About Us

Shalom u’vracha – hello and welcome!  Thank you for taking the time to read about Temple Beth Israel.  I’d like to share a bit about myself and my vision for TBI.

I believe the synagogue, our synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, is a bold countercultural response to the challenges of our day.  In fact, my rabbinate is shaped by the conviction that the kind of sacred, authentic community that we intentionally foster here is the Jewish response to the challenge of radical individualism.  Allow me to explain:

After having created the world, God declared,

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו. (Gen 2:18)

Lo tov heyot ha’adam levado.

It is not good for the human being to be alone.

This was true for the very first human being, and it holds true for us as well.  It’s no coincidence that a minyan, a group of ten Jewish adults, is required in order to utter our most important prayers, and to read from our holy Torah scroll.  We are social creatures.  We need to laugh and cry together.  Mourn and celebrate together.  Work and play together.  Struggle and grow together.  As Jews, we live best when we cycle through life and the Jewish calendar together.  Simply put, by design, we need to be part of a community.  We need to care for more than just ourselves and our own families, and we also need to be cared for by others.  Temple Beth Israel offers the framework for this kind of authentic community.  It is here that we live our Jewish lives.

As a third generation Reform Jew, I come from a long line of synagogue goers.  I grew up immersed in a sacred and vibrant synagogue community, and was deeply impacted by my time as a camper, counselor, unit head, and now faculty member at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute.  These experiences started me on a path toward the rabbinate.  After graduating from Indiana University, where I met my husband, Albert, I studied at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where I earned a master’s degree in Jewish Education along with rabbinic ordination.

After ordination, I had the blessing of serving as the Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at Congregation Shalom in Milwaukee.  It was in Milwaukee that I truly learned how to be a rabbi, and it was in Milwaukee that Albert and I became parents.  Though the Milwaukee Jewish community continues to hold a special place in the hearts of my family, I felt called home to Temple Beth Israel.  This is where Albert and I have chosen to plant our roots, and raise our family.  I feel so privileged to get to spend each day shaping the kind of community in which I am proud to raise my own children.

We are a community with a deep commitment to Torah and Israel.  Here we strike a thoughtful balance between tradition and innovation.  Temple Beth Israel is a community of Reform Jews, and their families, who take our commitments to both Judaism and Social Action seriously.  And, we are a community of diverse people that enjoy spending time together.

As the rabbi, here at Temple Beth Israel, I feel blessed to be able to walk with people on their journeys.  I am allowed a window into the most intimate moments: moments of mourning and celebration, moments of growth, moments of grappling and moments of spiritual insight. Moments of laughter and moments of tears, and moments where the laughter and tears flow one into the other.  What I love about this community is that I alone do not experience these moments; rather, everyone who is part of the Temple Beth Israel community is  invited to share in these moments of deep connection.

I’d love the chance to meet with you, so that I can learn more about you and your own journey.

For over two decades I have had the honor of sharing my educational vision with the Temple Beth Israel community. After graduating from the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion with a Master’s in Jewish education, I began my professional career in St. Louis, serving as the Director of the Commission on Reform Jewish Education. While in St. Louis, I met and married my husband, Rabbi Jim Sagarin.

With no family in the area, we made our way north to be closer to my Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) family. I became the Director of Education at North Shore Congregation Israel in 1988 where I remained until joining the staff at Temple Beth Israel in 1995.

In the course of my tenure at Temple Beth Israel, I have led the schools through accreditation through the Association of Reform Jewish Educators. This is something about which I am very proud.

Our schools are dynamic and creative. We offer programs for all ages and all learning abilities. Our professional faculty works closely with me as we grow and develop a vast array of learning opportunities.

The schools are only part of my responsibility at Temple Beth Israel. As Director of Congregational Learning I work to bring a robust and diverse array of Adult Learning opportunities to our dedicated community of learners. I work with our affiliates and other groups to provide meaningful and inspiring learning for all.

