Amy Schwartzman (She/Her)
Rabbi Schwartzman was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She received her Masters of Hebrew Literature in 1988, and ordination in 1990, from the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. Following ordination, she joined us as our Temple’s first Assistant Rabbi, and became our first Associate Rabbi. In June of 1998, following the retirement of Rabbi Berkowits, Rabbi Schwartzman was installed as Senior Rabbi of Rodef Shalom, giving Temple Rodef Shalom the distinction of being one of the largest congregations headed by a woman rabbi.
Rabbi Schwartzman is involved in the leadership of many Jewish organizations and has served on the executive board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and co-coordinated the Women’s Rabbinic Network of Reform Judaism. She has also worked with many community organizations including the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, many national and local housing organizations, and has been active in community AIDS projects.
Michael Shochet (He/Him)
Cantor Michael Shochet is one of the Senior Clergy at Temple Rodef Shalom, having joined the clergy staff in 1998. Cantor Shochet was Ordained as Cantor in 1994 from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, where he also received his Masters of Sacred Music degree. Following ordination, Cantor Shochet served as the first Cantor of Temple Sinai of New Orleans, before taking the position of Temple Rodef Shalom’s first Cantor. In 2008, Shochet was promoted to Senior Cantor. He oversees the musical, cultural and B’nai Mitzvah programs of the congregation and shares the pastoral duties with the other Rabbis and Cantors.
Cantor Shochet gained recognition in the Reform movement through his leadership positions with the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) and the Union for Reform Judaism. He has served on the board of trustees and as Vice President of the American Conference of Cantors and co-edited the current lifecycle manual for American Cantorate used in Reform congregations worldwide. Cantor Shochet also served for many years on the Reform movement’s Joint Commission on Synagogue Music and currently serves on numerous national and local committees of the ACC.
Cantor Shochet lives in McLean with his wife, Denise and has two adult sons, Jake and Zack, both musicians.
Jeffrey Saxe (He/Him)
Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York with a Wexner Graduate Fellowship, he joined the clergy team at Temple Rodef Shalom in 2007. In addition to his other rabbinical roles, Rabbi Saxe is deeply involved in social justice work that seeks to pursue Jewish values in our efforts at Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. An important part of Rabbi Saxe’s social justice work is centered on building interfaith relationships and acting together with others on local and wider issues. He currently serves on the Strategy Team for VOICE, an interfaith social justice group in Northern Virginia and as a member of the Clergy Council for the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions. He is also a rabbinic member of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism (CSA). In addition, Rabbi Saxe has served on national committees for the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) focused on immigration advocacy, Israel and writing the latest addition of the Rabbis’ Manual.
Rabbi Saxe is also passionate about bringing Jewish teachings into our everyday lives. He brought to TRS the introspective practice of Mussar, in which small groups study Jewish texts with the purpose of cultivating positive character traits such as humility, patience and gratitude. Also an ordained cantor, he plays guitar and writes musical settings of prayers in the Jewish service. He lives in Falls Church with his wife Jaimee and children Shoshana, Aaron and Jonah.
Alexandra Stein (She/Her)
Rabbi Stein grew up in D.C. as an active member of Temple Sinai. As a kid and teen, she was moved by her community’s dedication to social justice work and was left with the impression that a huge part of Judaism’s power is that it compels us to work for justice, healing, and love, both interpersonally and systemically.
As a college student at Yale, her connection to Judaism led her to become involved in Hillel and a non-hierarchical student group called Jews for Justice. It also was part of what led her to major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and to become involved in LGBTQ peer counseling.
Rabbi Stein’s experiences include a year as a participant in Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps and case associate on the counseling team of a therapeutic high school in Brooklyn, a year studying conflict resolution in Tel Aviv, and three years working with neurodiverse young adults transitioning to independent living in Rockville. She was ordained in May of 2022 at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.
Sydney Michaeli (She/Her)
Cantor Michaeli grew up in New York, where she found a deep love for music through singing and playing the cello. She attended college at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut, where she earned a Bachelor of Music with honors, graduating summa cum laude with a major in vocal performance and a minor in music history.
Before beginning cantorial school, Cantor Michaeli served as the cantorial soloist at West End Temple in Rockaway Park, and the Membership Associate at Temple Emanu-El in New York City. During her time as student, Cantor Michaeli served for two years as the Student Cantor at Temple Shaaray Tefila, and two years as the Cantorial Intern at Park Avenue Synagogue, both on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. While in school, Cantor Michaeli was a JDC Weitzman Fellow for Global Jewish Leadership and a UJA Federation Graduate Fellow. She has led multiple Birthright trips and participated in the iCenter’s Birthright Israel Fellowship. Cantor Michaeli was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2023 upon completing her thesis and recital about the intersection of baroque oratorio and Jewish music.
Cantor Michaeli loves being involved with many aspects of the Temple Rodef Shalom community. She conducts Kol Machar, our teen choir and works with our adult choir, Koleinu. She also works with the Youth Committee and Music and Performing Arts Committee. Cantor Michaeli is an proud member of the American Conference of Cantors.
Sydney and her husband, Noah, live in Arlington, where they love taking long walks, going to concerts, and searching for the spiciest food in their neighborhood.
Carly Levin Santalone (She/Her)
Laszlo Berkowits z”l
Born in Derecske, Hungary in 1928, Laszlo was raised in a small, traditional Jewish community. When he was just 16, he and his family and community were taken by the Nazis to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. After being interned in several concentration camps, Laszlo was liberated in 1945. Following the war, he went to Sweden as a refugee and attended a wonderful and welcoming school. There he recovered from the war, made friends, and regained a sense of purpose and joy. Eventually, Laszlo, often called Larry, came to America where he started a new life as a student in New York. He joined the United States Army and, while serving in Hawaii, a Jewish chaplain, impressed by his beautiful voice and his rich knowledge of Judaism, encouraged him to become a rabbi.
Rabbi Berkowits was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1963 and took his first and only pulpit here in Falls Church at Temple Rodef Shalom. He oversaw the physical and spiritual growth of our community and took immense pride in the role our congregation has played in the lives of its members, in the Northern Virginia community, and, even nationally, in our Reform Movement.
For many years, before we had an ordained cantor, Rabbi Berkowits was both cantor and rabbi. With his rich voice and his extensive knowledge of our tradition, he inspired, supported, taught, and guided us. He worked outside the Temple walls to bring greater social justice and tolerance to all of Northern Virginia. He shared his story of survival with many non-Jewish congregations and schools to deepen our larger community’s commitment to humanitarian responsibilities.
