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RABBI

DR. VICTOR A. MIRELMAN Dr. Victor A. Mirelman has been rabbi of West Suburban Temple Har Zion since 1990. From 1975-1989 he was the spiritual leader of Congregation B'nai Israel in Milburn, New Jersey, at which time he was also Visiting Professor of History at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. During 1970-74 he lectured at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, concentrating his courses in the modern and contemporary history of the Jewish people. A native of Argentina, Dr. Mirelman received an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Buenos Aires.

He was ordained as rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary and received his doctorate from Columbia University.

He is an authority on Latin American Jewry, an area to which he devoted his doctoral dissertation and numerous articles in scholarly publications. Rabbi Mirelman also has a special interest, both personal and academic, in Sephardic Jewry. His most recent book, Jewish Buenos Aires, 1890 - 1930, was published by Wayne State University Press.

In 1991 he was appointed Professor of Jewish History at Spertus College in Chicago. In 2005 he was elected President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

The Rabbi can be reached by calling the synagogue office at 708-366-9000 or by e-mail at rabbi@wsthz.org.

CANTOR

CANTOR FIGA Cantor Stewart Figa has served at West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest Illinois since 1998 and has been a Cantor in the Chicago area since 1990. As member of the New Budapest Orpheum Society, a Chicago based musical troupe dedicated to reviving European Jewish music from the first half of the 20th century, he has sung at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. and at the Neue Gallerie in New York City.

In the 1980’s Mr. Figa performed for several seasons in Yiddish Theatre productions in New York City, having had the privilege of working with some of the legendary greats of the Yiddish stage. A recognized singer of the Yiddish repertoire, he appeared in a guest role singing on the CBS-TV Golden Globe Award-winning program Brooklyn Bridge, and has given concerts locally at the Harold Washington Library, the Spertus Institute, the Arts Club of Chicago, Anshe Emet, K.A.M. Isaiah Israel, North Shore Congregation Israel, and has appeared as a soloist with the Halevi Choral Society. He has received Degrees from Northwestern University and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.

The cantor can be reached by calling the synagogue office at 708-366-9000 or by e-mail at cantor@wsthz.org.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CAROL SERBER Carol joined our administrative staff in June of 2005. Carol graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Communications. Her previous positions include temple administrator, director of human resource, commercial and television production work, office management, and Alzheimer’s patient caregiver.

You might say that temple work is in her genes: her father is a retired rabbi, cantor and teacher and her mother, a retired rebbetzin who recently relocated to Chicago from Waterloo, Iowa.

The executive director can be reached by calling the synagogue office at 708-366-9000 or by e-mail at cserber@wsthz.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2008

Officers:

Board Members:

SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

ALICIA GEJMAN Ms. Gejman was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She made aliya in 1977 and lived in Israel for almost 10 years Ms. Gejman has been the principal at West Suburban Temple Har Zion since 1998. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and Psychology from Bar-Ilan University, a Master's degree in School Psychology from Hebrew University and Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from George Washington University.

The menahelet can be reached by calling the synagogue office at 708-366-9000 or by e-mail at principal@wsthz.org.

OFFICE STAFF