Clergy and Professional Staff
Clergy
Rabbi Aderet Drucker
Rabbi Drucker is so excited to be the rabbi of this warm, dynamic and engaging congregation. Prior to coming to Congregation B’nai Shalom, Rabbi Drucker received her rabbinic ordination in May 2012 from The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, receiving a Masters in Hebrew Letters and a concentration in Pastoral Care. She holds a BS in Biological Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles and is thrilled to be back home in California.
During her time in rabbinical school, Rabbi Drucker was awarded the prestigious Gladstein Fellowship in Entrepreneurial Rabbinics where she served as the rabbinic intern-in-residence at Temple Israel Center of White Plains, New York under the mentorship of Rabbi Gordon Tucker and also served as the rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Tallahassee, Florida. Rabbi Drucker completed a 400-hour unit in hospital chaplaincy at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan. She served as a Rabbinic Intern to Rabbi Mauricio Balter and his Masorti community in northern Israel. She has also completed training in community organizing and is a firm believer in the importance of strengthening relationships within the Jewish community as well as interfaith relationships.
Rabbi Drucker is married to Brett who holds an M.A. in Public Art Studies: Art/Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in Jewish Art and Visual Culture from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Drucker and Brett are both Los Angeles natives, and are excited to be back in California and part of the B’nai Shalom family.
Rabbi Drucker looks forward to meeting you soon.
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The j weekly recently publshed an article about three new rabbis in the Bay Area, including our own Rabbi Drucker. The article can be accessed here.
Hazzan Marc Dinkin
Hazzan Marc Dinkin has been a part of B’nai Shalom since 1991.
Hazzan Dinkin is responsible for synagogue liturgical activities, including preparation of our B’nai Mitzvah candidates , and is the director of our adult volunteer choir.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended the College of Jewish Studies. Hazzan Dinkin received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Indiana University in Bloomington and a graduate degree in Sacred Music from the Cantor’s Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York. Prior to joining B’nai Shalom, Hazzan Dinkin served congregations in Arizona and Oregon. In 2009, he was honored by JTS with an honorary Doctorate of Music.
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Rabbi Emeritus Gordon Freeman
Rabbi Emeritus Gordon Freeman was the driving force behind the synagogue’s foundation and the vigorous spirit leading to the growth of B’nai Shalom from 1968 until his retirement in 2006. Born in San Francisco, he received his rabbinical training at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was ordained in 1966.
Rabbi Freeman’s education, studies and interests have taken him from the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his Ph.D. in Political Science with an emphasis in Jewish political thought, to New York and Israel. His early service as an Air Force Chaplain included tours of duty in Mississippi and in Ankara, Turkey.
In addition, he is an author, an active community leader, and an accomplished calligraphic artist whose works have been on gallery display and now hang in our Social Hall. Susan and Gordon have four children and nine grandchildren.
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Professional Staff
Rabbi Jennifer Flam
Rabbi Jennifer Flam has been our Director of Congregational Learning since 2008. She has a passion for empowering individuals in their own Jewish journeys. She works with the B’nai Shalom community to create diverse, meaningful Jewish learning opportunities for entire families. Rabbi Jen was ordained from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University from which she also received an M.A. in Rabbinic Studies and Jewish Education. Rabbi Flam earned a B.A. in European History from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Rabbi Flam’s studies have carried her to Israel, Hebrew University, the Conservative Yeshiva, and Hebrew Union College. She held the honor of Senior Educator’s Fellowship through the Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora. Rabbi Jen has extensive organizational, educational and traditional clergy experience, including serving as a summer camp director, program director, conference coordinator, educational administrator, and teacher.
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