From a Post Office Parlor to a Westchester Landmark
Temple Israel of New Rochelle has been a spiritual home for Jewish families in southern Westchester for more than a century. The congregation was founded in 1908 by a small group of relatively prosperous Jewish families, mostly of German origin, who had moved out from New York City to the New York City suburb of New Rochelle. They wanted a congregation that interpreted Jewish tradition, liturgy, and rituals in a way that they perceived to be more appropriate to modern times, distinct from the Eastern European Orthodox style of the city's only other synagogue, Anshe Sholom.
From the rented rooms of an old Post Office, the founders hired an Orthodox chazan as reader, established a Religious School, and organized a Ladies Aid Society. They soon purchased and renovated the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where they erected an Ark for the Torah Scroll. By 1912, Rabbi Richard M. Stern had become the congregation's first full-time resident rabbi. In 1923 the temple joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (today the Union for Reform Judaism). A building was begun on Webster Avenue in 1928 to house a growing membership, and the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood's predecessor groups, and the first Temple Topics bulletin all took shape during those interwar years.
In 1960 the cornerstone was laid for the congregation's current home on Pinebrook Boulevard, and Temple Israel has gathered for prayer, study, and celebration there ever since.
Worship on Shabbat and the High Holy Days
Worship is central to life at Temple Israel. Gathering to celebrate, lift the spirit, and pray together defines the community as Reform Jews. Shabbat is observed in two complementary rhythms: a warm Friday evening service and a full Saturday morning service.
Friday night services are intentionally diverse to welcome young and old, members and visitors, experienced worshippers and those who are still exploring. Once each month a Family Service features child-friendly but adult-appropriate music led by the Cantor and the youth choir, Kol Simcha (Voice of Joy). In place of a sermon, a member of the clergy tells a fun, message-filled story, and prayers are read from a special family service in the prayerbook.
On certain Friday evenings a Community Shabbat is held at 6:00 pm, a participatory service of under an hour that includes joyous music, a brief informal learning session, and a communal dinner following the service. The dinner brings together what the congregation calls the best elements of a family Shabbat dinner, with great food, a full open bar, and a cross-section of the entire community.
Saturday morning services begin at 9:00 am and include a Torah reading, a D'var Torah (explanative sermonette on the Torah reading), and additional life-cycle moments such as baby namings, b'nei mitzvah, and special blessings. When a B'nei Mitzvah is being celebrated, the service begins at 10:30 am. The Shabbat morning service is widely described as the highlight of the Jewish week, and as the place where the community most fully gathers.
The High Holy Days stretch from Selichot through Yom Kippur, with study sessions in preparation, Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah day services, the moving Kol Nidre evening, and Yom Kippur day worship. Separate daytime services are offered for adults, teens, families, and tots during both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, providing a wide variety of musical expressions, and the season closes with Tashlich, the symbolic casting off of sins.
Services are livestreamed, and a video gallery of recent Shabbat and High Holy Day sermons is maintained online.
Clergy, Music, and the Cantorial Tradition
The congregation is led by Rabbi Jesse Gallop and Cantor Rita Glassman, both of whom came on board together in July 2022. Rabbi Jesse grew up in the Minneapolis area, graduated from the University of Denver, and was ordained in 2008 at the New York campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He earned a Master of Business Administration from SUNY Oswego in 2022. Before joining Temple Israel he served as Rabbi at Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation in Ashburn, Virginia, and as Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Ahabah in Richmond, Virginia. He also founded Camp Pinebrook, building a summer home for over 200 children in Westchester County with what the congregation describes as the only Reform Jewish day-camp curriculum in the area. He currently serves as a board member of Hillels of Westchester and has sat on community boards addressing homelessness and poverty.
Rabbi Jesse's rabbinical calling, as he has described it, is to create a community using the tools of Jewish text and tradition. He and his wife have twin sons, Holden and Parker, and two playful cats.
