About Us
Temple Shaaray Tefila is a Reform Jewish congregation with a traditional spirit. We celebrate, teach, and observe the most worthy values and ideals of our Jewish tradition: Torah, mitzvah, and tzedakah. In doing so, we connect our members and their families to each other, to the greater Jewish community, and to Israel. Anyone who seeks a warm and vibrant Jewish community will feel comfortable in our congregation.
Top 5 Facts and Figures
- Founded in 1976, we are the largest synagogue in Northern Westchester, drawing members from Armonk, Bedford, Bedford Hills, Chappaqua, Goldens Bridge, Katonah, Pleasantville, Pound Ridge, Somers, South Salem, and other Northern Westchester areas.
- We are located on a beautiful 10 acre campus with three buildings, an awesome playground, a community garden, and a gaga pit.
- Our multi-generational community is diverse, encompassing members from a wide variety of backgrounds. We warmly welcome everyone who wants to be part of us.
- We offer a large number of excellent educational, spiritual, and social programs for people of all ages, interests, and backgrounds.
- We have a dedicated team of volunteer leaders, clergy, and staff to address our congregants’ needs.
Our Clergy
Rabbi David Wilfond, Senior Rabbi
Rabbi David Wilfond joins Temple Shaaray Tefila as our Senior Rabbi on July 1, 2020. He comes to us with a wealth of Jewish experiences and achievements, spanning four continents and including congregational leadership, teaching, and pastoral care positions.
Rabbi Wilfond’s Jewish education and leadership began at an early age. As a teen growing up in Edison, NJ, he taught Hebrew School, led the Junior Congregation, and served as the Temple youth group president. While a student at Rutgers University, he taught simultaneously at two Hebrew schools and was a founding member of the Rutgers Progressive Zionist Caucus. After earning a B.S. with Honors, Rabbi Wilfond received a full scholarship for an M.S. at the University of Florida in Gainesville. There, he received the Hillel award for Outstanding Jewish Leader in the State of Florida. Living in Israel has always been a priority. During high school, Rabbi Wilfond spent six months on a NFTY high school exchange program in Israel, which inspired him to spend three summers on staff at URJ Eisner Camp. Later, he spent a year on a work-study program milking cows on Kibbutz Tzora and, before attending Hebrew Union College to study for the Rabbinate, he worked for a year in the date fields of Lotan, the Reform Kibbutz. While in Rabbinical School, he also spent a year at Pardes, an egalitarian yeshiva in Jerusalem, and another year at Hebrew University as a visiting graduate student in Jewish studies. After receiving Rabbinic Ordination and second MA from HUC, Rabbi Wilfond served for two years as the first reform Rabbi in Kiev, Ukraine. He returned to the US to serve as a congregational Rabbi in Boston for five years. In 2004, he made Aliyah and worked for six years at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem as the Director of Admissions and Rabbi of the Murstein Synagogue. Rabbi Wilfond is married to Deborah, a lawyer, yoga instructor, and writer of a weekly blog called "Mindful Torah." In 2010, they moved to her native England, where he served as the associate rabbi at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London, England. After their son Isaac was born there, the Wilfonds returned to Jerusalem where David worked for seven years as the Director of Education for NFTY in Israel. In addition to Isaac, they have two other children, Eliora and Rafi, who were born in Jerusalem. The Wilfonds also have a Hebrew speaking cat named Ruby. Rabbi Wilfond loves bike riding, ice cream, singing with others, and sharing a good conversation. He looks forward to being a part of the Temple Shaaray Tefila Community.Rabbi Wilfond may be reached at the temple office or through his email at rabbiwilfond@templest.org.
Inés Kapustiansky , Cantor
Cantor Kapustiansky is Argentinian, and until recently the Cantor at Associação Religiosa Israelita, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She pursued her calling to become the second female Cantor to graduate from the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in all of Latin America. She also took additional steps to become a member of the American Conference of Cantors. She has led High Holy Day services for several years at Port Jewish Center in Port Washington, NY and Shabbat Shira concerts and other services at Stephen Wise-Free Synagogue, Temple Israel in New York City, as well as temples in California and Mexico.
Cantor Inés may be reached at the temple office or through her email at cantorines@templest.org.
Rabbi David E. Greenberg, Rabbi Emeritus
After 44 years as Senior Rabbi, Rabbi David E. Greenberg became Temple Shaaray Tefila's Rabbi Emeritus in July 2020.
Rabbi Greenberg grew up in San Francisco, California. He received a BA from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1972, and a Master of Hebrew Letters degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in 1976. After completing rabbinic school in New York, he became the “weekend student Rabbi” at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford, New York. Rabbi Greenberg received his rabbinical ordination from HUC-JIR in 1978 and has been with our congregation ever since. Temple Shaaray Tefila grew and flourished under his outstanding leadership. For so many, he is a source of inspiration and an example of dedication to our most worthy Jewish values and teachings. Rabbi Greenberg lives in Mt. Kisco with his wife, Cindy, and they are blessed with three children, Alisa, Amanda, and Jared and grandchildren Mason, Harper, and Jagger.Jewish Music to Soothe the Soul
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Ashira Boxman is a rising third-year rabbinical student on the New York campus.
Prior to beginning her studies at HUC-JIR, Ashira attended Florida State University where she studied Family and Child Sciences and Social Work. Following graduation she spent three years working for Hillel on two different college campuses. At the Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach, Ashira filled the role of Engagement Associate, engaging Jewish students on campus. After her time there, Ashira filled a new role at the University of Texas Hillel as the Birthright Israel IACT Coordinator. She led Jewish students in immersive Israel travel experience and continued engagement with them back on campus. These experiences then led her to fulfill her ultimate dream of pursuing the Rabbinate. A JDC-Weitzman Fellow, Ashira is thrilled to serve as the rabbinic intern at Temple Shaaray Tefila.
