Under the leadership of Rabbi Ira F. Stone and Cantor Sharon Grainer, BZBI has maintained its strong allegiance to the principles of Conservative Judaism while opening its arms to the larger Center City community in which it thrives.
Rabbi Ira F. Stone
Ira F. Stone has been Rabbi of BZBI since 1988. Before coming to Philadelphia he served as spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, Washington for nine years. Rabbi Stone is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a BA in Religious Studies. He attended the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and graduated from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1979 with a Masters of Hebrew Literature and was ordained as a rabbi. Prior to attending rabbinical school, Rabbi Stone worked for the Jewish Family Service of Long Island as an outreach worker in crisis intervention with drug abusing Jewish youth and also developed and implemented a pioneer project for brain injured children with emphasis on integrating them into a total day camp and winter recreational program at the YM/YWHA.
Ira Stone's poetry has appeared in various journals and he is the author of two volumes of poetry: "The Really Perfect Poem Has An Infinitely Small Vocabulary" (Mellon Press) and "Sketches For A Book of Psalms (Xlibris.)
He served as the Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellow at Harvard University for the Spring 2005 semester.
In addition to his work in the pulpit, Rabbi Stone has written articles on theology and rabbinics for various journals including Conservative Judaism, Wellspring Journal, Middlebury College Magazine and Kerem His first book, "Seeking the Path to Life" was published in 1992 by Jewish Lights Publishing. His second book, "Reading Levinas/Reading Talmud" was published in 1997 by The Jewish Publication Society. His new book, "A Responsible Life: Mussar As A Spiritual Path," was published by Aviv Press in the Fall of 2006.
Rabbi Stone serves as lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and adjunct and visiting lecturer in Modern Jewish Thought at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Rabbi Stone and his wife Annie are the parents of Tamar, Yoshi and Shuli.
Download Rabbi Stone's Sermons
2009
Rosh Hashana I
Rosh Hashana II
Kol Nidre
Yom Kippur
2008
Naso
Bamidbar
Sabbath and Sanctuary
John Adams
Eliahu Ha Navi
2007
Rosh Hashana I
Rosh Hashana II
Kol Nidre
Yom Kippur
2006
Rosh Hashana I
Rosh Hashana II
Kol Nidre
Yom Kippur
Cantor Sharon Grainer
Cantor Grainer received her Masters of Sacred Music and Investiture from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2006. She graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto, where she double-majored in Jewish History and Literature and Literary Studies and minored in Yiddish. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, she worked as the Director of Perspectives: The Rhode Island Jewish Young Adult Network. Before starting cantorial school, Cantor Grainer studied classical Jewish texts full-time for a year at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. While in cantorial school she served as cantor at Shomrei Torah, the Wayne Conservative Congregation in Wayne, NJ and at Synagogue Degel Israel in Watertown, NY. Since 2005, she has been a member of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding which draws together religious leaders, laity, scholars, theologians and educators to cultivate new seeds of mutual respect and develop programs and publications to overcome deep-seated antagonisms that recent progress has not yet healed. Cantor Grainer grew up in Oak Park, IL, an old and diverse village on the Chicago El's West Side Green Line. Cantor Grainer's interests in and experience with Jewish liturgy and texts, education and culture, community building, programming, pastoral counseling and musical pedagogy have shaped her into a leader and teacher committed to living and sharing the Jewish tradition, and to helping others on their Jewish spiritual journeys. She is devoted to growing and enriching a diverse, participatory, spiritual and learning community.
Robert M. Fleischman, President
Bob Fleischman, who founded Automated Documents Systems, Inc, is a technology consultant who has worked with electronic and computer systems for more than 35 years. During that time he has written articles and spoken at conferences on various topics including computer programming techniques, office automation and tutorials. In addition he has contributed to several open-source community projects.
Bob is a graduate of Yale University and Rutger's School of Law - Newark. While he practiced law, he specialized in Real Estate and Intellectual Property at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhoads. Though some of his proudest moment were prior to law school, when he worked at The New York Legal Aide Society and Western Kentucky Legal Services helping clients with administrative hearings before various state and federal benefits agencies.
Bob and his wife Debbie have three children: Matthew (24), Sarah (21) and Abraham (10).
Donna Rosenthal, Executive Director
With practical, sensitive and responsive leadership Donna Rosenthal takes care of day to day synagogue management as well as planning and prioritizing for our congregation's future. Donna partners with our clergy and volunteer leadership and her administrative team to make Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel a comfortable, stable and nurturing place worthy of being called our spiritual home. Her education and experience in non-profit management and accounting, and the importance she places on Jewish ethics and responsible living, have enabled Donna to serve as our executive director since 2002 and as a leader in the Jewish community for many years.
Nina Peskin
Nina Peskin is Director of Member Services and Volunteer Coordinator. Nina is working to create an active volunteer culture at BZBI, helping new members make inroads into the community, and supporting committees in planning and promoting programming initiatives. Additionally, she is involved in improving communications, scheduling events, and developing long-term strategies to help volunteers be involved and enjoy a rewarding, meaningful experience. She is also focused on member retention and recruitment. Moreover, Nina wants to hear what members would like to see happening at BZBI and work with them to see their visions realized.
Nina has a background in elementary education and community relations. In addition to her passion for community building, she has sung with an Israeli pop cover band, a Balkan women’s ensemble, and other music groups, and facilitated a poetry class for women inmates in San Francisco.
If you are interested in making a contribution to BZBI by volunteering, or if you have any membership questions, please contact Nina in the temple office, via email at ninapeskin@bzbi.org, or stop by the office and say hello!
