Rabbi Sara Zober grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, but spent her formative Jewish years in Lancaster County, PA. After graduating from Elizabethtown College with a degree in vocal performance and conducting, she converted to Judaism and was offered the position of Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Shaarai Shomayim in Lancaster. She served there for seven years before leaving for her studies at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. While in rabbinical school, she served both Reform and Conservative synagogues from the Dakotas to the Midwest, and participated in the Rabbis Without Borders’ student retreat and other interdenominational work. Her studies at HUC focused on the subjects of Jewish ethics and spirituality, and she received her Masters’ in Hebrew Letters in 2017. Her rabbinical thesis was entitled “Alei Shur: A Liberal Jewish Commentary on Selections from Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe’s Mussar Treatise,” and she prepared both the first English translation and commentary on that text. She was ordained in Cincinnati in 2018 and awarded the Ferdinand M. Isserman Prize for the greatest contribution towards community relations by the HUC-JIR faculty.
Rabbi Benjamin Zober grew up in Cleveland, Ohio learning to love winter, doomed sports franchises, and corned beef. After graduating from Brandeis University with a degree in European Cultural Studies and a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, he returned to Cleveland and earned his J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. During his years as a lawyer, he spent time as a public defender, representing death row inmates in capital appeals. Seeking a more proactive approach to helping his community, Rabbi Zober applied to rabbinical school. During his time at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, he served communities in Michigan, West Virginia, Florida, and Illinois. Committed to social justice, Rabbi Zober served as a Social Justice Fellow in Cincinnati and attended the Religious Action Center’s Consultation on Conscience. His rabbinical thesis, “A Light Unto the Nation: 3 Jewish-American Responses to the Holocaust” detailed largely unknown efforts to intervene on behalf of Jews during the Shoah. He was ordained in 2018 and was awarded the Cora Kahn Prize for the graduating senior whose sermon delivery and oratory are considered to be the best. In his spare time (or what remains with rabbinical duties and being a proud step-dad to three wonderful kids) he likes to read, run, and make pop-up books.
As a couple, the Rabbis Zober live and work together, make goals together, and care for each other when they fall short. This is what communities at their best do for all of their members. The Rabbis’ hope is to help Temple Sinai nurture a Jewish community in touch with its values, a truly holy community united in its mission and vision for the future.
Rabbi Emerita Myra Soifer served as Temple Sinai’s rabbi for 25 years (from August 1984 through June 2009). Prior to coming to Reno, Rabbi Soifer served as the Assistant Rabbi at Temple Sinai in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was ordained in 1978, by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rabbi Soifer’s activities at Temple Sinai in Reno included services of worship and life cycle, teaching, home and hospital visits, community lectures, and private counseling. She is the author of numerous published articles on a variety of Jewish topics.
Retired on June 30, 2009, Rabbi Soifer retains the title “Rabbi Emerita.” She has been granted life-time membership at our Temple.
Rabbi Soifer also came back to Sinai for nine months (September 2012 through June 2013) and provided full rabbinic services during our search for a permanent rabbi. She re-entered retirement on June 30, 2013.
Hi all! Myra Soifer here. Many of you know me as your (former) Rabbi. Others of you are friends and adopted family. Most of you are all that and more! This is my first blog ever!, as I prepare to head out to Rwanda (9/17) with the Peace Corps.
Tova McGilvray was “Battle Born” and raised in Reno, Nevada, and is a graduate of UNR’s writing program. Her mom and bonus-dad still live in Reno, and all three are members of a different Reno Jewish congregation. She has worked in Title and Escrow since 2013 and looks forward to a long career helping people make Reno their home. Tova trained most of her life as a dancer and thespian, and cut her teeth at leadership managing, and choreographing theatrical productions. Her experience co-founding the Nada Dada Art Show exposed her to the plight of the residents in Reno’s weekly motels and introduced her to community activism. While always identified as a Northern Nevada Jew, it was not until joining Temple Sinai that she found a home where she could practice community service from a proudly Jewish perspective. A Temple Sinai member since 2017, Tova is a past chair of the Temple Sinai Social Action Committee and has served on the Temple Board since 2017. She is also a Past President of the Rotary Club of Reno Midtown. Tova resides in Carson City with her supportive, affectionate, and not-at-all Jewish husband, Jeremme, and has two grown step-children, Destiny and Presh. Tova hopes to share her joy for Reno’s unique brand of Reform Judaism with everyone and is always game for singing and dancing.
Tova McGilvray (President) — Tova McGilvray was “Battle Born” and raised in Reno, Nevada, and is a graduate of UNR’s writing program. She has worked in Title and Escrow for seven years and looks forward to a long career helping people make Reno their home. She trained most of her life as a dancer and thespian, and cut her teeth at leadership managing, and choreographing productions. Her experience co-founding the Nada Dada Art Show exposed her to the plight of the residents in Reno’s weekly motels and introduced her to community activism. While always identified as a Nevada Jew, it was not until attending Temple Sinai only three years ago that she found a home where she could practice community service from a proudly Jewish perspective. Tova is also the president of the Rotary Club of Reno Midtown.
