Congregation Sha'arey Ha'Yam

Rabbi Kim Geringer calls herself “a product of the Reform Movement through and through.”  She grew up at Temple Beth El in Chappaqua, New York, and as a teenager was active in NFTY (National Federation of Temple Youth), her local temple youth group and the Reform Movement’s camp system as well.   She received her undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and a Master’s degree in clinical social work from Boston College.  She then worked in the mental health field in a variety of capacities, primarily as a psychotherapist, but then later also as a supervisor of graduate students, staff trainer, and director of agency clinical services.  After a decade or so, a combination of factors led her to apply to rabbinical school: active lay involvement at her then home congregation, Temple Sinai in Summit, NJ, participation in a variety of Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) adult study programs, and an increasing desire to move Judaism from the periphery of her life to the center. Accepted to the Reform Movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), she took her children (then 12 and 8) with her when she spent her first year of rabbinical study in Jerusalem. She was ordained in1999.  Following ordination she simultaneously served as rabbi at Temple Har Shalom in Warren, NJ and Assistant Director of the URJ’s Department of Worship, Music and Religious Living. At the URJ, Rabbi Geringer was involved in developing all of the Reform Movement’s worship transformation initiatives, consulted and spoke at Reform congregations around North America, and authored or co-authored many publications about worship and personal religious observance. Currently, she is also an adjunct faculty member at HUC-JIR. Rabbi Geringer lives in Short Hills with her husband, Colin Dunn. They are the parents of two children, Rachel and Adam.

Philip Altland has a Bachelor’s of Music from Westminster Choir College in organ performance and a Master’s of Arts from Hunter College in Ethnomusicology.  He has been involved in temple music most of his life. Philip was the organist of Temple Beth Ohr in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York for more than 20 years.

Philip has been directing the music at Congregation Sha’arey Ha Yam for the past three years.  Along with Rabbi Geringer, he makes every effort to provide easily sing-able and spiritually uplifting music at the Shabbat services each week. For the High Holidays of 2009, the addition of a clarinet soloist proved to be a truly amazing addition to the High Holiday worship and definitely made the services especially beautiful and meaningful.  We anticipate that our clarinetist will be back with us for the 2010 High Holidays.  The Klezmer music which is played during the Hakafot (when the Torah is carried through the congregation) is especially wonderful and added a very special new element to the services.  As the congregation continues to grow, we anticipate participation by other musicians in the congregation and possibly a small choral group to help lead the singing.
 
New York City is Philip’s hometown.  On weekends he can be found at his residence in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island.

 ”Our newly formed choir, the Sha’arey Hayam Singers, debuted at Rosh Hashanah services for 2011.  Stan Jackson also returned with his amazing talent on the clarinet and the shofar.  Both the choir and Stan will be performing periodically at Shabbat and holiday services throughout the year.”