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Rabbis  
   

Alan Green, Senior Rabbi

Rabbi Alan Green was born September 14, 1953 in Los Angeles, California where he lived for most of his first 39 years.  He grew up at Congregation Adat Ariel in Valley Village, California where he was taken under the wing of Cantor Allan Michelson, one of the great Hazzanim of that day.  Rabbi Green received his BA and MA in the History of Religions from UCLA, and studied Rabbinic Literature for three years at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.  He received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder and Dean of the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal, in 1991. 

 

Besides Cantor Michelson and Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi, Rabbi Green’s other significant spiritual influences include His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Green, and Dr. Kees W. Bolle, who for many years was Professor of the History of Religions at UCLA.

 

For five years, Rabbi Green was spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Emet in Montebello, California before coming to Winnipeg in 1992 and serving as spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation until the year 2000.  Rabbi Green has served as Senior Rabbi of Shaarey Zedek Congregation since the fall of 2000.

 

Rabbi Green has been married to Chaya and her triplets, Daniel, Eve, and Shoshanah, since 1990.  He calls his move to Winnipeg “one of the best things that ever happened to me”, and he looks forward to many more years of happiness, harmony, and celebration at Shaarey Zedek, and with the Winnipeg Jewish community.

   

Lawrence Pinsker, Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Lawrence Michael Pinsker, a native of Chicago, Illinois, was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Previously he has served pulpits in the Conservative movement in Niagara Falls (New York), Chicago, and San Antonio, Texas. In 1985 he founded the West End Synagogue, a new synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. From 1991-2002, he served as Rabbi of Congregation Darchei Noam in Toronto. Before accepting the position of Associate Rabbi and Scholar-in-Residence at Shaarey Zedek in 2004, he also served an interim year as Associate Rabbi at Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am Synagogue in Toronto.

Rabbi Pinsker holds degrees from Antioch College and Temple University in Philosophy and Religion. He has taught courses in Jewish philosophy, theology, and history in university programmes wherever he has served, including Niagara Community College, Niagara University, Texas Lutheran College, B'nai B'rith Summer Camp Institute of Canada, and most recently at the Spirituality Diversity program at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. He has also taught Bible, Comparative Religions, and Jewish Spirituality in middle school and high school settings as well as Diversity Training for the Winnipeg Police Service Training Academy. A career-long advocate of inter-religious dialogue, he frequently joins other faith-community leaders in advocating mutual understanding and respect.

In 2001 and again in 2007, Rabbi Pinsker was honoured with degrees of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa for service to the Jewish community by Jewish institutions of higher learning, most recently by the Jewish Theological Seminary of the Conservative movement.

Rabbi Pinsker incorporates puppets, storytelling, and knowledge of a wide range of religions, science, history, anthropology, and folklore in showing people some of the the ways that belief, prayer, and spiritual disciplines are or can be an important part of living.

Rabbi Pinsker is married to Laurelle Harris Pinsker, an attorney, and is father to four children: three now-adult daughters pursuing careers in music, acupuncture, and medical research, and a thirteen-year-old son who hopes for a career as a neurosurgeon. 

   
Chazzanim  
   

Rabbi Louis Berkal Z"L, Chazzan Emeritus
> Remembering Rabbi Berkal

   

Aníbal Mass, Chazzan

Chazzan Aníbal Mass was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since he was a little boy he was interested in music, especially singing. As a child he participated in the well-known children’s choir of the Colegio Bet-Am Medinat Israel, which was directed by the teacher Nestor Stofblat. Chazzan Mass’ interest in liturgical music came while studying for his own Bar Mitzvah. Only one week after his Bar Mitzvah, he began to lead the Kabbalat Shabbat Services at Templo BAMI. His increasing interest in chazzanut inspired him to undertake formal studies at the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, first as a student at the pre-rabbinical school and then at the Escuela de Jazanim “Bet Asaf” (School of Chazzanim). Among his teachers were Jazan Oscar Fleischer (Ashkenazi liturgy) and Jazan Ramon Tasat (Sefardi liturgy). Immediately after completing his chazzanut studies, Chazzan Mass was selected as a full-time Chazzan by the Israelite Community of Santiago, Chile, where he served for over eight years. During that time, he continued studies in music and singing with his teacher, Marcelo Olivari. Chazzan Mass has been with Congregation Shaarey Zedek since August 2002.

   

Shammes  
   

Bill Weissmann, Shammes

Bill has an extensive background in human resource management, public relations and marketing with a number of national companies. He helped design, manage and implement communication policies; marketing strategies; new product research, production and advertising campaigns and developed, implemented and directed public relations policies.

 

Bill’s first love is teaching. His teaching career, which began at J. H. Bruns Collegiate and later moved on to Red River Community College (Market Driven Training and Continuing Education Divisions) and the University of Winnipeg Continuing Education Division, has been very rewarding. He currently advises and works with students in various disciplines.

 

Serving as Shaarey Zedek Synagogue’s Shammes since 1997, Bill is happiest when able to offer guidance to those attending the daily Minyan services. When families are in need of support, Bill recalls the gentle methods used by his predecessor, Ben Raber, and follows the example of Rabbi Alan Green and Rabbi Lawrence Pinsker. He truly believes that the most satisfying feeling one can experience is being able to provide encouragement to others during the most difficult times of their lives.

                   

         

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