Clergy
Rabbi Ronald W. Kaplan D. Min
Rabbi@tbaparsippany.org
Teaching, preaching, officiating at life-cycle events, and sharing people's lives at their joyous and saddest occasions, combine to challenge and inspire the rabbi's daily schedule. Building relationships on an individual basis, recognizing faces and remembering names---these are Rabbi Kaplan's highest priorities. A Temple membership of 250 families at Beth Am provides a personal opportunity to see and know nearly everyone frequently throughout the calender year. As the congregation continues to grow in size and programming, with spiritual, educational, and recreational activities for all ages, Rabbi Kaplan is excited about the future!
Rabbi Ronald W. Kaplan is now in his 10th year serving Temple Beth Am as spiritual leader. This June, Rabbi Kaplan celebrated thirty-one years in the rabbinate since his ordination in 1980 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was awarded the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. In 1995, Rabbi Kaplan earned an academic doctorate in Pastoral Care and Counseling from the Post-Graduate Center for Mental Health in New York City, a Freudian training and treatment center for spiritual psychotherapy. He also has completed training as a crisis-intervention chaplain with the American Red Cross and counseled families of victims of the World Trade Center disaster in 2001. He continues to offer pastoral chaplaincy at local hospitals, nursing, and assisted-living facilities, and maintains a private practice at The Shalom Center in Livingston, NJ for family therapy.
Before coming to Beth Am, he served congregations in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and South Jersey, as well as personal Assistant to the President at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.
Relocating to North Jersey and affiliating with Beth Am has been a professionally fulfilling experience, and enabled the Kaplan-Musnitsky Family (Rabbi Randi Musnitsky, his wife, is the Rabbi at Temple Har Shalom in Warren, NJ) and their two sons, to establish an extended Jewish mishpacha with congregants.
This year, 20012-13 (5773) is our synagogues 47th anniversary! Come share our excitement and pride of Jewish life, enriched learning and living!
Fall 2012 Rabbinic Office Hours
In order for congregants to be kept informed of Rabbi Kaplan's routine presence at the Temple, consider the following schedule.
Though appointments are preferable to provide adequate time, "drop-ins" are always welcome. Appointments should be made directly with Rabbi Kaplan at 973-650-5256 (cell).
Tuesday 3 - 10 PM
Thursday 2 - 10 PM
Friday 9AM-12:30 PM
7 - 10 PM (Shabbat Worship)
Saturday 9AM- 1 PM (when B'nai Mitzvahs are scheduled)
Sunday 8:30 AM - 2 PM
Mondays & Wednesdays: Hospital visits, Pastoral visits to rehab centers, personal study time & service planning, Adult Ed & Confirmation class preparation, etc.
Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak
Cantor@tbaparsippany.org
Cantor Serebro-Litvak was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and was exposed to Synagogue music and Yiddish repertoire at a early age. She made aliya to Israel in 1990 with her whole family where she pursued musical education at the Musical Academy of Tel Aviv University. During that time she sang in numerous concerts throughout the country, had a leading role in the play “A Hosn in Shtetl” in Yiddish theatre, and sang in the Tel Aviv Philharmonic Choir.
In 1997 after graduation from the Musical Academy in Tel Aviv, Cantor Serebro-Litvak came to the United States. She continued her studies for a Masters degree from the Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary and was the first woman from former Soviet Union to graduate from JTS. Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak performed at concerts in various Temples in the New York and New Jersey area, and led High Holiday services at Anshei Emeth in Chicago with Cantor Alberto Mizrahi. In addition, she participated in the recordings of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, and her solo can be heard on one of the CDs from that collection.
From July 2002 through June 2005, Inna Serebro-Litvak served as cantor at Temple B’nai Or in Morristown New Jersey. She is married to Anatoly (Tony) Litvak, who works as a project manager at KPMJ and they have two young daughters named Emily and Abigail. In July 2005, “Cantor Inna” as she likes to be called, joined the professional staff at Temple Beth Am.
Cantor Inna has released two CDs. Once is High Holy Day Music and the other the Sounds of Prayer. For more information or to order click here.