Meet the Staff
Rabbi Eliezer Finkelstein
Rabbi Eliezer Finkelstein has been the Rabbi of Bais Abraham since August of 2024. Before that, he was the Assistant Rabbi at MMAE in Baltimore, MD. Rabbi Finkelstein received Semicha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2021, during which he was a Lefell Israel Fellow through AIPAC, as well as a JOIN For Justice Seminary Leadership Fellow. He has interned at Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah in Washington, D.C., The Heschel School in New York, and Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, Ill. He has also previously worked for the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in Riverdale, NY. He and his wife, Danya, have two sons, Yair and Ra'anan.
Get in touch with Rabbi Finkelstein.
Executive Director Ruth Schachter-Cohen
Ruth Schachter-Cohen joined Bais Abraham Congregation in 2015 as Director of Operations, and became Executive Director in September 2020. She has extensive experience as a Jewish educator and non-profit professional. Previous positions include Executive Director at Next Dor St. Louis, Jewish Student Life Coordinator at the University of Illinois-Chicago Hillel, and Jewish Studies and History teacher in various settings. Ruth has an academic background in Jewish Studies, History, and Jewish education. In her free time, Ruth enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, cooking, and is an avid Indiana Hoosiers and St. Louis Cardinals fan.
Associate Director Abby Goldberg
Abby Goldberg was born and raised in University City. She attended both Epstein Hebrew Academy and the Solomon Schechter Day School and graduated from John Burroughs. She went on to Yale University and studied and worked abroad. She lived in Boston for a few years teaching at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston before moving back to St. Louis to stay. Now back in University City, mom to two kids and a big dog, Abby looks forward to getting to know the Bais Abe community and helping people come together in celebration, study, and service.
Rabbi Hyim Shafner, Rabbi 2004-2017
Rabbi Shafner served as Bais Abraham's rabbi from 2004-2017. He has Smicha (rabbinical ordination), a Masters degree in Social Work (MSW), and an MA in Jewish philosophy, from Yeshiva University in New York City and a Certificate in Advanced Psychotherapy from the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. Before becoming Bais Abe's rabbi, Rabbi Shafner was the Campus Rabbi of the Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis for 8 years. Prior to this, he was the community Rabbi of Bombay, India, where he and his wife, Sara Winkelman, spent a year working with the Jews of India. They have three children, Benjamin, Yonah, and Hava.
View Rabbi Shafner’s profile by the Rabbinical Council of America
The Everything Jewish Wedding Book” – written by Rabbi Shafner
Morethodoxy Articles
The Dream of Exile: A Rereading of Honi the Circle-Drawer, Kerem: Creative Explorations in Jewdasim
Don't Give Up the Shul: Reorienting Our Synagogues
Learning from the Bene Israel of India, Conversations: The Journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
The Endangered Next Generation of Israeli-American Jews
Rabbi Abraham Magence zt”l
Rabbi Abraham Magence zt”l (1920-2003) was the Rabbi of Bais Abraham Congregation from 1975 until his death. He was legendary for his warmth, devotion to Yiddishkeit, and genuine love for all Jews regardless of affiliation.
Rabbi Magence was born in Poland, where his father and grandfather were rabbis. He studied with many of the luminaries of the pre-war yeshiva world of Eastern Europe. Rabbi Magence spent the war years as a fugitive from Nazi and Soviet persecution and most of his family was killed in the Holocaust. He came to St. Louis in 1950 and began a career as a mohel, teacher, and rabbi that touched literally thousands of lives.
Thu, January 23 2025
23 Tevet 5785
The Shmooze
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