Nan moved to Boca Raton in 1992. She was a founding member of Beth Tikvah and served as membership VP for 4 years and then became President. She has continued her service with CSK on the Board of Trustees and was the Treasurer for 2020-2022. Nan is a former special education teacher and pre-school teacher. She currently owns First Impressions Realty as its broker.
Nan grew up in Philadelphia. She has two children – Ilene and Steven and a step-daughter, Miriam, who lives in Massachusetts. Nan has 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson.
Lori Rabinowitz calls Florida her home since relocating from New York City in 2002. Initially Lori lived in Boca Raton for 14 years and then relocated to Tampa for 8 years. She’s excited to be back in Palm Beach County as she says “where I belong”. Professionally, Lori has spearheaded marketing departments in professional services organizations predominantly in law firms. She has also been active in the communities in which she lived. She served on the executive board at her synagogue in Tampa and is happy to share that experience at CSK. Lori is passionate about wine and became a Certified Sommelier in 2009. She often presents at wine tastings for associations and charitable events. When she’s drinking wine at home, it’s usually with her beloved dog, Luigi, by her side.
Ralph has been a member of CSK since 2014. Ralph’s wife Michelle is a Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist at West Boca Medical Center and in private practice. Michelle and Ralph live in Boca Raton, and have one son Jacob, who is 11 and attends CSK’s Ruth and Lewis Davis Religious School. Ralph is the Administrative Branch Manager for the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller and has more than 25 years experience in government budgeting and finance operations. Ralph has been an active member of CSK’s investment committee.
Ariella moved with her family to Boynton Beach in 2011 and have been members at CSK since 2017. Ariella is married to Rabbi Eddie Bernstein, who is a chaplain with Boca Regional Hospital and VITAS. She and Eddie have three wonderful children – Sam, who is a student at University of Central Florida, Noam, who is a senior in high school and Esther, who celebrated her bat mitzvah at CSK in January of 2021. Ariella is an attorney and serves as Florida Legal Counsel for The Northern Trust Company. She has never shied away from any home project and enjoys renovations, woodworking and gardening. Ariella and her family have found their religious home at CSK.
Elisa was born and raised in the Detroit area and made Bloomfield Hills her home with her husband, Yale, an anesthesiologist in the Detroit area. They were snowbirds to Highland Beach since 1997, eventually moving to Delray Beach in 2021. When Yale passed away, Elisa became interested in finding a shul she could call “home”. Her previous affiliation was with Congregation B’nai Moshe in West Bloomfield, Michigan, but living in Florida made it hard to be an active member. She found CSK and immediately knew this was the place.
Elisa was a substitute teacher for the Bloomfield Hills School District for many years while she raised her three daughters, none of whom live in Florida. Her daughter, Alaina, is a physician, an ophthalmologist, in the Detroit area, her daughter Marla lives in Memphis, Tennessee and it self employed, and Julie is a 4th grade teacher in the suburbs of Detroit. She has six grandchildren ranging in age from 12-21. Elisa enjoys traveling to see them and visiting friends in other states.
Ann and her family have been members of CSK for many, many years. Originally from Long Island, New York, Ann has been in South Florida for many years. She is married to Albert and they have three wonderful children, Deena, Aaron, and Naomi. All three were lifers at Donna Klein Jewish Academy. Deena recently married and lives in Roswell, Georgia. Aaron is in his first year of medical school in Miami and Naomi is a junior at University of Florida studying biomedical engineering. Aaron and Naomi celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at CSK. Ann is an architect and works for PGAL in the Boca Raton office. She recently worked on the CSK renovation. Ann loves to cook and recently took up Challah baking.
Byrna became a member of CSK in 2015, when her synagogue in Cooper City experienced a merger, necessitating joining another synagogue where she and Larry would feel welcome and comfortable, enjoy praying, as well as creating the opportunity to make new friendships. They moved to Boynton Beach in 2021, making their religious home much closer. Byrna had been an active member of her prior synagogue, becoming Sisterhood President, Executive Vice President and the only female President.
Byrna and Larry share four children and five grandchildren, all of whom reside outside of Florida, in four different states. It is their greatest pleasure to visit with their family as often as possible, as well as to create family vacations twice a year. Byrna looks forward to becoming a CSK board member, continuing to donate her time and energies to our CSK family.
I grew up in the Baltimore-Washington area. After meeting my husband, Richard, we spent 3 years in Dallas, where our son Michael was born. In 1985, we relocated to South Florida, where our other 2 children, Drew and Alyson were born.
We have always been members and active in synagogue life, volunteering many hours at Temple Beth Am as our children were very involved in religious school and youth group.