Meet our professional staff
Howard Greenstein joins us from the Educational Alliance on New York’s Lower East Side, where he has been the Associate Executive Director of Operations and Business Strategy at Manny Cantor Center for the past 5 years. In that role, he led strategic operations and oversaw the budget, infrastructure and teams that support the programmatic mission of the 132-year-old flagship building of this historic Jewish agency. He also managed multiple business units including fitness, art school, facilities rental, kosher kitchen, security and facilities.
He previously served as CEO and President of Harbrooke Group, which helped companies and nonprofits communicate with their customers and operate their organizations using the latest technologies and operations methods. At Harbrooke Group, Greenstein worked with a variety of groups from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, cable networks, and Wall Street firms, as well as major advocacy groups, helping them create online presences and execute strategy. Prior to starting his own firm, Greenstein’s career spanned organizations such as Microsoft, J.P.Morgan, and New York University, as well as several start-ups. At the Twin Towers Fund, he managed the distribution of $168MM in funds to families of rescue workers who perished on 9/11, and worked on the creation of America's Camp for the children of those who died on 9/11 and in the line of duty. Howard volunteered as program staff for 10 years, and led the organization's operations and reunion programming for 7 additional years.
Greenstein has been an Adjunct Lecturer in the M.S. in Nonprofit Management at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies, and in the MS in Nonprofit at NYU SPS. He has co-founded and sat on the boards of the World Wide Web Artist’s Consortium and Social Media Club, and was a board member of the New York Software Industry Association, New York New Media Association, Temple Beth El of Spring Valley, The Cornell Club of Rockland County, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations Alumni Association, and Cornell Media Guild - WVBR. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University, and an M.P.S. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). Howard and his wife live in Rockland and they are proud parents of two young adults.
Stephanie comes to the Temple Shaaray Tefila community harboring a passion for high-quality Jewish education for all ages and stages of our lives. She believes that Judaism is magical and can enhance our lives as we infuse each day with the rich wisdom of middot and mitzvot – values and good deeds – from our Jewish tradition.
Stephanie's desire for others to understand how Judaism comes alive was ignited during her second semester of high school where she lived in Israel on a program called EIE (now called URJ Heller High) This ultimately drove her to earn her Bachelor's degree in Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford. She has lived in various communities in the Midwest, South, Northeast, and California before settling here with her family. During her travels throughout Israel and the United States, she deeply valued the power of how organized Jewish communities solidify and enhance nurturing, reliable relationships.
While working in the field of Jewish Education, Stephanie obtained her MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Davidson School of Education and was awarded her Reform Judaism Educator credential. Stephanie is married to Shay Ben Simon – a native Israeli – and they, along with their son Asher, are excited to be here with all of you. Stephanie is especially ready to get to know you and what makes Judaism magical for you.
Beth comes to us from Temple Beth El in Chappaqua where she worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Early Childhood Center for the past eight years. Prior to that she was a Buyer for many years for Saks Fifth Avenue and Loehmanns. She and her husband joined Shaaray Tefila many years ago because they were captivated by the beauty of the sanctuary and the grounds. They vowed to have their children's Bar Mitzvah here which they ultimately did. Two successful celebrations later, Beth is poised and passionate to help facilitate upcoming celebrations for you!
Dina comes to Shaaray Tefila from Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the Upper West Side, where she served as the Associate Director of Youth & Teen Engagement over the past 7 years. She is passionate about contemporary Jewish identity and how young adults are engaging in and developing their unique understanding of what it means to be Jewish. Despite being a self-declared Post-B’nai Mitzvah Religious School drop-out, Dina is currently pursuing Rabbinic ordination part-time at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, holds a Master’s in Modern Jewish Studies from The Jewish Theological Seminary and has a bachelor’s degree in Judaic Studies from The George Washington University.
Lay Leadership
OFFICERS
- Sharon Feldman, President
- Stuart Zaro, First Vice President
- Andrew Samalin, Second Vice President
- Richard Chassin, 3rd Vice President
- Lesa Levine Greenfield, Treasurer
- Stacey Simensky, Financial Secretary
- Mark Tabs, Financial Secretary
Board of Trustees
Steve Adler
Shoshana Dweck
William Glenn
Carey Hollander
Dena Kopleff
Samantha Mann
Jackie Moskow
Andrew Richman
Lisa Schwartz
Jill Seraita
Wendi Silverman
Jessica Tabankin
Carrie White
Harriet "Gigi" Zeller
Sharon Feldman
President
Stuart Zaro
First Vice President
Andrew Samalin
Second Vice President
Richard Chassin
Third Vice President
Lesa Levine Greenfield
Treasurer
Stacey Simensky
Financial Secretary
Mark Tabs
Secretary
Past Presidents
- Ron Braun
- Ron Gassman
- Allan Schefler
- Frank Neubauer
- Cary Baer
- Neil D. Klar
- Douglas Benach
- Susan Glickman
- Carl Grossman
- William Greene
- Stephanie Garry
- Jeff Cohen
- Jeff Simon
- Suzanne Fromm
- Jeff Kohn
- Hugh Lewis
- Vicki Gelbtuch
- Joel Adelberg
- Jeff Tanenbaum
- Lisa Roberts
- Sheldon Goldfarb
- Jodi Kimmel
- Karen Spiegel