Religious School Staff

MIDWINTER BREAK

Religious School and Nursery School are closed for Mid-Winter Break from Saturday February 18 through Sunday February 26.

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionSend to friendSend to friend
Debra Aronson
debraaronson@tbshastings.org

Debra is in her second year of teaching First and Fifth grade for our Religious School. She has also been teaching Sign Language at our Nursery School for the past four years. In addition, Debra runs her own business, C.A.S.L.E Inc and teaches Sign Language at over twenty schools (both private and public) throughout Westchester. She, her husband and their three children live in Irvington and are temple members. Natalie, their oldest will be a Bat Mitzvah this year and their other children attend our religious school.
Rachel Gordon Bernstein
rachelgordonbernstein@tbshastings.org

Rachel has taught in Temple Beth Shalom since 1987. Her adult Education courses include Beginning Hebrew Reading, Intermediate Hebrew Reading, Prayers and Ceremonies, and Biblical and Modern Hebrew. In our Religious School, she has taught in the B'nei Mitzvah class; 4th, 5th and 6th grade enrichment classes in Modern Hebrew; Haggadah Hebrew; Hebrew Songs; Torah Chanting; and one-on-one extra help for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Rachel has a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.A. from Brooklyn College and is a Hebrew Scholar. She is also an accomplished painter who shows her work locally and in galleries in NYC. She sings in our Temple Choir! Rachel lives with her husband Rob in Ardsley. Her two adult sons are Jonah and Jed.
Andrea Elkrief
andreaelkrief@tbshastings.org

Andrea has taught the Kindergarten class of our Religious school since 1993. For 18 years, she has taught in the 2s class in our Nursery School and has sung in the Temple Choir. Andrea has been the President of The Hudson Valley Music Club for a decade. She plays in a flute choir and chamber group at Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, and teaches flute to beginner and intermediate students. She and her husband Roger reside in Hastings. Their three grown children - Samantha, Noah and Margeaux, all attended our Religious School.
Dina Friedman
dinafriedman@tbshastings.org

Dina Rose Friedman has worked with Temple Beth Shalom’s teens for over eight years. Currently, she facilitates the 10th – 12th grade Tikkun Olam program. She enjoys the weekly conversations and frequent tzedakah projects that the participants engage in. Dina is also the Site Director for Washington Irving’s Sunnyside in Irvington, NY. She has a B.A. in Art History from SUNY Purchase and an M.A.T. in Museum Education from George Washington University. Dina is married to composer, music teacher and performer Jim Keyes. Jim and Dina, who were married by our Rabbi and are Temple members, lead the annual and super-popular teen Kayak taschlich.
Albi Gorn
albigorn@tbshastings.org

Albi has been a court reporter for over 40 years, in addition to being a songwriter/singer, actor, director and playwright, novelist, short story writer, cook and baker. He is a fan of movies, pop, folk and classical music, sports and video games. He has lived in HOH for 16 years, is married to Cantor Robin and has two children, Kobe and Jennie.
Laurence Holzman
laurenceholzman@tbshastings.org

Laurence is new to the Temple Beth Shalom community, but is thrilled to be teaching in the 1st, 4th, 5th and 7th grades, as well as the Tikkun Olam program. A graduate of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester and Westchester Hebrew High School, he has taught in several religious schools over the years. He is also a musical theatre lyricist/librettist and a (non-practicing) attorney. Laurence lives in Dobbs Ferry with his wife, Lara, and sons, Andrew and Zach.
Sandy Horowitz
sandyhorowitz@tbshastings.org

Sandy is in her third year as a teacher in the religious school. This year she is teaching our 2nd, 4th and 5th grades and is a tutor for the 7th grade. Sandy is also a Cantorial student at the Academy for Jewish Religion, and is our TBS cantorial intern this year, under the direction of Cantor Robin Joseph. A former computer systems analyst and current massage therapist, Sandy also spent eight years working with curriculum development and policy planning at the Hebrew School of Beth Am/Hebrew Tabernacle in Washington Heights, New York.
Cantor Robin Joseph
cantorjoseph@tbshastings.org

Robin has been on the Religious School staff for over 30 years. She is, of course, our Cantor, ordained in 1996 from the Academy for Jewish Religion. Her undergraduate degree is from SUNY Purchase in Dramatic Literature. Robin teaches and tutors Bar and Bat Mitzvah students in the 7th grades, and teaches in the 3rd and 6th grades. She is responsible for all our musical programming, teaches adult education classes, and officiates at prayer services and life-cycle events. She is also a professional songwriter, and writes, directs and acts in original plays with her husband, Albi Gorn. They have two children, Kobe in 9th grade and Jennie in 6th grade. They reside in Hastings.