ABOUT HERJC

Staff

Born and raised in the wilds of Los Angeles, David fled to the Bay Area and received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley. He then studied for two years at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion and started working in the field of Jewish Education. Over twenty-five years later, he is still enthralled by the challenges and the delighted by the successes he experiences.
While our texts are sacred, and our traditions and practices are meaningful because they form a counterweight to pull of the temporal, the task of Jewish education must be sensitive to, and responsive to, the daily lives of Jewish families and students. Our ability to teach those texts and communicate traditions and practices is important. The time demands on our families and students continue to grow. The cultural imperatives shouted at us from movies, music and television seem more urgent. For all of our families, there seem to be fewer and fewer hours each day to do the things they try to do. In this context, Religious School often becomes a burden rather than an opportunity. David’s task, and the task of Jewish education, is to change that dynamic.

He is convinced that Judaism provides the context for our students and families to try and make sense of the events in their lives. It is his responsibility to provide an environment where he can prove that to be the case. He believes that we at HERJC are moving steadily in that direction.

Ritual Director

Nachum Plotkin
516-599-8217
nachump@aol.com

Nachum originally hails from Glasgow, Scotland, and has been with us for the last 14 years. He has brought a great wealth of experience to our Congregation, having worked in Jewish communities in Scotland, England and Israel.

Nachum, who is our Tora Reader and Junior Congregation leader, also teaches in our Religious School and conducts classes in Hebrew Reading for adults.

His main daily challenge is maintaining our morning and evening Minyans, something that makes him very proud. With his Scottish brogue, outgoing personality and sense of humor, he makes everyone who attends feel comfortable and at ease. His philosophy is that attendance at Services should be a warm and pleasant experience. It should be supportive in times of sickness and bereavement, but most important it is the place for you to come and pray with your fellow Jews.

Nursery School Director

Cheryl Karp
516-599-1169
nurserydir@herjc.org
Nursery School Website Link

Cheryl Karp has been the director of the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre Nursery School since 1993.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in education.  A leader in Jewish Early Childhood education, Cheryl has served as an active member of the Jewish Early Childhood Association of Greater New York, and currently serves as its president.  She has written many professional articles, and conducts many professional workshops for teachers in the New York and New Jersey area.  Under her direction, the nursery school has not only grown in size, but also in program content.

Youth Director

Todd Hausman
516-599-1148
office@herjc.org
Todd Hausman has been the Youth Director at HERJC since 2002 but his involvement with United Synagogue Youth dates back to his own positive experiences as a Kadima member in 1978! He is proud to say that he has been staffing Divisional, Regional and International United Synagogue Youth events since graduating from high school. He totally enjoys working at Encampment each year and has been Head Boys' Counselor since 1994.

At HERJC, Todd has successfully transformed a small program into an award winning “Chapter of the Year” group that continues to expand in numbers and fun. Prior to working at HERJC, Todd worked as a Youth Advisor at Merrick Jewish Center, Glen Cove Jewish Center, Manetto Hill Jewish Center, and Little Neck Jewish Center.

Todd holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Adelphi University and has been married to his wife Sheryl since 2002.