Sinai Staff
Get to know us
Rabbi Andrew Vogel - Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Andrew Vogel has served Temple Sinai as our rabbi since 2004.
Rabbi Vogel was ordained as a rabbi from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1998. He has served as the chair of the Boston Area Reform Rabbis (BARR), a member of the board of trustees of Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh, a member of CJP’s Commission on Jewish Life and Learning, and is co-chair of the rabbinic cabinet for Boston’s J Street chapter. He is also an active member of the Brookline Clergy Association.
Before coming to Temple Sinai, Rabbi Vogel also served Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta, GA, and then as associate rabbi at Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, MA. Rabbi Vogel earned a B.A. from Brandeis University, and studied at other institutions of higher learning, including The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. During his student years, Rabbi Vogel was the Family Educator at Central Synagogue in Manhattan and student rabbi at Temple Israel in Laconia, New Hampshire, and held a rabbinic internship at the Center for Leadership and Learning (CLAL).
Contact Rabbi Vogel by phone 617-277-5888, ext. 2 or by email
Rabbi Talia Stein - Associate Rabbi
Rabbi Talia Stein joined Temple Sinai in July 2019 as our student rabbi and transitioned to Assistant Rabbi in July 2020, after her ordination from Hebrew College Rabbinical School. Now Associate Rabbi, her primary responsibilities focus on building and deepening engagement with current and potential members, supporting and guiding the work of Tzedek@Sinai, community organizing, and our social justice efforts at large, and participating in the leadership of Shabbat and holiday prayer and rituals.
After completing her Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Rabbi Stein worked as a community organizer in Chicago. She then served as the Director of Jewish Student Life at the University of Washington in Seattle, and led their highly successful work in building engagement among not only students but faculty and professionals in the Seattle area. As a rabbinic student, she continued to expand and deepen her social justice capabilities, completing fellowships with T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, both domestically and in Israel. Before joining us at Temple Sinai, she supported the development of a new social justice lay team at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham.
Contact Rabbi Stein by phone at 617-277-5888, ext. 6 or by email.
Jen Zak - Director of Education
Jen Zak is the Director of Education at Sinai Brookline. She is a graduate of the Executive Master’s Program in Jewish Educational Leadership at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She also earned her JD with pro bono distinction. Jen is currently on a Mahloket Matters Fellowship through the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, exploring the importance of being able to engage constructively in disagreements. Jen is also a fellow at the iCenter, pursing a Master’s concentration in Israel education. During the summer, Jen served as a faculty member at URJ’s 6 Points Creative Arts Academy and continued her Hebrew studies at Harvard University.
In her free time, Jen is happiest spending time with friends and family, and she enjoys music (she plays flute and piano). She loves Judaism and the way it inspires her to be a lifelong learner.
Contact Jen by phone at 617-277-5883, or by email.
Becca Sendor-Israel - Executive Director
Becca Sendor-Israel is Sinai Brookline’s Executive Director. She joined us after several years as a public service attorney, working at the U.S. Department of Justice, the S.E.C., and the U.S. Courts, where her work has been recognized with multiple federal agency awards. Becca has also served in a variety of lay leadership positions in the Greater Boston Jewish Community. She is a Shabbat and High Holiday service leader at the Washington Square Minyan and a community representative on the Jewish Community Relations Council, and was previously a Board member of Mayyim Hayyim.
Becca received a BA in psychology from Columbia University, where she was President of Columbia/Barnard Hillel, and a JD from NYU Law School. Becca is currently a member of the inaugural cohort of the Beit Midrash for a New North American Rabbinate at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Contact Becca by phone at 617-277-5888, or by email.
Rabbi Emeritus Frank M. Waldorf started at Temple Sinai in 1974, teaching Torah in synagogue services, in adult education, and in the religious school. He was ordained on the Cincinnati Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1964. For four years he was an Army Chaplain including three years in Frankfurt, Germany. He came to Temple Sinai, looking for a smaller congregation where he could really get to know the congregants on an individual basis; and it would be very hard to find one member or even the occasional visitor to the synagogue who could honestly say that Rabbi Waldorf didn’t make the effort to get to know them. Rabbi Waldorf retired in 2004, but he is still engaged in the Sinai community as Rabbi Emeritus.
Contact Rabbi Waldorf by email.
Paul Kelly is the Temple’s Administrative Assistant. He provides support for Rabbi Vogel, the Board, and Temple members.
Contact Paul Kelly in the Temple office by phone at 617-277-5888, ext 3, or by email.
Mario Calderon has served Temple Sinai as Custodian for more than 35 years.
Ron Luce, our weekend custodian, joined Temple Sinai’s staff in 2009.