Rabbi Rubinstein graduated from Amherst College and was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York where he received a Master of Hebrew Letters degree with honors. Prior to joining Central Synagogue, he served as the rabbi of Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, N.Y., and at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, California.
Throughout his career, Rabbi Rubinstein has taught at Manhattanville College, Colgate University, San Jose State and the HUC-JIR in both New York and Cincinnati. He currently serves as the rabbinic chair of the National Commission on Rabbinic-Congregational Relations of the Reform movement and is a founder and chair of the Rabbinic Council of the World Union of Progressive Judaism and co-chair of the Partnership of Faith in New York City. Rabbi Rubinstein serves on the Board of several prominent organizations including Auburn Theological Seminary of which he is the immediate past Chairman of the Board, the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, UJA-Federation of New York, United Way of New York, and the Rabbinic Council of HUC-JIR.
His writing has been included in several books including Our Rabbis Taught (1990), How Can I Find God (1997), Restoring Faith (2001), and Shine by Star Jones (2006).
Rabbi Rubinstein is married to Kerry Rubinstein.
Angela Warnick Buchdahl was invested as a cantor in 1999 and also ordained as a rabbi in 2001 from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York where she was a Wexner Graduate fellow. Prior to her appointment as cantor at Central Synagogue, Cantor Buchdahl served as associate rabbi/cantor at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, N.Y.
Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Cantor Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as cantor or rabbi in North America. She earned her B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale University where she was active in religious life on campus and performed frequently with her a capella group.
Cantor Buchdahl has been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading services and has served as faculty for the Wexner Heritage Foundation and for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Kallot programs. She serves on the Board of the Multiracial Jewish Network and regularly teaches and writes on the topic of diversity within the Jewish community. Cantor Buchdahl and her husband Jacob Buchdahl have three young children.
Rabbi Friedman grew up in Great Neck, N.Y., where his family was proud to be dedicated members of Temple Beth-El. He holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2004. He has served as associate rabbi at Central Synagogue since 2008. Prior to that, Rabbi Friedman was director of high school programs at the Union for Reform Judaism from 2004 until 2006 and served as assistant rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, N.J., from 2006 until 2008.
During his time in rabbinical school, Rabbi Friedman spent two years as a rabbinic intern at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, N.Y., and one year as a rabbinic intern at the New York Kollel. Rabbi Friedman served as program director for Project Understanding, an interfaith experience for Jewish and Catholic youth on Long Island, and as a coordinator of the HUC-JIR Soup Kitchen. He is a member of the Running Rabbis, who use distance running to improve the world in which we live. In his free time Rabbi Friedman likes to play golf, hike, run marathons, and cook.
Rabbi Salth was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2005. Before enrolling, he spent more than 10 years working in the fields of youth development, community service and leadership training. He served on the start-up team for AmeriCorps, where he co-designed and implemented the National Civilian Community Corps. Later, Rabbi Salth became the director of education and community service for Up with People in Denver, Colorado, where he worked on projects that ranged from environmental restoration after natural disasters to violence prevention and leadership training in high schools.
Prior to his appointment at Central Synagogue, Rabbi Salth served as the Rabbi/Director of Jewish Learning for Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, N.J. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton and M.A. in Religious Education from HUC-JIR’s School of Education.
A hiker and a two-time New York City Marathon finisher, Rabbi Salth is also a devoted fan of both the New York Mets and Denver Broncos.
Raised in Scarsdale, N.Y., Cantor Sacks was invested as a cantor in 2007 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York. She was the recipient of a Wexner Graduate Fellowship and earned several awards as a cantorial student for Traditional Hazzanut, Talmud and Midrash. She holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies and Music from Harvard University where she was active in Harvard Hillel and music community service programs.
Before joining Central Synagogue, Cantor Sacks served as a student cantor and educator at a variety of institutions including the Jewish Community Center of Harrison in Westchester County, N.Y., and Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom in Wyomissing, P.A. She is also currently a faculty member of the Machon Hadar Minyan Project.
Cantor Sacks is married to Eli Sacks, a PhD candidate in the Department of Religion at Princeton University.
