chance to create sacred learning
communities. He is honored and thrilled
to have the opportunity to continue such
work at Temple Beth-El.
Rabbi
Salth earned a B.A. in economics with
honors at SUNY-Binghamton and studied
for one semester at Hebrew University in
Jerusalem. At an early age, Rabbi Salth
became active at Sinai Reform Temple in
Bay Shore, NY. His later involvement
with Eisner Camp and North American
Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY)
greatly influenced the development of
his Jewish identity and personal values.
Before
enrolling at Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion, Rabbi Salth spent
more than 10 years working in the fields
of youth development, community service,
and leadership training. After reading a
New York Times article on the passing of
national service legislation early in
the Clinton administration, Rabbi Salth
traveled to Washington, DC to secure a
spot on the start-up team creating
AmeriCorps. As an AmeriCorps project
manager, Rabbi Salth co-designed and
implemented the National Civilian
Community Corps, the 1,000-member
national service program inspired by
FDR's depression-era Civilian
Conservation Corps.
Rabbi
Salth later joined the non-profit
international education program Up With
People as Director of Education and
Community Service. There he collaborated
with non-profits, government agencies,
and corporations to serve the needs of
communities in North America, Europe,
and Asia. Projects ranged from
environmental restoration after
devastating hurricanes and tornadoes to
violence prevention and leadership
training initiatives in high schools.
Rabbi
Salth was ordained in May 2005 from
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute
of Religion where he also received a
Master of Arts in Religious Education
degree from the College-Institute's
School of Education.
 Student Rabbi Matthew Soffer
Matt
Soffer is a rabbinical student at the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion. Matt was raised in Cherry
Hill, NJ, spending his summers at URJ
Camp Harlam. After graduating Muhlenberg
College Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa,
with a degree in English, Matt served as
an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at
the Religious Action Center of Reform
Judaism in Washington, DC, focusing on
the Reform movement’s civil rights
policy and advocacy, GLBT issues, and
interreligious affairs. From 2003-2005,
he worked for the North American
Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), as
the advisor to the Executive Board. Matt
is a Fellow for the Kavod Tzedakah
Collective, and he works in Park Slope
Brooklyn, serving the community with a
focus on social action at Congregation
Beth Elohim and Brooklyn Jews.
Matt
began running in the summer of 2003, and
has run several “justice-run’s,”
including the annual memorial Stephen
Siller Tunnel to Towers run through the
Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the Brooklyn
Pride 5K run. This is his first
marathon.
 Rabbi
Scott Weiner
Email Scott
Rabbi Scott B. Weiner has been
serving the Hebrew Tabernacle
Congregation of Washington Heights
since his ordination from the Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion in 2004. He lives in New
Jersey with his wife Limor, their
baby daughter Jordan and their dog
Vicki. The two met more than
ten years ago while college students
at the University of Haifa.
While a rabbinical student, Scott
served as Rabbinic Intern at
Manhattan’s historic Central
Synagogue. Prior to HUC-JIR
Scott was the Assistant Director of
NFTY and of the URJ Kutz Camp.
Rabbi Weiner joined his chevruta
(study) partner, Rabbi Ben David, in
founding the Running Rabbis last
year and has twice competed in the
New York City Marathon as well as a
host of other races. While
Rabbi Weiner ran competitively in
high school, the New York City
Marathon and its run-up training
events were the first races he had
competed in since high school.
Scott enjoys combining the hobby of
running with the serious work of
Tikkun Olam (repairing the world)
through social action. He looks
forward to once again towing the
line in the world's premier marathon
and races around the globe.
 Rabbi Jonah
Pesner
Rabbi Pesner is the founding
Director of the Just Congregations
initiative of the Union for Reform
Judaism (URJ). The URJ represents
1.5 million Reform Jews across North
America, in more than 950
synagogues. Most recently, as a
leader of the Greater Boston
Interfaith Organization, Rabbi
Pesner was the chair of the GBIO
effort in the Massachusetts
“Affordable Care Today!” coalition
that successfully secured health
care for more than half a million
uninsured residents of the
Commonwealth.