Michael E. Gorden (1st VP, Strategic Planning) — I grew up in Southern California for about 10 years and then moved to Reno in 1986. I grew up in a Reform Jewish Home. As a youth and an adult, I have always ensured to the best of my ability to belong to a Synagogue. I have been happily married (Don’t tell my wife) to my wife Jennifer for almost 15 years now and we have three rambunctious children – Nathaniel 16 years, Shalom 15 years (no he is not peaceful), and that red-headed child who everyone thinks is cute–boy… she has everyone fooled–Sasha 9 years. I am a Social Worker and have been working for the State of Nevada for about 15 years and currently am the manager of three District Offices for Medicaid. I also have been in the bowling business (my hobby) for nearly 30 years. Currently, I am a supervisor at Coconut Bowl and I am an Association Manager for the Greater Reno-Sparks Bowling Association. My family and I have been members since 2014. I attended services as a teenager and into adulthood, for as long as I have been in the Reno area. I served on the Board for three years as a Member-at-Large and have served for the past several years as the Chair of the Building/Grounds and Security Committee. My family and I are always involved with events and holidays and try our best to volunteer time and labor to help out. We are very dedicated to Temple Sinai. I was very honored to serve as President of our greater Sinai Community and will be honored to serve as 1st Vice-President. I feel that I bring a positive, analytical, methodological, and Social Work perspective to growing and engaging our community in leading Temple Sinai.
Steve Weidman (2nd VP, Membership) — Since 2014, I have been an active and committed member of Temple Sinai, contributing to various committees, including the Social Action, Jewish Practice, and Library Committees. In previous years, I had the privilege of serving as a member-at-large and Secretary on the Temple’s Board of Trustees, positions I held with deep respect and dedication.
Upon retiring from a fulfilling fifty-year tenure in the printing industry, I embarked on a journey of service with the Nevada Historical Society Museum as a volunteer docent. I specialize in digitizing and cataloging historical photographs, researching their context, and capturing and cataloging artifacts. As the museum’s statistician, I also have the honor of sitting on the Docent Council Board.
In addition to my commitments at the museum and temple, I serve on Washoe County Sheriff Balaam’s Task Force. This is another avenue through which I strive to contribute positively to my community.
My partner Petra and I deeply love Reno and the Western United States, a region we’ve come to appreciate for its diverse environments and cultures since Petra emigrated from Germany in 1990. Together, we took part in a profoundly rewarding experience, volunteering with a group from Temple Sinai to help a Syrian refugee family settle into their new life here a few years ago.
Maintaining a robust Jewish community in Northern Nevada and the nation at large is of immense importance to me. I firmly believe that when our community thrives, we are in a stronger position to uplift other communities, promoting overall societal betterment.
Marilyn Roberts (CFO) — Marilyn and her husband Ken have lived in the Reno/Sparks area for over 16 years after moving from Brea, CA where they lived for 30 years. They have two grown children still living in Orange County. Keith is a lead software engineer and Jennifer is a CPA with Ernst and Young. Marilyn has a BA in Math and an MBA in Operations Research and Accounting from UCLA. She ‘retired’ from a yogurt manufacturer doing purchasing, inventory management, and plant accounting. She has served on several synagogue boards and was the Administrator/Financial VP at Adat Ari for 11 years, and Religious Practices VP at Temple Beth Tikvah for eight years, both in Orange County. She was the Chair of the Temple Sinai Jewish Practice Committee for many years, is involved with the finance committee, and has also served as treasurer on the Temple Sinai Board. She has been a member of the Sinai community since 2008.
Alexa Foley (Treasurer) — Alexa’s roots are in Miami with loving but crazy Jewish and Cuban families. After a 15-year pitstop in the Minneapolis area, Reno became her beloved home shortly after the turn of the century. Later, she became Mrs. Foley after meeting Jay Foley at a Reno coffee shop. Today, they are raising their two sons Quinten and Jameson. Before becoming Co-Conspirator and Chief Transportation Executive of the Foley Family, she proudly achieved a double major plus minor (Urban Affairs and Communications with a Cross-Cultural Relations emphasis; Human Resources) at St. Cloud State University while working as many hours as she could to pay for it. Her professional past included teamwork and leadership roles with various national and regional professional affiliations. Most of her career was positioned as COO of small to midsize companies. While she enjoyed the success and recognition that she earned in the Midwest, her favorite job title is that of Big Mama Foley.
