Author: Jamie Marx

Cantor Patrice Kaplan served Temple Sholom from 1983 to 2011.  She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Temple University and received her cantorial certification from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. At Temple Sholom, she established and nurtured a rich musical life for our congregation.  She led an active choral program that included many presentations of music written for our choirs, most notably a complete Shabbat Evening service composed by our own Brian Lowdermilk. Cantor Kaplan was active in the local Cantor’s Council, which produced choral festivals and cantorial concerts, and she also served on the executive committee of the national Women Cantors’ Network.  Upon retirement, she and husband Jeff moved to St. Louis, where they currently spend their efforts on volunteer work for the Symphony (where daughter Andrea is the Associate Principal flute player).  Their older daughter Sarah lives in Berkeley, CA and works as an independent lawyer dedicated to sustainability.

In July 1999, Rabbi Mayer Selekman was named Rabbi Emeritus after serving our congregation for 28 years. Rabbi Mayer came to the pulpit of Temple Sholom in 1971. He completed his M.H.L. studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, then earned an M.A.H.L. and was ordained at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, where he also taught for several years. In 1992, he was granted a Doctor of Divinity degree. Since coming to the Philadelphia area, Rabbi Mayer has taught at Gratz College, Villanova University, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He served as president of Life Guidance Services, Inc., for five years and has also been president of both the Marple Newtown Caring Coalition and the Marple Newtown Clergy Association. Rabbi Mayer is known to all of us for his personal warmth as well as his spiritual leadership.

Jamie Marx is honored to serve as the cantor of Temple Sholom in Broomall. He is passionate about worship music in all its forms, utilizing pop and folk styles, art music, niggunim, choral settings, and chazanut in services. He finds great inspiration in a quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “Within the synagogue, music is not an end in itself but a means of religious experience.”

An aspiring composer and songwriter, Cantor Marx recently released In Pursuit, an album of Jewish hard rock available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. Prior to serving Temple Sholom, he was the cantor of Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, LA. He is happily married to Anna and is the proud father of Eliana and Isaac.

Cantor Marx received his Master’s in Sacred Music in May 2010 and his cantorial ordination in May 2011, both from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He earned a BA in Music from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 2003.

He is looking forward to engaging with members in all aspects of Jewish living including: worship services, through officiating at weddings, funerals, b’nai mitzvah ceremonies and baby namings, and teaching in the Religious School and Lifelong Learning program. Rabbi Rigler’s interests include social justice, youth work, teaching and Israel. He is passionate about making the synagogue warm, fun and inviting.

Rabbi Rigler was ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 2002. He served previously for seven years as the Associate Rabbi at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel of Elkins Park, PA.  He worked as an intern during Rabbinical school at Reform Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, NY and also at Rodeph Sholom in New York City.

He is an active member of the URJ Camp Harlam Board, where he serves on the faculty for two weeks each summer. He is involved at the Broad Street Ministry homeless shelter and in many social action projects throughout Philadelphia. He is also a graduate of the Synagogue Transformation and Renewal Program, a two-year leadership training course.

His wife, Rabbi Stacy Rigler, is the Religious School Director at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, PA. They have three children: Maya, Nathan, and Eli. Rabbi Rigler loves running and ran in the New York Marathon in November, 2009.

Rabbi Rigler looks forward to meeting all members of Temple Sholom in person.

Lori-An grew up in Massachusetts where she was very involved in Jewish life, from a close-knit, Jewishly active family, to USY and Jewish summer camps. She was always working with kids, babysitting, working as a camp counselor and teaching religious school. She decided to combine her love of Judaism and her enthusiasm for teaching children and graduated Douglass College, Rutgers University with a Bachelors’ Degree in Jewish studies and then went to Maryland where she obtained her Masters in Jewish Education from Baltimore Hebrew University. Through college she was involved with Hillel and Camp Ramah. After graduate school, she and her husband moved to the Philly area and have been here ever since. Lori-An has worked as a teacher and Director in synagogues throughout the Philly area where she has continued her direct and professional education. She believes in teaching children in a student-centered, relationship-driven environment where experiential and hands-on learning, combined with a strong Jewish component, is the core of the curriculum.

Lori-An and her husband Marc are avid readers and love going to the city to a show or eat at a nice restaurant. They live in Maple Glen with their son Aaron who attends Perelman Jewish Day School.

Lori Green has been involved in Jewish education for over 25 years, serving in Miami, FL; West Hartford, CT; and in the Philadelphia area. Entering her 12th year at Temple Sholom, Lori strives to foster in her students and their families a commitment to Jewish learning and doing.

From partnering with the Leo Baeck School in Israel to her involvement with the Auerbach CAJE (Central Agency for Jewish Education),  and active membership in NATE (National Association of Temple Educators), Lori continues to bring creative and innovative ideas to engage Temple families in prayer, tikkun olam, love of Torah and commitment to Israel.

As your Executive Director, I am thrilled to be a part of Temple Sholom.  It is quite apparent that our community is vibrant, warm, welcoming and down to earth.  What a wonderful place to experience our Judaism together.

Jewish communal service is my passion, and I have a particular love for Temples and Synagogues.  I am proud of my background and all that I have accomplished, including my teacher’s certificate for Hebrew School Teaching from The Gratz College Hebrew High School Program.  I am a summa cum laude, phi beta kappa graduate of Brandeis University with a Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies.  Upon graduating from college, I spent 3 years as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania as a William Penn Fellow focusing on Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature.  Biblical studies continues to be one of the fields I deeply enjoy.  After 3 years of intense studying, I made a decision, that although I love books and academic learning, my desire to work with people on a regular basis was what was most important to me.  I earned my M.S.W. at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and right away began my professional work with synagogues. 

I am an avid reader, teacher/tutor for b’nei mitzvah and prayer/Hebrew students, enjoy cooking, exercising and love being the Mom of my 3 children:  Ari, Gabby & Josh.

It is my pleasure to help us run a welcoming and efficient Temple Sholom community.  Please let me know what we can do for you to help you learn more about Temple Sholom and to become involved in a way that is meaningful to you.