+1.614.855.4882

5089 Johnstown Rd New Albany OH 43054 US

Rabbi Benjy Bar-Lev, Senior Rabbi
rabbibenjy@tbsohio.org

Rabbi Benjy Bar-Lev joined the rabbinic staff of Temple Beth Shalom in the summer of 2008. As of July 2017, he serves as the congregations Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Bar-Lev says of TBS that, "our creative possibilities here are endless. Temple Beth Shalom is a warm, inclusive and truly dynamic place. I'm very blessed to have found TBS, my congregational soulmate!"

"Rabbi B" (as he is known at Beth Shalom) was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisc. He went to college at a small university in Kenosha, Wisc., called the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. During his college years, he began working as a religious school teacher, a Hebrew teacher, Youth Director, a song-leader, and finally as Rabbinic Intern at a small synagogue in Kenosha called Beth Hillel Temple. He is also a life-long Jewish camper, and for the past 16 summers has been a camper, counselor, program director, unit leader, administrator, and Camp Rabbi of a JCC camp called "Interlaken" in the North Woods of Wisconsin. He also serves on faculty each summer at our local URJ residential camp, Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI).

During Rabbinical School in Cincinnati, Rabbi B became the Youth Director at Temple Sholom, a job he had for four years. During his first two years in Cincinnati he also worked as Coordinator of Yeshivat Noar, a 7th and 8th grade program that combines junior youth group with formal Religious School classes. He taught, coordinated, and wrote curriculum for that program. During those first years he also began teaching in the Cincinnati Reform Jewish High School and wrote lesson plans and curricula for classes there as well.

Just prior to joining the Beth Shalom family, Rabbi Bar-Lev served as Rabbinic Intern and Youth Director for Temple Sholom in Cincinnati. As rabbinic intern led services weekly, taught adult education classes, officiated many lifecycle events, ran extensive adult programming, helped innovate worship experiences, coordinated and advised young family and young adult groups, attended to pastoral care, and helped shape the religious school.

Rabbi Bar-Lev has a passion for Jewish education and loves teaching both adults and children about Jewish traditions, music, texts and ethics. He enjoys leading Shabbat services, officiating lifecycle events, and spending time with and counseling congregants.

Rabbi Bar-Lev lives in New Albany with his wife, Dr. Lauren Bar-Lev, a Pediatrician at the Ohio Center for Pediatrics in Dublin, and their beautiful children, Sammie, Jake, Asher, and Noah.

Rabbi Lenette Goldman, Associate Rabbi and Director of Education
rabbigoldman@tbsohio.org

Rabbi Lenette Goldman has been serving Temple Beth Shalom as Associate Rabbi and Director of Education since July 2017. She is also proud to be currently serving as President of the Columbus Board of Rabbis since August 2023. 

Rabbi Goldman grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, participating in youth group and summer camp, and attending a Jewish high school. While in college at Arizona State University, Rabbi Lenette began teaching religious school. This sparked a passion for Jewish education, which set her on the journey toward becoming a rabbi. Rabbi Goldman was ordained through HUC-JIR in 2017 on the Los Angeles campus, with an additional year of study to receive a Masters in Jewish Education.

Rabbi Goldman is passionate about running our Religious School and teaching learners of all ages, including holidays, history, and Jewish stories and texts through a feminist lens. She also enjoys leading services, tutoring B’nai Mitzvah students, and building relationships through adult learning, lifecycle events, and pastoral care.

Rabbi Goldman lives in Clintonville with her husband, Michael Goldman, director of Young JewishColumbus, along with their two cats, Arya and Freddie.

Gail Rose, Music Director & Cantorial Soloist
grose@tbsohio.org

Gail Rose is the 2013 Jeff and Lori Lasday Jewish Educator of the Year. The award, presented by the Columbus Jewish Federation, recognizes outstanding Columbus Jewish educators, awards winners a grant to be used toward a professional growth activity. Gail is the first Temple Beth Shalom educator to receive this prestigious community award since its inception in 1997.

Currently, Gail assumes several roles at Temple Beth Shalom: music teacher at the Temple’s Kehillat Torah Religious School for grades Kindergarten through 4th, trope teacher for grade 6, Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor, Cantorial Soloist and Music Director.

She co-directs Koleinu, the Columbus Community Jewish Choir, is one of the directors of The Martin Luther King Commemorative Choir, leads the Hadassah Community Tu B’Shevat Seder and the Women of Beth Shalom’s Passover Seder. 

Gail holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from The Ohio State University. She taught vocal and general music in the Lancaster, Southwestern and Worthington City Schools.

Gail taught music education for Elementary Education Majors at both Ohio Dominican College and The Ohio State University, and supervised student teachers for Otterbein College. She also received two awards from The Ohio State University for her work with student teachers.

Rabbi Howard L. Apothaker, Ph.D., Rabbi Emeritus
drabbia@tbsohio.org

Rabbi Howard L. Apothaker, Ph.D. has served as Rabbi for Temple Beth Shalom of Columbus/New Albany, Ohio since 1980. As a student rabbi, he served congregations in New York City. He has also served a start-up congregation in Beer Sheva, Israel.

A native Philadelphian and honors graduate of Brown University (1974), Rabbi Apothaker was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (NY, 1980).

He holds an M.A. from HUC-JIR in New York (1977), and a Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature (HUC-JIR, Cincinnati, 1996). He has been a Visiting Graduate Student at New York University, The Jewish Theological Seminary in Jerusalem and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He has won numerous academic fellowships, including the Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellowship at Harvard University (1999-2000). He has served as an adjunct instructor at Capital University and The Ohio State University and has lectured, inter alia, at Franklin University, Otterbein College, Ohio Dominican University, and Mt. Vernon Nazarene University. He has written a book on classical rabbinic midrash —Sifra, Dibbura de Sinai: Rhetorical Formulae, Literary Structures, and Legal Traditions (Hebrew Union College Press, 2003), has published numerous scholarly articles, and has lectured at a variety of academic conferences.

Rabbi Apothaker currently serves on the board of the Community Kitchen and also served as co-president of B.R.E.A.D., a faith-based justice coalition. He has served as president of the Columbus Board of Rabbis and on numerous local boards, including Columbus Torah Academy, Columbus Jewish Federation, Leo Yassenoff Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Services, Wexner Heritage Village, Jewish Scouting of Central Ohio, Columbus Jewish Historical Society, Jewish National Fund, Ohio Holocaust Education Council, and Central Ohio State of Israel Bonds.

Rabbi Apothaker has also served on the Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, for which he has also served on a number of national committees, including the Committee on Reform Jewish Principles (1999). He has served as president of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Association of Reform Rabbis.

In addition to congregational and Jewish community activities, Rabbi Apothaker was the founding president of the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio and the local chapter of Children in Grief. He is a founder of the Congregational Alliance of New Albany (where he has served as president). Rabbi Apothaker has served on the faculty of the URJ regional camp, the Goldman Union Camp Institute. Among other honors, Rabbi Apothaker has received the Buckeye Boys Ranch Award in recognition of Community Accomplishments and Continuing Influence in Religion with in the Community.

Rabbi Apothaker was a college wrestler, rowed on the crew team, and still participates in a variety of athletic activities. He has composed liturgical music and enjoys singing. He is married to Marcie Golden and has two daughters, Elianna and Leah.

​Rabbi Lenette Goldman · Rabbi Benjy Bar-Lev · Gail Rose

OUR CLERGY