Prior to joining Temple Sinai, Jeff was the Executive Director at Temple B’nai Or in Morristown and he also served as the Executive Director at Temple Beth Or in Washington Township. He held successive leadership positions at Temple Beth Or, including serving as Temple President from 2006 to 2008, during a period of significant growth and evolution.

Jeff is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies and earned his MBA at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Jeff and his wife Joan reside in Woodcliff Lake.

Sara Pomeranc Kaplan, Director of Education

Central to Sara Kaplan’s decision to become a Jewish educator is her love of children, Judaism, and Israel. Having grown up in Israel as the child of Holocaust survivors, she believes the future of the Jewish people can only be assured through education. This drive brought her to extensive study in Education, Jewish History, Hebrew Literature, and Archeology. Sara graduated from the Baltimore Hebrew University and The University of Maryland.

With a deep concern for the children and families at Temple Sinai, Sara works diligently to integrate them into temple life. In addition, Sara has played a role in the continuing evolution of our congregation, and its revitalized Sisterhood, Adult Education and Torah study as well as the expansion of our school to involve high school students through 12th grade and the establishment of our youth group.

Sara is involved in several professional organizations, boards and committees on local and national levels. With her husband, Robert, Sara resides in Closter.

Risa Tannenbaum, Early Childhood Director

With Jewish education always at the center of her professional life, Risa’s first Early Childhood teaching experience was at the Temple Sinai Early Childhood Center (ECC) in 1988. Since then, she has continued her professional development at the JCC on the Palisades with successive responsibilities as a teacher, Program Supervisor and Assistant Director of Early Childhood. Since 1996, Risa has led the Temple Sinai Early Childhood Center as its Director.

Risa holds a Master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education.  She is a member of The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and The Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). In addition, she mentors educators to obtain their Child Development Associates degree (CDA). Risa resides in Teaneck with her husband Richard.

Rabbi Harvey Rosenfeld,  Adjunct Rabbi

Rabbi Harvey Rosenfeld began his part-time rabbinic service to Temple Sinai in July 2011, when Congregation Beth Am (Teaneck) merged with Temple Sinai. Before serving as the congregational rabbi for Congregation Beth Am in Teaneck, NJ, Rabbi Rosenfeld served the Hillel Foundation in Columbia, MO, Congregation B’nai Abraham in Hagerstown, MD, and Temple Beth El in Hollywood, FL. He has also served as a psychiatric social worker at Bergen Regional Medical Center and at other social work venues in New Jersey.  Rabbi Rosenfeld received rabbinic ordination at HUC-JIR in New York City and has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Yeshiva University.  

Rabbi Rosenfeld grew up in Cresskill, NJ.  He is married to Barbara (neé Hann) and they have two grown children, Daniel and Michael.  Barbara is on the faculty in the School of Education at Brooklyn College; Daniel is a “scenic” working on movie/TV sets in NYC, and Michael is a rabbi serving the Surbiton- Kingston Synagogue in London, England.

Jonah Zinn, Rabbinic Intern

Jonah is a fourth year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and the Rabbinic Intern at Temple Sinai of Bergen County. After completing his undergraduate studies in political science at The George Washington University, Jonah spent five years working with Jewish college students. Jonah first served as a Chapter Consultant and Director of Jewish Programming for Alpha Epsilon Pi, the national Jewish fraternity. He then spent 4 years at University of Virginia Hillel as Director of Jewish Student Life and then Assistant Director. During that time, Jonah received the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award, Hillel's highest professional honor. He is originally from Worcester, Massachusetts.