Clergy and Staff
Rabbi Lisa Eiduson
Rabbi Lisa Eiduson joined Congregation B'nai Torah on July 1, 2015 after serving as Rabbi/Educator at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton for the previous 12 years.
Rabbi Eiduson believes that the synagogue should be a warm and welcoming place for all who wish to enter. Her rabbinic philosophy is built on the foundation that simply gathering Jewish knowledge is not enough. Rather, we are called to find joy and meaning in participating in the life of the synagogue.
Rabbi Eiduson believes in the benefits of collaborative leadership which she will bring to all dimensions of Congregation B'nai Torah. She will guide worship and ritual, provide leadership and innovative programming within the Hebrew School and adult learning, give spiritual guidance in times of need, work with lay leadership to help grow our thriving community, and create meaningful connections with members of our CBT family.
A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Rabbi Eiduson received her BA in Religion and Jewish Studies in 1986 from Boston University where she studied with Elie Wiesel. Following rabbinic ordination in 1992 from HUC-JIR in Cincinnati, Rabbi Eiduson went on to serve Reform congregations in Cincinnati, Ohio, Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to her synagogue work, Rabbi Eiduson taught at the college level for eight years as an Adjunct Faculty member at Xavier University in Cincinnati and at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Rabbi Eiduson received a Doctorate of Education with a concentration in Organizational Leadership Studies from the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in May 2019. Her dissertation, “Shared Spiritual Leadership in a Reform Synagogue Setting: An Instrumental Case Study,” investigated the sharing of spiritual leadership by a congregational rabbi and a professional staff team at that synagogue.
Rabbi Eiduson enjoys reading, gardening and music, and perhaps most of all, spending time at the ocean with her husband, Rabbi Joe Eiduson, their daughters, Rosie and Carly, and their two Labrador Retrievers, Maggie and Mason.
Rabbi Eiduson can be reached at rabbi@bnaitorah.com.
cantorial student intern
Rachel SteinBerg
Rachel attended Brandeis University and is enrolled in Newton’s Hebrew College’s Cantorial Program. She will be joining us for Shabbat services throughout the year as well as at our Yom Kippur Children’s Service and for apple picking on Rosh Hashanah.
Rachel is originally from northern New Jersey where she was a member of a Reform synagogue and was active in NFTY (The Reform Jewish Youth Movement), acting as song leader and then as a regional board member. She plays the piano, guitar, ukulele, and flute and is fluent in Hebrew, Spanish, and American Sign Language! Rachel was recently married and loves learning new things, making PowerPoints, and advocating for those with disabilities. She can’t wait to meet the congregation!
ExEcutive Director Robin Berman
Robin Berman has been the Temple's Executive Director and Administrator since January, 2016 and a member of the congregation for 19 years. Robin grew up on Long Island and received her Jewish education at Midway Jewish Center, a conservative synagogue in Plainview. As the Temple's Executive Director, Robin wears many hats, overseeing all of CBT’s daily operations, and Member Services, Facilities and Maintenance, Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Events and Operations.
Robin has a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from SUNY at Albany and then spent the first part of her career in the Hospitality industry working for a Hotel Management company. She then pursued an MBA in Accounting from the Rutgers University School of Management and worked for Price Waterhouse and the Citibank Private Bank.
Robin has served on the Board of Congregation B’nai Torah for many years and in many capacities, culminating with 3 years as President. In her current role as Executive Director, Robin finds working with Rabbi Eiduson and interacting with fellow congregants extremely energizing and rewarding.
When she isn’t at CBT, Robin continues to work as a principal in The Camp Experts and Teen Summers, an advisory service that helps parents find summer programs for their children.
B'nai Mitzvah Tutor Orna Sonnenschein
Orna Sonnenschein tutors Congregation B'nai Torah's b'nai mitzvah students in preparation for becoming a bar or bat mitzvah. Orna is a gifted tutor whose enthusiasm, genuine warmth, and positive approach brings out the best in her students. Along with being an outstanding tutor, Orna is also a seasoned Jewish educator with over fifteen years of teaching, tutoring, and administrative experience. Prior to joining Congregation B'nai Torah, Orna served as Director of Elementary Education at Temple Israel of Boston.
Orna can be reached at tutor@bnaitorah.com.
Rabbi Emeritus Boaz Heilman
Rabbi Heilman has served Congregation B'nai Torah with great dedication, warmth and spirit for the past 20 years. We are grateful for his service and so glad that he will continue to be a vital part of our congregation as Rabbi Emeritus.
Born in Israel in 1949, Rabbi Heilman moved to the United States with his family in 1961. Trained in classical music and learning piano from an early age, he studied at UCLA and SMU, earning a Bachelor of Music and an Artist Diploma in piano performance from SMU in 1971 and 1973 respectively. In 1973, Rabbi Heilman rejoined his family in Israel. Between 1973 and 1977 he concertized in Israel and abroad and made several solo, chamber and concerto recordings for the Israel Broadcasting Authority. During that period he also fulfilled his military duty, serving as a medic in Zahal, the Israel Defense Force.
Rabbi Heilman returned to the United States in 1977 to continue his musical studies and to further his career as a pianist. He received a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1979. In 1980, he married Sally Finestone, then a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College. Rabbi Heilman's and Rabbi Finestone's two children, Hannah and Yoni, were born in 1982 and 1986 respectively.
Rabbi Heilman was accepted into the rabbinic program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City in 1995 from where he received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Literature in 1997 and was ordained as a Rabbi in 1998.
Rabbi Heilman served as Rabbinic Leader of Congregation B'nai Torah between 1995 and 1998 and as CBT's first full-time Rabbi until 2015. A dynamic leader, he had a significant impact on all aspects of congregational life from guiding our worship and ritual, to involvement in the Hebrew School and adult learning, providing spiritual guidance in times of need, and officiating at literally hundreds of b'nai mitzvahs for a whole generation of children and their families.
Rabbi Heilman can be reached at rabbi-emeritus@bnaitorah.com.
