Our Rabbi and Cantorial Soloist

Rabbi Chava E. Koster, the first woman from the Netherlands to be ordained a rabbi, is The Village Temple's rabbi. Prior to this, she was Associate Rabbi at Temple B'nai Abraham in Livingston, New Jersey. Rabbi Koster studied at the Academy for Jewish Religion and was ordained in 1997. She was awarded her "Doctoraal" degree in English Historical Linguistics by the University of Amsterdam in 1986 and a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1993. She also earned a fellowship at the Melton Center for Research in Jewish Education in New York that same year.

Commitment to community outreach and Jewish education have been the dominant themes in Rabbi Koster's work. She is a representative to the United Nations International Clergy Committee and the American Jewish Committee. As past Director of Columbia University's Uriel Weinreich Program in Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture, Rabbi Koster is a leading voice in the promulgation of Eastern European Culture. She has been a member of the Dutch Committee for Interfaith Affairs and is a lifetime member of the Spiro Institute, London, UK.

As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Koster believes that for a congregation to become a truly spiritual community, the emphasis needs to be on learning, spiritual growth and social action coupled with warmth and caring because the vibrancy, excitement and ownership of these elements will enable all members, regardless of their knowledge and observance, to be inspired to find even greater depths of meaning within Judaism.

Cantorial Soloist Daniel Leanse comes to us after decades on the road wowing congregations in shuls from California to Nashville to East Hampton.  His love of music started at an early age at a Jewish camp in California and never stopped.  Receiving his BA from UCLA in Music and Literature, Daniel began his professional career touring the country with the New Christy Minstrels.

For the past two years, Daniel has been in the New York area, splitting his time between B’nai Jeshurun on the Upper West Side, East End Synagogue, Jewish Center of East Hampton and special holiday services for the family and friends of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation. Prior to coming to New York, Daniel was in Los Altos at Congregation Beth Am, where he trained over 60 children for their B’nei Mitzvot.

This year, because of the large number of B’nei Mitzvot and all that we want to accomplish, we have hired Cantor Jenny Izenstark to assist Daniel and Rabbi Koster in the training of our children. Individualized training programs will be designed by Daniel for each of our children.