Staff

Hazzan Diana Brewer was ordained through the ALEPH Ordination Program, where she now assists the Cantorial Program and student affairs. She is on the faculty of the Davennen’ Leadership Training Institute (DLTI) and serves as hazzan at the Jewish Community of Amherst in Massachusetts, leading Shabbat, weekday, and High Holy Day services. Also finding joy in teaching, she tutors individuals in voice and hazzanut, and works with B’nei Mitzvah students. She came to hazzanut from an active professional life in Early Music performance as a singer and string player. She earned her Master of Music at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.

photo courtesy of MileChai Studios

Rabbi Zelig Golden is the Executive Director of Wilderness Torah. He received rabbinic ordination from ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, supported by the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, and was previously ordained Maggid by Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi z”l. Rabbi Zelig holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union. He previously worked as an environmental lawyer protecting food and farms and has long guided groups into the wilderness. Zelig livesin Occidental, CA, with his wife, Rachel, and his kids, Emma and Ilana.

Rabbi Darren Kleinberg, Ph.D., is Dean of the ALEPH Ordination Program. (In June 2022, he succeeded founding dean, Rabbi Marcia Prager, who retired in January 2022.)  

Prior to becoming AOP Dean, Rabbi Kleinberg served for three years (2019-2022) as Visiting Scholar/Senior Researcher with the Concentration in Education and Jewish Studies at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, where his research focused on pedagogies of spiritual transmission.

Rabbi Kleinberg has also served as Head of School at Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto, CA (2013-2020) and was the Founding Executive Director of Valley Beit Midrash in Phoenix, AZ (2007-2013).  

Rabbi Kleinberg holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, received Orthodox rabbinic ordination, and is the author of Hybrid Judaism: Irving Greenberg, Encounter, and the Changing Nature of American Jewish Identity (2016).  

Rabbi Natan Margalit was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received rabbinic ordination at The Jerusalem Seminary in 1990 and a Ph.D. in Talmud from U.C. Berkeley in 2001. He has taught at Bard College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. Rabbi Natan is Founder of Organic Torah, a non-profit which fosters holistic thinking about Judaism, environment and society. Natan is a member of the Va’ad (steering committee and core faculty) of the ALEPH Ordination Program. He lives in Newton, MA, with his wife, Ilana, and their two sons.

Rabbi Marcia Prager, MFA, MHL, D.Min.h.c., is the founding Dean of the ALEPH Ordination Program. She serves as Director of the AOP Rabbinic Program where she also teaches Jewish spiritual practice and the Jewish Lifecycle Training sequence of courses and practica. She co-directs and teaches in the prize-winning Davvenen’ Leadership Training Institute, and serves as rabbi of the P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Congregation of Philadelphia, PA. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and also received personal smicha from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l. She is the author of The Path of Blessing, a contemporary hasidic text exploring the Jewish practice of blessing, published by Bell Tower and later by Jewish Lights, and has created the P’nai Or Siddurim for Shabbat and other innovative compilations of prayer and liturgy. In 2010, she was selected by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of the Top Fifty American Female Rabbis.

Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael is an “unorthodox” visionary rabbi. As Director of Spiritual Arts at ALEPH, Reb Rayzel curates special programs to enhance community and shine a light on Jewish creativity. She has a private practice for lifecycle events in the Philadelphia area. Previously, has served four congregations and currently is the spiritual leader for Darkaynu. Geela Rayzel is a singer/songwriter/liturgist (with 6CDS to her name); and author of two children’s books: Angels for Dreamtime & New Moon. Rabbi Rayzel offers musical Shabbat services, concerts, and leads Jewish spiritual travel adventures. For more information on all her many projects, including the forthcoming Shechinah Oracle deck, see her website www.Shechinah.com

Jake (Ya’akov) Sapon is fascinated by how we can build a Judaism that is both deeply rooted in Jewish wisdom and relevant to the most pressing issues of our own time. In particular, he is interested in how ancient Jewish texts can illuminate problems like climate change and environmental degradation: how Jewish wisdom can shift our contemporary paradigm from independence and isolation to interdependence and connection. Studying music, mindfulness, and religious studies at Brown University, Jake’s professional background is in experiential education, holistic wellness, communication, and community building. Born and based in Philadelphia, PA, Jake loves soulful davenen, exploring nature, and meeting new cats.