synagogue spotlight
What’s happening at ... Beth Tikvah-B’nai Jeshurun
I t’s a new era at Beth Tikvah-B’nai
Jeshurun in Erdenheim.

In a May 17 email, the syna-
gogue announced the hiring of a new
senior rabbi in Roni Handler and a
new director of congregational music
in Benjamin Greenfield.

Both Handler and Greenfield were
already working at the Montgomery
County synagogue. Handler is replac-
ing the retiring Saul Grife as senior
rabbi, and Greenfield is moving into a
full-time role.

Handler and Greenfield arrived at
BTBJ in 2017, and the similarities don’t
end there. Both proved themselves to
congregants in the education wing of
the synagogue, with Handler serving
as director of congregational learning
and Greenfield guiding the bar and bat
mitzvah tutoring program.

“Having those connections with
children and families is so important
to the future of the synagogue, and to
connect with families who want to join
the synagogue,” said Michael Drossner,
the temple’s outgoing president and a
longtime member.

BTBJ lay leaders could have easily
handed the senior rabbi position to
Handler, a rabbi they liked who was
already on site. But they didn’t. Instead,
they conducted a real search for Grife’s
replacement, considering dozens of
candidates through both the first and
second rounds.

While bias can never be discounted in
a situation like that, Handler nonethe-
less stood out, according to Drossner.

Her work transforming BTBJ’s reli-
gious school is convincing, he added.

Over the past five years, Handler
introduced a mentorship program in
which sixth graders partner with older
students. She has also implemented an
approach to bar and bat mitzvah prep
in which students discuss the meaning
of the day instead of just practicing
their Torah portions.

Drossner said feedback from parents
of religious school students played a
28 JUNE 2, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
major role in the decision.

“Rabbi Handler is respected as an
educator,” he said. “She understands
our culture and community.”
She also likes the synagogue’s culture
and community, and that’s why she’s
excited to stay.

“I have found it to be just a really
supportive, compassionate and inclusive
and warm place to be,” Handler said.

Before his promotion, Greenfield’s
role was less defined than Handler’s
role as associate rabbi. Over the past
few years, the cantor just kept taking
on more important assignments.

What started as cantorial work on
the weekends and some b’nai mitzvah
tutoring grew into a leading role as
b’nai mitzvah tutor. Greenfield was
that good at it.

Drossner’s son just went through
the bar mitzvah process, becoming a
man in September. The president cred-
ited Greenfield for making the process
“thorough.” “He’s wonderful for the kids,”
Drossner said. “Just phenomenal to
work with.”
Greenfield, for his part, called it “an
honor” to be made full time. He found
the synagogue to be “warm and invit-
ing” from the day he started.

But it was his work with bar and bat
mitzvah students that really convinced
him that BTBJ was the place for him.

The cantor not only enjoys working with
students but with their families, too.

“We’ve become like one big family,”
he said.

Working one-on-one with kids as
they transition into adulthood is a
“special and sacred duty,” Greenfield
added. He is consistently impressed
with the questions the students ask and
with how much they grow during the
process. The cantor compared those 9-12
months of preparation to putting up a
building. First, you lay the foundation
and then, over time, with each passing
day, the structure comes into form.

“And the day of, or in a lot of cases
three weeks to a month before, they
are ready to get up and do this,”
Beth Tikvah-B’nai Jeshurun in Erdenheim
Rabbi Roni Handler and Cantor Benjamin Greenfield
Greenfield said.

The cantor’s ability to make students
feel comfortable helps them grow. And
it’s that culture that BTBJ is trying to
continue with both of its new leaders.

When Drossner was growing up, he
had to wear a suit to his synagogue, he
said. At BTBJ, he can dress casually.

Rabbi Handler and Cantor Greenfield
have already played a big role in main-
taining this comfortable environment.

It is also what drew both of them into
the synagogue.

At the same time, congregants are
not afraid to think outside the box,
according to Handler. In the wake of
the pandemic, BTBJ now hosts hybrid
Shabbat services in person and over a
livestream. No idea is a bad idea among
BTBJ leaders and congregants.

It is that balance between comfort
and creativity that the new leaders are
excited to try and maintain.

“The more I work in the community,
the more I get to know it and feel at
home,” Handler said.

“She and I have a fantastic work-
ing relationship,” Greenfield added of
Handler. “It is a joy to share the bimah
with her.” JE
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Beth Tikvah-B’nai Jeshurun
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
BTBJ Welcomes New
(But Familiar) Leaders