Cantor Rita grew up in Mamaroneck, attended the Westchester Day School and Mamaroneck High School, and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She is a Board Certified Chaplain through the National Association of Professional Chaplains. A composer, she is a long-time member of the Helfman Composers Group in Los Angeles and has had music for both children and adults published in several Union for Reform Judaism anthologies. Her original composition "Song For Peace / Oseh Shalom" was performed at the White House for President and Michelle Obama at an interfaith holiday gathering in 2015. She has sung the National Anthem at a San Francisco Giants' game and at two Golden State Warriors' games on their Jewish Heritage Nights. Cantor Rita is the mother of a daughter, Rebecca Shira, who lives in Manhattan.
Rabbinic Intern Jacob H. Wright, a rising third-year student at Hebrew Union College, also serves the congregation. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Connecticut, has worked with the Sheva Center for Early Childhood Jewish Education and Innovation at JCC Association of North America, and is completing a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at NYU Langone.
The cantorial tradition is honored through Cantor Emerita Helene Shifrin Reps, known as the "Cantor's Cantor." She trained at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon), debuted as a soloist with William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony in the Mozart Requiem, and in 1979 became one of the world's first female cantors to graduate. She joined Temple Israel in 1980 as cantorial assistant and then as cantor and music director, and she served the community actively for 17 years. Her recordings, along with those of former Cantor Schloss, remain central to the congregation's musical life, including Mi Shebeirach, Oseh Shalom, Shiru Ladonai, Lo Yisa Goi, and a contemporary Mi Chamocha / Hashkiveinu.
Music is treated as central to the prayer experience. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's words frame the music program: "The wave of a song carries the soul to heights which utterable meanings can never reach." Cantor Rita's original composition "Turning / Hashiveinu" was selected for publication in a new Union for Reform Judaism High Holy Day music anthology.
Lifecycles: From Baby Namings to Funerals
Temple Israel walks with its members through every chapter of Jewish life. The clergy help families select Hebrew or Jewish names for newborns and perform brit milah, baby namings, and other ceremonies either at the synagogue or at home.
B'nei Mitzvah is treated as part of the continuum of Jewish life rather than an endpoint. Students are required to participate in Religious School for a minimum of three years, and the preparation couples study of Torah and chanting with clergy alongside a Mitzvah project. Following Bar or Bat Mitzvah, students continue their religious education through Confirmation in tenth grade, with a year focused on theology, social justice, and Reform Judaism, a class trip to the Religious Action Center in Washington, D.C., and a Confirmation service on Shavuot. A High School Graduation ceremony in twelfth grade honors those who continue through the end of high school, with the graduates creating and leading a Friday evening Shabbat service.
An Adult B'nei Mitzvah program guides adult Hebrew students through a two-year journey of study in Hebrew, Torah, ritual, and history. Each student chants Torah, gives a D'var Torah, and shares a story of the spiritual path that brought them to the milestone.
The clergy counsel couples from engagement through the breaking of the glass, with the sanctuary, featuring stunning stained glass windows, a high ceiling, and an intimate feel, available as a wedding venue, along with full onsite catering options and a wooded setting for photographs.
When a member dies, the clergy meet with the family, conduct the service at the synagogue, memorial chapel, or graveside, help at the burial, and join the family at the house of mourning. A Memorial Plaque program allows loved ones to be remembered with permanent signs in the synagogue, with plaques available in the lobby, on benches in the courtyard, and in the Raizen Chapel.
Learning from Infancy through Adulthood
Jewish learning at Temple Israel begins at six weeks of age. The Kehillah School for Early Learning, led by Director Giavonna Levene, M.Ed., and Assistant Director Margie Ostrove, serves children from six weeks through Kindergarten Prep. The school's curriculum is shaped by the belief that each child is created B'tzelem Elohim, in the divine image, and that early childhood is the foundation for a meaningful Jewish life.
The Religious School serves children in Kindergarten through twelfth grade under the direction of Rebecca Elkus-Ferst, MA, RJE, Director of Education: Youth and Families. Classes meet Tuesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm for Kindergarten through seventh grade, Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm for third through sixth grade, and Thursdays from 6:15 to 8:00 pm for eighth through twelfth grade. For New Rochelle public school families, afterschool busing is provided by the district's transportation office. Religious School is a member-only program.
