Leadership

Rabbi Jonathan Glass

Rabbi Jonathan Wilson Glass was born in Boston and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut. He graduated from Columbia College and then attended the Torah Ohr yeshiva in Jerusalem, which is headed by the famous Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg. Three years later, he returned to the U.S. to attend the Mirrer Yeshiva in Flatbush, from which he was ordained. He chose Mirrer because of its heavy European influence and because he was related to the late Rabbi Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz, its head. Since 1989, he has served as Rabbi at the Synagogue for the Arts (formerly the Civic Center Synagogue), where he established the Hebrew school and adult education programs. He has given invocations for the City Council of the City of New York and has been Rabbi for the Jewish Lawyers' Guild. He and his wife Minky have five children.

"My firm belief is that traditional Judaism can be a vehicle for anyone's Jewish expression. It's just that special care must be taken to allow people to get comfortable in this setting and proceed at their own pace. It is this belief that has guided my development of the Synagogue to become a nexus of Jewish observance ranging from the ultra-liberal, artistic avant-garde of Tribeca and Soho to the ultra-Orthodox of Flatbush-Boro Park. I know both worlds so...I can construct bridges between them. So far, the Almighty has granted me success in providing a home for all comers; may God continue to assist my efforts." — Rabbi Jonathan Glass

Gail F. Nalven

Gail F. Nalven, Education Director

A New York native, Gail F. Nalven had a 17 year career in scientific publishing prior to entering Jewish education. She spent a year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem at Mount Scopus and received a Masters of Jewish Education from the Davidson School of Jewish Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary. In addition, Ms. Nalven has spent several years studying at the Drisha Institute, has attended the Bibliodrama Director's Intensive Workshop, and is a regular attendee at the Hava NaShira Songleader's Workshop. Recently, she took a yearlong program in Clinical Pastoral Education.

Ms. Nalven has taught in various synagogue settings across the denominations. She was the education director of Temple Beth Sholom in New City, NY and Temple Beth Torah in Nyack. She joined SFTA in 2004 and currently resides in Greenwich Village.

Etan Butler, President

Etan Butler is an entrepreneur (nurtured at the Yeshiva University’s Sy Symms School of Business) who is an active investor and partner in several businesses, including real estate acquisitions and management, financial brokerage and the precious metal industries.

He and his wife, Stephanie Pastor (a film actor) live in SoHo and have a five year old daughter (Zahava Shalom) and twin baby boys (Gal Zohar and Lev Zion). They are vegans with a serious interest in spiritual development, mysticism and yoga, and they were the creators of the Synagogue’s Shabbat Yoga program.

Etan has served as Treasurer of the Synagogue for the past four years and as President looks forward to serving the membership, creatively enhancing our platform and offering our spiritual haven to the community.

Toby Turkel, Executive Vice-President

Toby recently retired from a career at the New York City Board of Education and is still defining her retirement self. She feels privileged to be active in shaping programming for the synagogue and creating a vision for its future.

Toby has been an educator for 30 years, working as a teacher, guidance counselor, program developer with a focus on at-risk teens and young adults. She has a doctorate in education.

She has a tremendous appreciation for the arts and is a self-described "dilettante" visual artist, working in watercolors, pen and ink, oils and most recently collages. Toby was on the Art Advisory, a select committee of the City Council charged with creating recommendations that will support a 24/7 cultural milieu downtown after 9/11. She is the Chair of TribecArts, the Synagogue's secular arts arm, and in that role, works with other community arts organizations. She has organized concerts and other events for the Synagogue.

Perry Parker, Treasurer

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