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Clergy

Ronald M. Segal

Senior Rabbi

Rabbi Ron Segal joined the Temple Sinai clergy upon his ordination from rabbinical school in July 1996, serving first as Assistant and then Associate Rabbi; he was named the congregation’s third Senior Rabbi in July 2006. During his 28+ years in Atlanta, Rabbi Segal has served on the boards of numerous Jewish, communal and interfaith organizations, both locally and nationally. He recently concluded a decade of service on the board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), including two years as President (2019-2021). Along with continued national involvement, Rabbi Segal presently serves on the board of the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody Community Assistance Center (CAC) and is an active participant in the Sandy Springs Interfaith Clergy Association. An alum of Leadership Atlanta, Rabbi Segal strives to foster communities of compassion, understanding, and belonging, and relishes opportunities to teach and speak in interfaith, school, and civic settings throughout the greater Atlanta area on topics of Jewish life, values, theology, Israel and more. He and his wife Jill have two adult sons, Adam and Ben.

Bradley G. Levenberg, PhD

Senior Rabbi

Brad Levenberg grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio where he was regularly sent to the office of the Sunday School Principal for incessantly talking during class. Embracing that “talent” and realizing that all that was missing was a larger audience and a microphone, Brad decided to pursue the congregational rabbinate at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion following his undergraduate education at Antioch College.

He embraced opportunities while in seminary to work as a student rabbi in New Jersey, Virginia, and Ohio, and in chaplaincy settings in New York, but credits his role as a Youth Advisor, working with sarcastic and unruly teens, as the experience that best prepared him for congregational work. An innovator who embraces the mandate to “create positive Jewish memories”, Rabbi Levenberg came to Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs following his ordination in 2006. He utilized his conversational style of teaching and overly-verbose sermons to win the hearts of the congregation and was promoted from Assistant Rabbi to Associate Rabbi in 2009 and, in 2022, was elected as a Senior Rabbi of Temple Sinai.

Click Here for Rabbi Levenberg's Full Bio

 

   

Samantha Shabman Trief

Rabbi

Rabbi Samantha (Sam) Shabman Trief was thrilled to join the Temple Sinai Team in July of 2016 from the HUC-JIR New York Campus. During her studies, she taught for the HUC-JIR Miller High School Honors Program for four years and also completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education, at Maine Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital. As she serves Temple Sinai, Rabbi Trief hopes to build on all of her interests and passions. She has been a member of the Board of the  FIDF Southeast Region and is a recent graduate of LEAD, the Leadership Atlanta’s program for new and emerging professionals. Rabbi Trief enjoys her growing involvement in the vibrant Atlanta Jewish Community, and is excited to continue building relationships with the members of Temple Sinai. Rabbi Trief is married to Rabbi Natan Trief; they are the proud parents of Rafael (Rafi) Trief and Maayan (Maya) Trief. And they love their Labradoodle, Huckleberry, too! 

   

Beth Schafer

Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair

Beth Schafer joined Temple Sinai July 1, 2015 as our Bunzl Family Cantorial Chair. She has been a musical presence for the Union of Reform Judaism since 1999, headlining and playing guitar for Shabbat services at the last seven biennial conventions. At the 2013 URJ Biennial, Beth became the first woman to produce an event for the URJ. Her seven CDs of original Jewish music have become favorites in synagogues as well as churches and spiritual radio stations of many denominations. 

Philip N. Kranz

Rabbi Emeritus

Philip N. Kranz served as Temple Sinai's Senior Rabbi from 1980 until his retirement in June of 2006, when he became Rabbi Emeritus. Prior to coming to Atlanta, he served for nine years as rabbi of the historic Chicago Sinai Congregation. Rabbi Kranz remains active at Sinai, teaching, writing and overseeing collection building in Temple Sinai's Rabbi Philip N. Kranz Learning Center. Married to Nancy Weston Kranz since 1971, Nancy and Rabbi Kranz are the parents of two married daughters, Rebecca Friedman and Abigail Ornstein. 

Sat, December 21 2024 20 Kislev 5785