SCARSDALE SYNAGOGUE APPOINTS RABBI WENDY D. PEIN AS DIRECTOR OF CONGREGATIONAL LEARNING

N E W S for Immediate Release

SCARSDALE SYNAGOGUE APPOINTS RABBI WENDY D. PEIN

AS DIRECTOR OF CONGREGATIONAL LEARNING

SCARSDALE, NY, July 8, 2013 – Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El (SSTTE) appointed Rabbi Wendy D. Pein as its first Director of Congregational Learning, it was announced by Ellen Baken, president of this leading Westchester County Reform Jewish congregation.

In this newly created position, Rabbi Pein’s responsibilities will encompass both managerial and hands-on leadership of the synagogue’s religious school, and also work closely with Senior Rabbi Jeffrey C. Brown on programs designed to educate congregants of all ages on the Torah, and the rituals, history and traditions of Reform Judaism. As head of the synagogue’s religious school, Rabbi Pein succeeds Rebecca Schubert, who recently retired after 27 years.  

“We are fortunate to have someone of Rabbi Pein’s stature and background become part of our synagogue’s outstanding professional staff, and we are grateful to Debbie Finn and Ellen Miller-Wachtel, who chaired our search task force, for attracting her to our congregation,” said Ellen Baken, SSTTE’s president. “Her deep experience, along with her energetic and passionate approach to teaching, is focused on communicatingthe relevance of Jewish thought and practices, providing our community with a valuable perspective as we meet the challenges of life in the 21st century.”

In welcoming Rabbi Pein, Rabbi Brown said: “The overriding goal of our synagogue is to help ensure that our congregants, their children and our wider Jewish community are able to learn about and practice the customs, ideas and insights of our faith in ways that are exciting and enduring. Given her background and capabilities, I am confident Rabbi Pein will prove a great colleague for Cantor Becker and me, and to the rest of the synagogue’s professional staff. Working together, our team will be better able to fosterthe innovation and continuity necessary to teach our children well, and better engagetheir parents and other adults in our community.”

Responding, Rabbi Pein said: “I especially look forward to fulfilling the religious school’s mission of teaching our youth in a way that’s fun and engaging, as we strive to transmit the wisdom and values of Judaism through creative, more-modern teaching methods.”

Immediately prior to joining SSTTE’s professional staff, Rabbi Pein served as the Westchester coordinator and educator for Chai Mitzvah, a countywide initiative that re-engages Jews in synagogue and Jewish communal life. As a member of the Westchester Board of Rabbis, she also helped develop five “Introduction to Judaism” courses now offered throughout the area by rabbis from Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist congregations.

Rabbi Pein – who holds a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University and was ordained a rabbi by Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York –began her career in 1997 as an assistant rabbi at Temple Israel of New Rochelle. Following that, she became an instructor at the headquarters of the Union for Reform Judaism and simultaneously served as visiting rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in herhometown of Scottsdale, AZ. Then came five years as associate rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester in Rye, NY, before moving to Texas to become senior rabbi of Congregation Adat Chaverim, a 150-family synagogue in Plano. Married with two children, Rabbi Pein now lives in Harrison, NY.

About Scarsdale Synagogue

Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation committed to creating, with and for its 500 member families, a covenant community of shared lives and real relationships. Founded in 1961, the Synagogue was joined by the memberships of Tremont Temple of the Bronx in 1976 and Temple Emanu-El of Southern Westchester in 2008. For further information, please contact:

Gary Katz, Executive Director

Scarsdale Synagogue

Temples Tremont and Emanu-El

Tel: (914) 725-5175

Email: GaryKatz@sstte.org