Our Leaders

“Who is wise? One who learns from all people…”

~Pirkei Avot 4:1

 

  • Our Leaders

    Rabbi Sara Zober

    JULY 2018 TO PRESENT
    RabbiSara@SinaiReno.org

    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

    JULY 2018 TO PRESENT
    RabbiBenjamin@SinaiReno.org

    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.

  • Tova McGilvray

    President@SinaiReno.org
    President from 2023 to Present

    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, Temple Sinai President from 2023 to present.