My goal is to bring Jewish learning for Jewish living to you and your family in ways that meet your needs and enhance the life of your family. We had the pleasure of raising our two children in the TBI community, a place where they were nurtured and supported and became adults in the eyes of the Jewish community. I would love to help your family experience the values, support, and learning our community has to offer. Please do not hesitate to call on me at anytime to share ideas and to get to know the educational program at our congregation in a deeper way.

I was delighted to assume the role of Cantor-In-Residence at Temple Beth Israel in 2022, joining Rabbi Marks and the TBI community as the congregation continued to explore its spiritual and musical identity.  I had recently concluded my tenure as Director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC), having previously served in cantorial positions with Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, IL, and Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion in Chicago’s western suburbs.

In addition to my work at HUC, I was a longtime faculty member of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program, an immersive experience in spiritual practice for rabbis and cantors in the field.  From 2001-2007 I served as president of the American Conference of Cantors, the Reform movement’s representative body for the cantorate.  I was also the founding conductor of Kol Zimrah, the Jewish Community Singers of Greater Chicago.  I have been active as a soloist and conductor in Jewish music programming in North America and abroad.

As TBI’s Cantor-In-Residence, I serve as an active member of our professional team, while enjoying a vibrant and creative collaboration with Rabbi Marks.  Together we seek to provide a joyful and inspirational approach to communal worship and within the broader environment of the congregation.

My responsibilities include helping to craft the liturgical and musical scaffolding for Shabbat, Festival, and High Holy Day observances.  I also enjoy teaching about the richness of Jewish music and text, while offering other learning and musical experiences for congregants.  I have worked closely with our beloved volunteer choir, Koleynu, our stellar High Holy Day choir, and our broader team of musical artists.

My wife Marsha and I have found TBI to be a warm and welcoming spiritual home and community.

I am excited to join the TBI family this year (2026–27/5787), as I begin to become part of the life of the congregation before stepping fully into my role as Director of Congregational Learning next year. I have served in diverse roles throughout my rabbinate which has given me a broad perspective on Jewish life and Jewish learning. My previous roles have helped me see that every family is unique and every learner has something to teach. 

In Pirkei Avot 2:5 we read:

וְלֹא הַבַּיְשָׁן לָמֵד, וְלֹא הַקַּפְּדָן מְלַמֵּד

A shy person cannot learn and an overly strict person cannot teach.

This quote informs my teaching of all learners – young and old, new and experienced. I strive to share the wisdom of our tradition and to see myself and every learner as an essential link in the chain of our tradition.

I began my career as the rabbi of Sinai Temple in Michigan City, Indiana where I served from 2004 -2017. I also served on the faculty of Rochelle Zell Jewish High School and later at the Chicago Jewish Day School. For two years, I served as the director of InterfaithFamily Chicago (now 18 doors) which seeks to ensure that Jewish life is inclusive and accessible to all families. For the past seven years, I have served as the Executive Vice President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and as Senior Jewish Educator at the Jewish United Fund. For the past five years, I have also been leading family high holy day services and youth Shabbat services at Beth Hillel B’nai Emunah.  

My love for Jewish learning was passed down to me by my beloved parents of blessed memory, my temple which felt like my second home, my rabbi of blessed memory and OSRUI where I spent many wonderful summers as a camper, counselor, unit head and faculty member.  

I graduated from Cornell University and spent my junior year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I worked as a legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for one year before returning to Jerusalem to start rabbinical school. I was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City in 2003. I also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York City.

I live in Evanston with my husband, Aaron, and my two teenage sons, Gavi and Alex. 

As the Director of Operations, I work with our professional staff and Temple lay leadership to coordinate the planning and activities of our community.  My work touches many areas of synagogue life; logistics, programming, membership and communications. I enjoy my interaction with our clergy team, staff and lay leaders to shape Temple programs and operations.

