Rabbi Ben Greenberg
Rabbi Ben Greenberg is a nationally recognized rabbinic voice throughout the Jewish and broader community. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Rabbis Without Borders fellowship from CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership and of the rabbinic fellowship at The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, a former Vice President of the Chaplains of Harvard University, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and of the Executive Committee of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council. He completed a 500-hour chaplaincy rotation at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Medical Center in New York and received certification in hospital chaplaincy from The HealthCare Chaplaincy. Rabbi Greenberg served as the Orthodox Jewish Chaplain of Harvard University, Rabbi of Harvard Hillel and Co-Director of the Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Harvard prior to assuming the position of Senior Rabbi of The Denver Synagogue.
Rabbi Greenberg is at the forefront of inter-denominational, interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue. He has partaken in dialogue throughout the world, from Hartford to Aix-en-Provence, and has written about the theological underpinnings of engagement with the “other” from a traditional Jewish perspective. Rabbi Greenberg’s passion both in his writing and in his work is to maximize the inclusion of all members of the Jewish community in Jewish life and discovering the tools and approaches necessary to make that possible. He is the author of two books, Covenantal Promise and Destiny: Wisdom for Life (Lulu, 2010) and Twitter Torah: Thoughts on the Hebrew Bible in 140 Characters or Less (Lulu, 2009) and writes regularly for MyJewishLearning.com, Patheos and The Huffington Post. Rabbi Greenberg has also written several articles for the journals of religious thought, First Things and Conversations.
Rabbi Greenberg completed his undergraduate degree in psychology at The Lander College for Men in Flushing, New York. He was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in New York City and completed graduate coursework in Medieval Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree with a focus in non-profit leadership. Rabbi Greenberg is married to Dr. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg and together they have a son who is a proud student at The Denver Synagogue Preschool.
Rabbi Greenberg can be contacted at 303-388-4203 x5811, by email at rabbi@thedenversynagogue.org or on Twitter or Facebook.
Cantor Joel Lichterman
Cantor Joel Israel Lichterman has served in the Cantorate for over 30 years. At age 5, Joel was studying piano, and by age 16 recognized as a national award winning pianist, accompanist, musical arranger, conductor and trumpeter. He furthered his education at the University of Cape Town, UNISA (University of South Africa) and the Royal Schools of Music (London). He pursued intenstive cantorial studies with his father, Chazan Jakub Lichterman z”l.
He helped establish the Milnerton Hebrew Congregation becoming their first part-time cantor. He developed The Cape Town Jewish Choral Society into an impressive 60-voice adult choir, and implemented various multicultural and interdenominational outreach programs. Cantor Lichterman has held prestigious cantorial positions, with The Green & Sea Point Hebrew Congregation, South Africa’s largest synagogue, and Tikvat Israel, the Great Synagogue, South Africa’s landmark congregation. A strong believer of the Jewish day school system he actively served on the United Herzlia School Board.
On relocating to Denver in 1995, Cantor Joel quickly integrated into the community. He is both a contemporary and traditional chazzan whose engaging personality invites and inspires all to participate in synagogue prayer and life. He is dedicated to cultivating and enriching a diverse, participatory, spiritual and learning community. His name is synonymous with Denver’s Jewish life and culture.
Cantor Joel co-officiates with the congregational Rabbis in all life-cycle events, sharing with them the diverse pastoral duties of an active congregation.
Cantor Joel is a bar and bat mitzvah coach ‘par excellence’ and remains friend and mentor to many of his students through adulthood. Among his many achievements, are the establishment of the BMH-BJ male choir, which continues growing in proficiency and numbers, and the Kidz Korus, which performs on High Holidays and selected festivals, introducing children to the beauty of prayer and music.
Cantor Lichterman’s beautiful lyrical tenor voice has inspired and entertained audiences in South Africa, England and the United States, often with his brother Cantor Ivor Lichterman.
In 2005 he was honorerd by BMH-BJ Congregation with a gala event for his ten years of outstanding service to the community and in 2008 was invited to sing the U.S. National Anthem at the annual AIPAC Conference in Washington, D.C.