Staff

Rabbi Jonathan Infeld was born in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in Near Eastern Judaic Studies in 1995. After graduating and before beginning rabbinical school, Rabbi Infeld spent a year studying in Jerusalem at Pardes Institute. Rabbi Infeld was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in 2002. His first position was as the Assistant Rabbi of the Marlboro Jewish Centre in New Jersey. In 2006 Rabbi Infeld moved to Vancouver with his family to become Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel. Rabbi Infeld is married to Lissa Weinberger. They have three children Avishai,Yair and Naomi. They are all delighted to be part of the Beth Israel family and feel especially grateful for the community that surrounds them.

Rabbi Infeld serves as one of three co-chairs of the National Canadian Rabbinic Caucus. He is the President of the Rabbinic Assembly Pacific North West Region and is the Rabbinic representative to the board of the Vancouver Jewish Family Service Agency.

Email: rabbiinfeld@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 107

Rabbi Adam Stein grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area attending a Conservative synagogue, to which his parents still belong. He was an undergraduate at University of California, San Diego, and received his BA in Judaic Studies with minors in Theatre and Philosophy. During his college years, he spent one year studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and then spent another year in Jerusalem following graduation, at the Pardes Institute. Rabbi Stein worked for Hillel at a Los Angeles area University for a year before finally(!) deciding to go to rabbinical school. He was ordained from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles in 2009, where he also earned a masters degree in education.

After ordination, Rabbi Stein and his wife Tamar moved to Kansas City, where he was Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom. They then went to Melbourne, Australia, where for five years, he was Rabbi of the only Masorti (Conservative) synagogue in the Melbourne area, and one of two in Australia. Rabbi Stein and Tamar, along with two cute boys, Eli and Gabriel, both born in Australia, returned to North America in Summer, 2016, when he happily joined the staff of Beth Israel. He has long had passions for theatre, photography,and technology, especially Mac computers. In addition to email, please feel free to contact Rabbi Stein on Facebook or twitter, both @adamrabbi.

Email: rabbistein@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 108

Debby has been the Ba’alat Tefillah/ service leader, at Beth Israel since 2005. She grew up in Winnipeg and Jerusalem, and has felt at home in shul from a very young age. Debby was an active member of Noar Masorti, the Israeli equivalent of USY. After completing her army service, she moved to Vancouver and studied Music at Capilano College. Debby then studied cooking and ran a catering company in the Vancouver area, teaching and catering b’nei mitzvah around the city.

Debby has studied with a variety of teachers including Rabbi Miles Cohen, and in 2011, studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Debby’s responsibilities at Beth Israel include teaching and preparing bar and bat mitzvah students and their families, leading services, chanting biblical and sacred texts on Shabbat and holidays and teaching cantillation skills to the congregation.

Email: debby@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 104

Esther grew up in Mumbai, India. She received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai before making Aliyah to Israel with her older sister. During her 8 years in Israel Esther primarily worked in the hi-tech industry in the marketing field while successfully completing her Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). Esther moved to Vancouver in October 2006 where she worked as BI’s Office Manager before moving on to work at a private multi-national mining supply company handling their marketing and branding.

Esther returned to Beth Israel in 2015 as the Executive Assistant (Development & Communications) before moving into her current position as Executive Director. Esther has been a familiar face at Beth Israel since 2006. Esther is married to Richard who along with her two young children Ari & Eliana ensure she gets her 10,000 steps daily on her Fitbit.

Email: esther@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 110

Jacci obtained a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Cape Town. Jacci joined Seeff Properties, one of South Africa’s oldest established and largest real estate organizations. She was promoted throughout the organization over a ten-year tenure, eventually becoming a Director of Property Management. After moving to Canada in 2000, she continued to work in the Real Estate industry in Vancouver for the Diamond Family in the Property Company, Austeville Properties Ltd for an additional eight years.

Jacci has always taken a strong interest in giving back to communities with her extensive charity work.

Jacci brings with her over 15 years of experience in fundraising and event management. She has successfully chaired and worked on committees for special events and fundraising initiatives in Vancouver such as the inaugural gala for King David High School in 2020 raising over $400,000. Jacci was in charge of design for the Hebrew Free Loan Association’s annual gala and VTT’s movie night out. Jacci has been a member of the fundraising committee for Vancouver General Hospital/UBC Hospital. Most recently, Jacci chaired, organized, and implemented the inaugural gala for the BC Epilepsy Society raising close to one million.

Email: jacci@bethisrael.ca

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Yvonne Miller, CPA, CGA, is an accountant with experience in the corporate and educational sectors. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and of Simon Fraser University with a B.B.A. in Accounting.

Yvonne enjoys travelling with her husband Bruce and going for walks with their two very cute dogs, Otto and Benji.

Email: yvonne@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 105

Rabbi David Bluman is a native of Vancouver, BC. As a child he attended the Beth Israel Hebrew School, was active in USY, and regularly attended Shabbat services at Beth Israel. He graduated with a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of British Columbia. During his undergraduate studies he traveled to Israel to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he met his wife, Olga. After university, Rabbi Bluman studied at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem and in May 2009 he received Rabbinic Ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA. He began his rabbinate at Kadima Day School in West Hills, CA, where he served as the School Rabbi and taught grades 5 – 8. Rabbi Bluman has experience working in a variety of educational settings including Los Angeles Hebrew High School, Adat Ari El Religious School, and Camp Solomon Schechter in Olympia, WA. In his leisure time he enjoys spending time with his friends and family, playing with his daughters, Shoshana and Ruth, watching movies, and playing Monopoly.

Rabbi Bluman joined the Beth Israel staff in 2013, as the Director of Youth Engagement. He is in charge of family programming (Facebook group: Young Families of Beth Israel), Hebrew School, USY, Chai School, T&T, and the young adults program. If you have any questions about any of these programs or would just like to chat please contact Rabbi Bluman via email, call him at the office (ext. 103) or friend him on Facebook, @RabbiDavid Bluman.

Email: rabbidavidbluman@bethisrael.ca 
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 103

Diane Friedman has been an active volunteer in the Jewish community and a longtime member of Beth Israel. Living in Vancouver with her husband and son, a graduate of King David High School, she has made a profound impact in our Jewish Community. Diane served on the Board of the Hebrew Free Loan Association, where she was the Board President for 9 years and was also a past President of Jewish Family Services. Diane has a Commerce Degree from the UBC Sauder School of Business with a major in Urban Land Economics.

Email: diane@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 109

Susanne has been Beth Israel’s welcoming committee since 2008. Susanne’s is the first voice you hear when you call the office. Susanne was born and raised in Saskatoon where her family was very involved in Congregation Agudas Israel (Conservative) Synagogue. She first came to Vancouver in 1988 to attend University. She went home to work in Saskatoon after graduating intending to return to Vancouver in two or three years. Back in Saskatoon she took up the family tradition as a board member and lay leader at her shul.

In 2006 Susanne moved back to Vancouver along with her parents whom she shares with her two sisters, her brother and various nieces and nephew.

Email: susanne@bethisrael.ca
Phone: (604) 731-4161 x 100