She stays busy with family/friends and hobbies and is most grateful for the wonderful people she gets to walk through this life with. Temple Sinai holds a special place in her heart as it is where she chose to become a Bat Mitzvah as an adult and where she can raise her boys in our small, but enriched Jewish community. Her faith and religion are very important to her, and Alexa is thankful for this opportunity to better serve Temple Sinai.
Michael Cohen (Secretary) — I was born in Israel, moved to New Zealand as a child, and then to the US for grad school in 2003. I’ll soon be coming up on my 21-year anniversary in the US, spending most of that time in Southern California (for school), and Northern California (for work). My wife Perian is a native Californian, and we moved to Reno in May 2021, during the pandemic, looking for a better work-life balance and more space for our children to enjoy. We found Sinai pretty quickly, and you may have seen us around the place in the last couple of years. My daughter Eliana attends Sinai School and is entering 5th grade this fall. My son Amiel will be entering 1st grade as well. In November 2023, I joined the staff of Sinai School as the 6-7th grade teacher, which has been a wonderful experience.
My father once told me that children can always tell when their parents are being inauthentic, and that therefore the best way to raise Jewish kids is to do Jewish things, so I’m looking forward to taking this next step at Sinai. For me, the Secretary position is a great opportunity to deepen my engagement with the community and my own Jewish practice. I’m looking forward to serving you all and learning more about all the joys we share, and the issues we face, as a community.
Susan Capistrant (Member-at-Large) — I am a 4th generation Nevadan. I was born in Reno at Washoe Medical Center on September 1, 1948. I was raised in the military (Army) and lived in five states and a foreign country, always coming home to Reno when we couldn’t go with my father. This traveling meant that I went to seven grade schools and two high schools. I started my college life at UNR and received a Bachelor of Social Work. Then went to TMCC, received my associate degree in nursing, and started working as an RN in the NICU at St Mary’s. I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix. At this time, I changed careers and started teaching adults. I received my Master of Science in secondary education from UNR. I continued my education at Capella University, obtaining my Doctor of Education in Adult Education. In April of 2017, I converted to Judaism. This happened just before Rabbi Bair left and was so fulfilling for me. I had become a member of the tribe. I have 3 grown children, two sons, Jason and Geoff, and a daughter Adrienne. I have three granddaughters, Adalyne, Michaela, and Evelyne. The grandchildren are spoiled rotten. I also have a younger brother by the name of Mike who also went to UNR. I volunteer with the Advocates to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocates. I have served on the Social Justice Committee. I was part of Sisterhood. I belong to an International Society of Women Educators pushing for girls’ and women’s education worldwide.
Renee Kerr (Member-at-Large) — Renee is originally a native of Washington State but has lived in Nevada for over 30 years, moving to Reno in 2019. She first joined Temple Sinai in 2022 as a conversion student. In her spare time, Renee enjoys reading science fiction, sewing, crochet, and spending time with her terrier mix. She has spent over 900 hours on her Animal Crossing: New Horizons island and has yet to complete the museum. Her favorite Star Trek series is Star Trek: TNG. In addition to serving on the Board, she is a member of the Library Committee and is passionate about Jewish education and learning.
Tommy Seidel (Member-at-Large) — I moved to Reno in 2020, and quickly started missing being part of a Jewish community. In 2022, along with my wife Katherine (a Reno native), we dove headfirst into Temple Sinai! We have both felt exceedingly welcome, and have enjoyed becoming more involved. I am honored to have been asked to join the board as a member-at-large, and am passionate about both maintaining what we love about Temple Sinai, along with figuring out what we can improve on in order to better serve our community.
I am originally from the Bay Area, but have bounced across the US a few times. I have lived in Michigan (for school) and Boston (for work). I am a software engineer with particular interest in robotics and computer vision. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, 3d printing, and spending time with my wife, two cats, and dog. I enjoy talking to pretty much anyone about pretty much anything, so I hope to have many opportunities to continue meeting and learning about the members of our community!
Laura Smith — Thank you for considering me for an at-large position on the Temple Sinai Board. Belonging to Temple Sinai has made Reno feel like home since moving here three years ago. In this community, I have served on the Jewish Practice Committee, volunteered as part of our collective effort to staff the overflow shelter tent on Record Street, coordinated biweekly breakfast deliveries to Our Place, led services, tutored students in preparation for their b’nei mitzvah, sang in the High Holiday Choir, and acted in the recent Purim spiels. In my prior affiliation with Congregation Shaarei Shamayim in Madison, Wisconsin, I served on the Ritual Committee and Social Action Committee, volunteered for The Road Home’s Interfaith Hospitality Network’s temporary family shelter program, ran monthly community meals for the Friends of the State Street Family, and had an active role in the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, engaging in friendship and solidarity with our Muslim neighbors. I currently teach math at Clayton Middle School and feel particularly invested in our cohort of active young families, as the parent of a toddler.