As a congregational rabbi at
Temple Israel in Boston, he
developed the Fain Award winning
“Ohel Tzedek / Tent of Justice”
social action initiative. Engaging
hundreds of members, Temple Israel
joined other congregations and
organizations in successful
campaigns for health care access,
affordable housing, public
education, gay and lesbian rights,
nursing care workers rights, and
living wage. Rabbi Pesner serves on
the board of the Jewish Memorial
Hospital in Roxbury, is on the board
of the Central Conference of
American Rabbis, and serves on the
Task Force on Congregation-Based
Community Organizing of the Jewish
Funds for Justice. Rabbi Pesner has
written several journal articles,
and wrote a chapter entitled
“Redemption for Radicals” in the
newly published anthology,
“Righteous Indignation.” He was the
Meyer W. Nathans Scholar at Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion where he was ordained in
1997. A graduate of Wesleyan
University, Rabbi Pesner is married
to Boston attorney, Dana S. Gershon.
Together they have four daughters,
Juliet, Noa, Bobbie and Cate.
 Rabbi Jamie S.
Korngold
Rabbi Jamie
S. Korngold serves as the spiritual
leader of Adventure Rabbi, a program
based in Colorado that combines the
outdoors and Jewish practice. Rabbi
Korngold received her ordination
from Hebrew Union College- Jewish
Institute of Religion. She is a
member of the Central Conference of
American Rabbis (the international
rabbinic association of Reform
Judaism) Chaver (The Boulder
Colorado Rabbinical
Council) and
the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical
Association. An avid hiker, skier,
biker and runner, she has completed
the Victoria Half Ironman Triathlon
and the Leadville Trail 100, a 100
mile trail run.
She also
bicycled the 4,020 miles from New
York to San Francisco. Her book God
in the Wilderness was published by
Random House in April 2008.
 Jessica
Ingram
Jessica Ingram is currently a
student at Hebrew Union College, in
both the School of Jewish Communal
Service in Los Angeles and the New
York School of Education. Jessica
grew up on Long Island, NY, where
her family was very involved in
their synagogue, Temple Beth David
of Commack. She became involved in
NFTY when she participated in the
Eisendrath International Exchange,
spending a semester in Israel during
her junior year of high school.
Jessica attended American
University in Washington, DC, which
is where she first started running.
After helping to organize the second
annual American Classic 5K, which
raised money for AU's chapter of
Habitat for Humanity, she joined the
National Aids Marathon Training
Program, completing the Marine Corps
Marathon in 2004. She then ran the
ING New York City Marathon in 2005.
After spending a year at HUC in
Jerusalem, Jessica returned to NY
and now lives in Brooklyn. She
recently joined the New York Road
Runners and looks forward to running
many more races in NYC!
 Rabbi Andrew
Goodman
Student
Rabbi Andrew A. Goodman was born and
raised in Woodbury, Connecticut and
graduated with a BA in Psychology
and English from the University of
Michigan. He worked as Program
Director and Youth Advisor at Temple
Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, Michigan
during college and full-time before
attending HUC. While at HUC, he
interned as Student Rabbi at Temple
Israel of New Rochelle, New York, as
Pastoral Care Intern at DOROT, and
volunteered as head chef of the HUC
Soup Kitchen for two years. During
the summers, he pursued military
chaplaincy with the Navy's Chaplain
Corps. Now a Lieutenant Junior Grade
in the Navy, he is excited about
serving the country as an active
duty chaplain. He was ordained
on May 4, 2008.
 Student
Rabbi Neil Hirsch
Neil Hirsch
lives in New York City, where he is
currently a rabbinical student at
the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion. During the
academic year, Neil is the rabbinic
intern at Hebrew Tabernacle
Congregation of Washington Heights,
where he works with Rabbi Scott
Weiner. He also recently served as
the summer rabbinic intern at Temple
Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, VA. He
grew up in Houston, Texas, and
attended Tufts University in Boston.
Neil was involved in NFTY and the
KESHER College Department, and was
on the first KESHER student advisory
committee.
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