Staff Profiles... Temple Beth Or is a very special place. It is a community of families who come to participate in worship, Jewish education and social and spiritual rejuvenation. It’s a center of comfort, warmth, activity and volunteerism, where you’ll always find familiar, smiling faces — from the clergy to the office staff. Rabbi Lucy H.F. Dinner  Rabbi Lucy H.F. Dinner, Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Or since 1993, provides spiritual leadership and vision to our congregation. Along with the ritual, educational and life cycle responsibilities she undertakes in leading the congregation, Rabbi Dinner promotes ongoing congregational enrichment and involvement. Rabbi Dinner is committed to the advancement of Jewish values and ideals within the congregation and beyond. She has served on numerous boards and advisory committees locally including: the Advisory Board of the North Carolina Food Bank, the Duke Symposium for Care at the End of Life, and the Martin Luther King Observance. Nationally Rabbi Dinner is involved on the Committee to Mentor Reform Rabbis, and has served on several Union for Reform Judaism committees, and on the Board of ARZA. Rabbi Dinner earned her Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Ordination from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina. She served as Associate Rabbi at Shaare Emeth Congregation in St. Louis, Missouri. Rabbi Dinner has been published in the book The Woman’s Torah Commentary, and been an author of Torah commentary for the URJ. She has been honored with induction into the YWCA’s Academy of Women, and featured in Women’s Edge magazine. Rabbi Dinner is married to Jeffrey Dinner and has two sons Joshua and Jacob. :: top of page :: Rabbi Ari Margolis  Rabbi Ari Margolis joined Temple Beth Or in 2010 after receiving his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. He serves both as the Assistant Rabbi of our congregation and also as a Jewish Educator, overseeing the curricular development of our religious school and opportunities for adult education. During his rabbinic training, he served as a rabbinic intern and educator at Congregation Kol Ami of West Hollywood, CA. He also received a Master's degree in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education (2008) and was named a Mandel Fellow, studying visionary leadership and Jewish education, during which time he was the rabbinic-education intern at Temple Isaiah of Los Angeles. He also worked at Rutgers University Hillel as an engagement specialist - reaching out to Jewish students to provide Jewish resources for those who were not as connected to the greater Jewish community. Rabbi Margolis earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in the field of chemical engineering. Though he is no longer spending his days tinkering with differential equations, he enjoys trying to engineer a sense of community, learning, and tikkun olam (healing the world) wherever possible. Rabbi Margolis lives in Raleigh with his wife, Rachel, who is a Jewish educator, and their daughter, Laila :: top of page :: Alexis Hallman- Director of Jewish Music  Lexie joined our staff in May of 2008. A native of Kansas City and graduate of the University of Kansas, she studied music and literature and majored in Political Science and English. Lexie began her career in Jewish Communal service in 2005 at The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah in Kansas City serving as Director of Youth Programs and Children's Music. Since arriving at TBO, Lexie has developed and implemented a number of new music programs including the Shulhouse Rock program, a song leading workshop weekend for aspiring high school song leaders. In 2009, Lexie led TBO's effort to win a Legacy Heritage Grant for the Shulhouse Rock Program which allowed artists from all over the country to visit and share their music with Temple Beth Or. In the fall of 2010, Lexie completed work on her first album, produced by Dan Nichols and featuring several Temple Beth Or Adult musicians as guest instrumentalists. Her album, "2011: Songs We Sing" will be available in January of 2011. Lexie is very proud of her amazing and hilarious daughter, Mira, who was born in April of 2010. :: top of page :: Emilia Diamant - Principal, Temple Beth Or Religious School Emilia Diamant grew up in the Boston area, a member of Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley. In high school she was actively involved in her local youth group and NFTY-Northeast, attended EIE Semester in Israel in Spring 2001, and served on the 2002-2003 NFTY-NE Regional Board as Social Action Vice President. She spent two summers at Crane Lake Camp and one at Kutz Leadership Academy. As an undergraduate at New York University, she taught Hebrew and Sunday School at Temple Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan. After a brief stint in Costa Rica, Emilia moved to Raleigh/Durham in June 2008. She is currently enrolled in the part-time program at UNC’s School of Social Work for her Masters Degree, and absolutely adores working at Temple Beth Or. When asked about college basketball, all she can say is, “GO RED SOX!” :: top of page :: Jann Goldenthal - Director TBO Preschool Jann Goldenthal has been the director of Temple Beth Or Preschool since 1988. She has also taught in the Temple Beth Or Religious School, and her daughter attended TBOP when Ms. Jann first became director. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Child Development. She has the State of NC Administration Credential Level III, the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential and an Early Educator Certification from the North Carolina Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. She has taught two-, three- and four-year-old children in a child care center. Though the work of maintaining the preschool’s consistently high quality keeps her busy, Ms. Jann is always at the door in the morning to greet the children and enjoys spending time in the classrooms. :: top of page :: |