We joined CSK in 2011, where we met many wonderful friends. Over time, I have become much more involved and look forward to serving on the CSK board. My interests outside of CSK, include travel, especially trips to Ohio and Texas to visit our 4 grandchildren. I’m very passionate about food, cooking, entertaining, and gardening.
Ron and his wife Margie originally met as teenagers at an orthodox camp, Camp Yavneh, in New Hampshire, along with Hebrew High School in Brookline Massachusetts. Ron and Margie reconnected in Washington DC many years later. At the time Ron was doing three years of training as a dentist in the United States Air Force at Andrews Air Force Base and Margie was an attorney doing contract law at GSA in DC. They moved to Florida in 1980 and started their life journey here. Soon after, Ron started his own dental practice as a general dentist in Boynton Beach and owned it for 35 years until he sold it at the end of 2017. Since then he has been working part time in Boca Raton in a couple of offices. Since 2018 he has worked in the office of Dr. Randy Goldfarb doing general dentistry part time.
Ron’s passion for the last 50 years is golf and he currently works/volunteers at Osprey Golf Course in West Boca. Margie and Ron have three children, Jon, Alyssa, and Robert. Unfortunately, at this time, all are living up north. They have four young granddaughters and one young grandson. Margie and Ron were part of a small group that started the origins of CSK in their home around 18 years ago. They’ve been active members since. Margie has run High Holy Day services for many years and has been instrumental in CSK having services at Spanish River High School since the theater there was built. This is Ron’s first time as a board member.
Ryan Oistacher serves on the Board of Trustees at Congregation Shaarei Kodesh, where he is committed to supporting the congregation’s mission of building a vibrant, inclusive, and spiritually rich Jewish community. Professionally, Ryan is a cybersecurity marketing executive with nearly two decades of experience helping organizations protect identities and sensitive data. He brings a strategic mindset, collaborative leadership style, and deep dedication to Jewish values. Ryan lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Jennifer, a nurse at Eagles Landing Middle School and a summer nurse at Camp Ramah Darom. Together, they are raising two children who are active participants in Jewish life. Their daughter Eliana is in 4th grade, attends the CSK religious school, and is a proud Nitzanim camper at Ramah Darom. Their son Jonah is in 1st grade and enjoys his summers as a Gan camper at Ramah. The Oistachers are proud to be part of the Shaarei Kodesh family.
Brandon and his wife Alexandra have been members of CSK for the last 3 years. They became members when they were searching for a Rabbi to marry them and Congregation to grow alongside their family. With Rabbi Baum and the Chaverim of CSK, Brandon and Alexandra found both and never looked back. Brandon holds a finance degree from Florida Atlantic University, law degree from the University of Miami, and advanced legal degree in taxation from the University of Florida.
Brandon is an attorney at the national law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP where he focuses on helping individuals with their estate planning, tax, and business planning needs. Alexandra is a nurse at the Renfrew Center helping women overcome and conquer eating disorders.
Brandon and Alexandra have always been involved in Jewish organizations. They believe it is their duty to “tikkun olam” and view the robust programming at CSK as the perfect way to give back. When they are not working or spending time with CSK, they can be found at FAU Owls sporting events!
Carol and Je Simon joined CSK in the summer of 2023, joining some of their neighbors in Valencia Cove. Carol has been active in the Conservative Movement since a young teen joining USY in West Palm Beach. Carol and Je have been involved in their synagogues both in Miami and Tampa, serving on the boards in both locations.
Carol began her journey with Sisterhood in Miami, as a sisterhood president and continued her involvement in Florida Region serving as Region president for two terms. Her involvement continued as she became involved on the International board of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, serving as Convention Chair and in 2014 was installed as International President. And what a journey it has been!
Harvey became a snowbird in Delray Beach, Florida in 2012 after retiring from a 37-year career in Human Resources Management. Harvey began “shul shopping” and became a member of Shaarei Kodesh in 2014 due its diversity and welcoming atmosphere. He is a regular at Shabbat and Yom Tov services, attends classes conducted by Rabbi Baum, and recently became the Shaarei Kodesh Men’s Club President. When he is not in Florida, Harvey resides in Alexandria, VA and is a 20-year member of Agudas Achim Congregation where he served as Men’s Club President from 2008 to 2012. Harvey also serves on the committee that coordinates their annual summer cookout, is one of two co-chairs of the Cemetery Committee, and is a member of their Chevra Kaddisha. In his spare time, Harvey enjoys the theater, music, traveling, being a fan of the Washington Nationals baseball team, and just hanging with friends.
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