Adult learning is treated as a lifelong priority. Every Shabbat morning, adults gather in the Temple library to study the weekly Torah portion with members of the clergy in a participatory, pluralistic setting. Hebrew classes, conversational Hebrew groups, guest scholars, and multi-session classes are offered throughout the year. The Edith H. Handelman Library, led by librarian Stephanie Krasner and funded by the Handelman family, keeps a current collection of fiction, non-fiction, and award-winning books on Judaic themes. Stephanie is in the library on Friday mornings from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and a book is highlighted each week.
Camp Pinebrook and the Youth Movement
Camp Pinebrook is Temple Israel's Reform Jewish day camp, founded by Rabbi Jesse and now under the direction of Allison (Allie) Horn, MA, a developmental psychologist whose career has been built around camping. Allie grew up on the Upper East Side of NYC, attended Hofstra University, received her Master's from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a longtime drummer, photographer, and camp director. She lives in Dobbs Ferry with her wife, Jess, and their children and three mini schnauzers.
Camp Pinebrook serves children from age three through tenth grade, including an Otterz program for the youngest campers and a CIT track for older teens. The camp is widely described as the only Reform Jewish day-camp curriculum in the Westchester area.
Beyond camp, the congregation operates one of the area's most successful youth programs. Club 23, Club 45, and Club 67 are Temple Israel's youth groups for second through third, fourth through fifth, and sixth through seventh grades respectively. TIFTY, the Temple Israel Federation of Temple Youth, gives high school students a self-managed experience with a teen board of representatives from each grade. Many students also participate in NFTY-NAR, the regional Reform youth group, which sponsors seasonal retreats and the biennial national NFTY convention.
Teen engagement after B'nei Mitzvah includes Limmud, a twice-monthly Thursday evening gathering for dinner and learning, with the year's focus on Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, and how values shape volunteer work. Teen travel has included trips to Washington, D.C., a Civil Rights journey to Alabama, and a visit to Amsterdam, with a Philadelphia Tikkun Olam trip planned for the current eighth through twelfth graders.
Older teens may serve as Madreecheem (7th-12th grade assistants in the Religious School) or Manheegeem (9th-12th grade teen facilitators), and many participate in BBYO. A Better Together intergenerational program brings seventh through twelfth graders together with older adults for art, music, text study, and memory-sharing, with community service credit for teens.
Sisterhood, Brotherhood, and the Neighborhood
Sisterhood brings together all generations of women within the congregation to serve the community. Programs include healthy breakfasts, museum tours, paint nights, temple-wide book readings, a talent show, and ongoing fundraising that supports youth group events, Israeli charities in honor of B'nei Mitzvah celebrants, Chanukah gifts, and scholarships for confirmands.
Brotherhood welcomes men of all ages and runs youth-oriented events like the Purim Carnival along with breakfasts and discussions, Bible & Bourbon, Brotherhood Schmooze & Booze, and a year-end "Hood" Shabbat dinner and service. The two groups partner throughout the year, including on game nights and social action efforts.
The Neighborhood is a community of young adults at TINR, largely centered around Kehillah, Camp Pinebrook, and Religious School parents, and is led by a volunteer president. The group helps bring the wider community closer together and introduces others to the many groups at Temple Israel.
Tikkun Olam and Social Action
The Social Action Committee (SAC) is the engine of the congregation's Tikkun Olam work, engaging the community through collections, sandwich brigades, the annual Community Mitzvah Day, and targeted fundraising events. Each B'nei Mitzvah student plans and carries out a Mitzvah project, and Kehillah families are active participants and organizers throughout the year.
Longstanding projects include Operation Gobble (Thanksgiving outreach), the Giving Tree (a holiday drive that benefits over 300 specific local children, two local soup kitchens, and The Sharing Shelf, with leaves available beginning mid-November and gifts due in early December), and ongoing partnerships with organizations serving low-income populations in Westchester. The committee also addresses statewide, national, and international issues ranging from reproductive healthcare and the environment to refugee resettlement.
