• Rabbi Rose

• Cantor Emeritus Weinberger

• Education Director

• Administrator

Born in Jerusalem, in 1971 to a rabbinical family, Kliel grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. In 1995 he received a BA in Judaic studies from Gratz College, in Philadelphia. In 2004 he received Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the academic center of the Conservative movement, where he also received a Masters of Hebrew Letters. During his time as a rabbinical student, Kliel worked as a rabbinic intern in four different synagogues in the greater Metropolitan New York area. For two years Kliel served as a student-rabbi in a fledgling community in London, England.

In 2003, during his last year of rabbinical school, Kliel was awarded the Rabbi Marshal T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellowship, at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun. For two years Kliel interned at this outstanding synagogue, which serves 4000 members. There he was exposed to an amazing and vibrant community lead by three of America's leading Rabbis.

In 2005, Kliel assumed his first solo pulpit as Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach, where he helped to re-invigorate a struggling community by helping to facilitate a growth in membership by thirty-five percent in just three years.

Kliel is very excited about becoming the new Rabbi at West End Synagogue. He feels that it is a perfect place for him to continue his work as a Rabbi/Educator and Pastoral counselor.

Kliel is married to Doris Kosmin and they are the proud parents of four beautiful children: Toviel, Kolya, Aziza and Yedidya Kosmin-Rose.

A graduate of Yeshiva University with a BA in Psychology and an AA in Jewish Studies, Stanley Weinberger spent his junior year at Bar IlanUniversity in Israel. He earned his Cantorial Degree in 1973 from the Cantorial Institute of Yeshiva University and a Commission by the Cantors Assembly in 1982. Cantor Weinberger has served as Music Director of three congregations, first at Congregation Agudath Sholom, Stamford, CT, 1972-79; then at West End Synagogue in Nashville, 1979-82; followed by Congregation Beth Israel, Worcester, MA, 1982-89. In each of these congregations, the Cantor also served as Bar/Bat Mitzvah instructor. He returned to West End Synagogue as Cantor after eight years as the owner of a printing business in Worcester.

Miriam Halachmi, our Education Director, is a native Israeli. She graduated from David Yellin Teacher's College, Hebrew University and SUNY Buffalo. Her degrees are in Teaching, Counseling and Psychology.

In Israel Mrs. Halachmi taught and later was a counselor. In the United States, she was an exchange teacher in a Hebrew high school and also taught in day schools, including Akiva. Since 1980, Miriam has spent many hours of dedicated work as Education Director of West End Synagogue.

Besides working for us, she also teaches Hebrew at Vanderbilt University.

Marcia Stewart has attended West End Synagogue since childhood. Her grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents and parents were members also, giving her a long family history with our congregation. Marcia attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She comes to us with a variety of experience, such as owning a clothing store, dispatching soy bean shipments nationwide, managing a textile mill, directing projects for a Òthink tankÓ and working in the field of developmental disabilities. Many members will know her from her jobs as Business Manager of the Gordon Jewish Community Center for many years, and Executive Director here at West End in 2005-2006 . She is currently serving as Treasurer of the WES Board. Marcia is married to Lee, who serves on our High Holiday sub-committee, and mother to Caleb, a Nathan Davis award winner currently serving as crew leader in the Montana Conservation Corps, stationed in the Bob Marshal National Wilderness Area.