Rabbi Graubart
rabbi@congregationbethel.org

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Rabbi Graubart comes from a long family history of rabbis. He is a third generation Conservative Rabbi, and both his brother and uncle are rabbis.
Rabbi for Congregation B'nai Israel in Northampton for ten years, leading that congregation from 150 to over 420 member families.

• Vice President of Education & Programming at National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA in 2002.
  
• Published author, editor, book reviewer, and award-winning columnist
  
• Assistant Rabbi at the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, NY
  
• Rabbinic intern at B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan
  
• Graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1988
  
• Received his MA in Rabbinic Literature from the University of Judaism in 1985.
  

"Rabbi Graubart is an excellent choice for the pulpit of Congregation Beth El. He is committed to Judaism and to Torah scholarship and is heir to the talent and experience of his late father and grandfather, both rabbis, with whom I was well-acquainted", says Rabbi Hillel E. Silverman, Beth El’s former Visiting Rabbi.

Rabbi Libman
rabbiavi@congregationbethel.org

Warmly welcomed by Congregation Beth El, Rabbi Avi Libman joined the synagogue in 2004.

The son of a pulpit rabbi, Libman always knew he would one day follow in his father's footsteps, because he saw firsthand the influence a dedicated spiritual leader can have on people's lives.

Upon graduation from college he sojourned into the world of business, realizing that his ultimate goal was, indeed, the world of the rabbinate. "I reiterated my earlier hopes until the period when I would be ready to follow my dream", he said recently. "I always knew I'd come back to it, but I wanted to reach that point when I was completely ready to accept the challenge".

Accepting "the challenge" meant that Libman had set priorities for himself as a Rabbi, among which is his desire to combat Jewish illiteracy. "I want to unlock the beauty of our tradition and make it accessible to everyone," he said. "I want to see myself as a key".

Having been a student at the Ziegler Rabbinical School at the University of Judaism, the future Rabbi Libman gives full credit to his learning period for inspiration to enter the area of synagogue leadership as Associate Rabbi to Senior Rabbi, Philip Graubart and to give the congregants the benefits of such knowledge. Interning at Congregation Ner Tamid in Palos Verdes and serving in the U.S. Navy Chaplaincy Corps has enhanced his rabbinical career.

Among some of his duties at Beth El: teaching, developing adult education programs, spiritual counseling, working with teenagers, developing services for the ill and bereaved, and leading worship services.