My education, training and previous work at a Chicago area Reform movement congregation has given me a strong foundation in education and a passion to connect people to the world around them. It is very rewarding to help create the “magic” at TBI.

At Temple Beth Israel, I feel fortunate to blend my skills in strategy, organization, and program development with my passion for Jewish life. What excites me most is helping to create spaces where people feel connected—to each other, to tradition and to something larger than themselves.

In reflecting on my years of service as Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel from 1987 to 2021, I am most proud of the ongoing core program which engaged and involved the congregants in active Jewish living.  I strive to provide a context and vocabulary of words and rituals, with which to express the deepest yearnings of our souls, cope with life’s challenges, rejoice in life’s gifts and, together, work to make the world a better place.

I had the honor of serving in leadership roles with numerous local and national organizations, both Jewish and multi-faith.  I have long been active on the faculty of the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, including most recently with Rabbi Marks.  During my years of service, I was a participant in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Leadership Initiative and served as co-chair of the Rabbinic Action Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Together with my wife Jody, we are the proud parents of three children and exceedingly proud grandparents of seven wonderful grandchildren.

Rabbi Ernst M. Lorge was born in Germany in 1916. At the urging of his parents and family friend Rabbi Leo Baeck, he traveled to America in 1936 to study at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He was ordained as a rabbi on June 6, 1942, and married Eudice Goldman on June 7, 1942. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and landed in Germany in 1944 as a Chaplain in the U.S. Army where he served American soldiers and worked with survivors upon liberating concentration camps.

Rabbi Lorge served in many transformative roles during his rabbinate. He came to TBI in 1947 and became Senior Rabbi in 1953. A hallmark of Rabbi Lorge’s rabbinate was moving the observance of all Jewish holidays to their Hebrew calendar date rather than the nearest weekend. He also held the first Bat Mitzvah ceremonies for girls and later for adults.

In addition to teaching at TBI, Rabbi Lorge taught at local colleges, including Illinois Benedictine College, throughout his life. He was a founder of Union Institute — now known as Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute — in 1952, and in the early ‘60s became President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

Driven by the racism he observed living in Tallahassee at his first rabbinic pulpit and the antisemitism he experienced as a child in Nazi Germany, Rabbi Lorge organized the first National Conference on Religion and Race in 1963. He later became the first president of the Chicago Conference on Religion and Race. On June 17, 1963, Rabbi Lorge met with President Kennedy in the White House to consult on civil rights and open housing. Rabbi Lorge joined with Martin Luther King, Jr. in several marches in the South, the March on Washington, and was an organizer of King’s rally at Soldier Field in 1964, where he delivered the opening prayer.

His life’s experiences in Germany and commitment to Jewish life instilled in him a love of Israel. Rabbi Lorge led TBI’s first trip to Israel in 1966 and a dozen congregational trips thereafter. Rabbi Lorge retired from TBI in 1984, returning for a year in 1986. He continued to serve TBI as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 1990.

Rabbi S. Felix Mendelsohn was born in Russia in 1889 and arrived in the United States in 1906.  He received his undergraduate education in Russia and in Newark, New Jersey.  He completed his studies at the University of Cincinnati in 1916 while attending classes at Hebrew Union College and was ordained in 1917.

In July 1919 he was elected as the first full time Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel which was the only Reform congregation on the north side of Chicago in Albany Park.  He served as Rabbi for 34 years during which the congregation grew, building its community hall in 1923 and its 4 story school building in 1928.  In 1921 he conducted TBI’s first congregational seder and in 1923 he conducted the first Bar Mitzvah at a Reform congregation in the Chicago area.

Rabbi Mendelsohn created Jewish Book Week in 1927 and wrote extensively regarding Jewish humor.  He was author of four books concerning Jewish humor including The Jew Laughs (1935), Let Laughter Ring (1941), Here’s A Good One (1947) and The Merry Heart (1951).

Rabbi Mendelsohn died in 1953 in California while on sabbatical.