Leadership
Rabbi Debra Orenstein
Rabbi Debra Orenstein has served CBI since 2010. Named "One of America's Most Inspiring Rabbis" by The Jewish Forward, she is a frequent guest speaker to people of all backgrounds across North America. She also teaches rabbis and rabbinical students and is the author or editor of 8 books and many articles. Rabbi Debra is a seventh-generation rabbi and an alumna of the first rabbinical class at The Jewish Theological Seminary to include women. She engages congregants on a personal level: hearing their stories, teaching all ages, and accompanying members through lifecycle events – and life. She is committed to her own growth, along with that of her community. In 2016, she earned a Certificate in Positive Psychology. The study of happiness, purpose, mindfulness, and human flourishing has informed her pastoral care and her teaching of Torah. A leader in interfaith and rabbinic organizations, she co-founded The Passover Project to help end human trafficking. After the tragic, accidental Israeli airstrike that killed 7 aid workers, she launched Rabbis For World Central Kitchen and raised over $72,000 in six weeks. Previously, Rabbi Orenstein was an instructor at the American Jewish University, a senior fellow of the Wilstein Institute for Jewish Policy Studies, and rabbi of Makom Ohr Shalom, a synagogue dedicated to traditions of Jewish meditation and spirituality. For 15 years, she worked closely with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of Jewish Renewal. Debra is blessed with a wonderful family, including her husband, Craig Weisz, and their (now college-aged!) children, Emmett and Hannah.
Cantor Lenny Mandel
When Cantor Lenny Mandel joined Congregation B'nai Israel as Hazan (Cantor) for The High Holidays in 1996, he brought not only his rich and engaging voice, but also his strong sense of spirituality, kindness, warmth and joy. Cantor Mandel studied at Yeshiva University's Cantorial School, The Belz School of Jewish Music, and with various renowned Cantors. Cantor Lenny, who was ordained as a rabbi in 2010, leads CBI in prayer as our full time Cantor. Before he became a Cantor and Rabbi, Lenny Mandel was a professional actor, singer, radio host, and director (He also had a few other careers). A member of both actors’ unions, he has played the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof numerous times in venues around the country.​ Having performed all over the world, Cantor Lenny uses his theatrical talents in writing and directing our musical Purim Shpiel, the Hebrew School graduating class play, Yom HaShoah presentations in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and musical scripts for CBI events. The congregation regularly enjoys our Casual Erev Shabbat programs, for which he adapts the Friday night prayer service by setting traditional liturgy to the melodies of Broadway shows such as Fiddler on the Roof and Les Miz, or popular groups likes The Beatles, and Peter, Paul & Mary to name just a few. Cantor Lenny grew up in Brooklyn, where he attended the Yeshivah of Flatbush until going to Stuyvesant High School. He was part of Oheb Shalom congregation in South Orange, New Jersey and has visited Jewish communities around the world. Cantor Lenny also volunteers and was sworn in by the Livingston, New Jersey Police Department where he serves as a police chaplain, by the New Jersey Department of Corrections where he serves as a chaplain for their officers and civilian staff, and as a chaplain at The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.