Temple Israel Cares (TIC) provides physical and emotional support during times of joy and sorrow, including college care packages, shiva support, hospital visits by clergy, Yahrzeit assistance, gift baskets for births and bereavements, and welcome baskets for new members.
The Joan Sanders Transportation Fund enables congregants who do not drive to get to services and events. The ASL Interpreting Fund supports American Sign Language interpretation for High Holy Days services, Friday night Shabbat services, and social programs, with interpretation available on request for other events. An Inclusion Committee works to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all members regardless of race, ability, religion, ethnicity, or sexual self-identification.
Israel, the Sister Congregation, and a Trip to South America
Temple Israel of New Rochelle is an inclusive Zionist community that accommodates a diversity of views. The congregation's prayers call out to Zion, and the movement's platforms support the modern state. The congregation's published position affirms support for a pluralistic and democratic Israel, condemnation of terrorism and the targeting of civilians, universal human rights including for Palestinian civilians, advocacy for a Two-State Solution, and denunciation of campus protest actions that create unsafe or threatening environments while supporting the right to free speech. TINR supports Hillels of Westchester in its work with local Jewish college students and lists a roster of recommended charities, including UJA Federation of NY Israel Emergency Fund, American Friends of Magen David Adom, Doctors Without Borders, FIDF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Sheba Medical Center, Soroka Hospital, UNICEF, and United Hatzalah. A Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Israel Action Committee, and Social Action Committee initiative collects funds to provide challah to IDF soldiers and their families through small local bakeries in Israel.
The Israel Action Committee sponsors educational, social, and cultural programming with the goal of enhancing the congregation's relationship with Israel. Or Hadash in Haifa is Temple Israel's sister congregation.
The clergy and members travel together as well. A Trip to Israel in February 2025 was followed by a "Voices From Israel" evening at the temple, and Rabbi Jesse is leading a 15-night, 16-day South America trip in February 2027 through Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, including Montevideo, Punta del Este, Colonia del Sacramento, Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo, with services at progressive congregations along the way.
Joining and Giving
Temple Israel welcomes singles and families of many compositions, including interfaith, LGBT, seniors, and people with disabilities, and members come primarily from Eastchester, Greenburgh, Greenwich, Harrison, Hartsdale, Larchmont, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham, Rye, Scarsdale, White Plains, and Yonkers, with a number of second and third generation families among the membership. The congregation's mission is to add meaning and purpose to modern lives through an inclusive approach to Judaism, living Jewish values in worship, celebration, lifelong learning, and Tikkun Olam.
Membership brings access to a flexible dues model, free tickets to High Holy Day services, lifecycle support, Religious School and Kehillah School enrollment, and the many committees that run the life of the congregation, including Brotherhood, Sisterhood, the Inclusion Committee, the Israel Action Committee, the Library Committee, the Marketing Committee, the Membership Committee, the Music Committee, the Religious School and Youth Advisory Group, the Ritual Committee, the Social Action Committee, the House and Grounds Committee, the Kehillah School Advisory Group, the Camp Pinebrook Advisory Group, and Temple Israel Cares.
Giving is facilitated through a number of named funds, including the Temple Operating Fund, Brotherhood Fund, Sisterhood Fund, Camp Pinebrook Program Fund, Kehillah School Childhood Program Fund, Religious School Program Fund, Cantor's Discretionary Fund, Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, Music Fund, Prayer Book Fund, Hospitality Fund, Israel Action Committee Fund, Endowment Fund, Joan Sanders Transportation Fund, ASL Interpreting Fund, Social Action Fund, and Temple Israel Cares. Shabbat dinner sponsorships range from a $180 dessert or bar sponsor to a $6,000 Shabbat Angel sponsoring the entire year's series of Shabbat dinners.
Temple Israel of New Rochelle gathers on Pinebrook Boulevard, where a Reform Jewish congregation first laid its cornerstone in 1960, and where, more than a century after the founders met in that old Post Office, the community continues to pray, learn, and work for the repair of the world.