Rabbi David Adelson is the spiritual leader of East End Temple and brings a unique, caring background through his pastoral work, expertise and interest in all phases of Temple life. His personal impact is felt at Shabbat Services, Religious School, Youth and Adult Education programs. He complements the warm person-to-person family atmosphere that is East End Temple. Rabbi Adelson's fresh ideas, new thinking and youthful vigor have helped us become an even closer community than we have been for the 53 years of our existence. Through his teachings and ability to be friendly and warm to all who enter our doors, we have expanded what we can do and should do in the community. His ability to teach us, from elementary to advanced learning in all things Jewish, is exceptional and he has been a blessing to this congregation. We are proud that Rabbi Adelson is our spiritual leader and invite all to enjoy and share his warmth with us.

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Shira Ginsburg joins East End Temple as a fifth year Cantorial Student at Hebrew Union College. A graduate of Syracuse University's Drama and Musical Theatre program, Shira spent a number of years in NY working as a professional actress, singer, and songwriter before deciding upon a Cantorial career. She brings with her a great passion for music of all kinds and loves to cross musical genres integrating folk with more traditional Chazzanut, as well as using components of musical theatre to heighten the effectiveness of solo and congregational melodies

Shira is excited to begin working with the upcoming 6th graders in Torah Trope class as well as the more advanced B'nei Mitzvah students. She believes that learning to chant Torah is one of the essential elements of helping to make the Torah a three dimensional, living text, and enables the entire community of both chanters and listening Kahal to draw nearer to our most sacred scripture. Additionally, Shira feels that chanting Torah in the same manner it has been chanted for generations is one of the best ways to connect ourselves with the richness and continuity of our Jewish heritage.

Shira is looking forward to sharing Shabbatot and Holidays with the East End Temple community and hopes that everyone will find something that inspires them to open their mouths and sing. She encourages everyone to think of singing as an opportunity to lift our prayers to a higher level.

Rabbi Shoshana Leis is delighted to serve as Director of Congregational Learning at East End Temple. She has over ten years of experience working as a teacher, community and educational leader, and ritual artist in the Jewish community. Before joining the East End Temple staff, Shoshana served for three years as rabbi of Congregation Tehillah in Riverdale NY, where she developed "Shira Hadasha," a collaborative learning project for which she received a Legacy Heritage Innovator Award. She has worked with the spectrum of ages and stages, and is particularly interested in building partnerships that cross generations, denominations, and faiths. Rabbi Shoshana graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College with a B.A. in Russian Studies and also studied at St. Petersburg University in Russia. Shoshana grew up with a Reform Jewish background and also studied at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, the Drisha Institute for Jewish Studies in New York City. She recently completed a three-year leadership training and peer-support program with the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network, a select national group of American and Israeli Rabbis, who are working to transform and revitalize their Jewish spiritual communities. Rabbi Shoshana lives in Riverdale with her husband Rabbi Ben Newman, and their daughter Sophia Galit.

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Marc Sobel has been the EERNY Youth Advisor since June 2003.  He also co-teaches the 8th and 9th grade confirmation class with Rabbi Adelson.  Born in St. Louis, he currently lives in Jackson Heights, Queens with his wife, Rachel Goldstein and their son, Jonah.  Marc has several years experience working with college students as a Resident Assistant at Indiana University and was an active member of NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) as a high school student a long, long time ago. Marc currently works at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as the head of Internal Audit and in his free time, enjoys creative writing, running and reading.