Clergy
Our Rabbi
Rabbi Joshua Stanton puts Jewish learning, pastoral care, and social justice first. He loves connecting with people individually and supporting their spiritual journeys and pursuit of meaning.
Rabbi Stanton’s passion for religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue has led to his involvement and leadership internationally. He serves as Director for Leadership at CLAL – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, where he focuses on questions of religious pluralism in the United States and Israel. He likewise serves on the Board of Trustees of the Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in America, and on the Board of Governors of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, which presides over Jewish-Christian relations with the Vatican and World Council of Churches. You may have already seen Rabbi Stanton on CNN or in a documentary film, or read about him in syndicated media, publications, and articles that have appeared in ten languages.
Rabbi Stanton was ordained from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 2013, where he received the David G. Sacks Prize for General Academic Excellence, the Rabbi M. Cohen Award for Ecumenical Studies and the Rabbi Samuel J. Levinson Prize in Religion and the Humanities. While at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Stanton served as founding co-editor of the Journal of Interreligious Studies, the pre-eminent academic journal in the field of Interreligious Studies. He received international acclaim for his work, being honored as one of six global finalists for the $100,000 Coexist Prize.
He is an alumnus of Amherst College, from which he graduated magna cum laude with majors in history, economics, and Spanish. He returned there to deliver the 2018 Baccalaureate Address at the tenth anniversary of his own graduation.
To hone his leadership skills, Rabbi Stanton earned a certificate in Spiritual Innovation through the Glean Fellowship with Columbia Business School, and he learns from some of the best communal professionals in his service on the Board of Directors of Plaza Jewish Community Chapels.
You can read Rabbi Stanton’s contributions to edited volumes here, here, here, here, and here (with another forthcoming), as well as the symposium edition of the Reform Jewish Quarterly, which he coedited in 2017 with Rabbi Ben Spratt. The two are longtime creative partners, having co-founded Tribe, a New York-based initiative that has empowered thousands of young professionals to develop vibrant Jewish community. They are co-authors of the newly released book Awakenings: American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Leadership, and Belonging.
Rabbi Stanton was named a 2019 Faith Justice Hero by the Interfaith Center of New York and received a 2020 Racial Equity and Interfaith Cooperation Award from the Interfaith Youth Core. In 2021, he received the Ann Friedman Award from the Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats, in recognition of his immigration rights advocacy, and was named to the inaugural class of Sacred Journey Fellows, selected from a group of 1,700 interfaith leaders from across the country. In 2022, he was invited to become a Founding Partner of Starts With Us, a movement to overcome social division and polarization.
Prior to joining East End Temple in 2017, Rabbi Stanton served as associate rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills New Jersey, associate director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College, and director of communications for the Coexist Foundation.
Rabbi Stanton would love to connect with you. You can reach him at jstanton@eastendtemple.org .
Our Cantor
Cantor Shira Ginsburg is celebrating her 16th year of service here at East End Temple. As a Messinger Scholar, Cantor Ginsburg earned her Masters, Cantorial degrees and ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She is the recipient of the Women of Reform Judaism Award, Cantorial Alumni Association Prize, and Sylvia Davidson Memorial Award for extraordinary diligence in mastering Chazzanut.
Prior to her cantorial studies, Cantor Ginsburg received her BFA from Syracuse University’s Drama and Musical Theatre program and spent a number of years in New York working as a professional actress, singer, and songwriter. In the spring of 2016, she premiered her one-woman musical, “Bubby’s Kitchen,” off-Broadway to rave reviews and has toured the country extensively, bringing “Bubby’s Kitchen” to over 25 communities.
In addition to performing concerts and numerous other works on stages in Israel, England, and all over the United States, Cantor Ginsburg has been the chosen soloist for The Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation at numerous benefits and featured in their documentary, “Reunion.” She has released two liturgical albums with East End Temple, produced by two-time Grammy-award winning producer Ben Wisch, and a solo album of her own folk music. She is featured on the albums of Gerard Edery and Noah Aaronson and was recently a featured performer alongside Alan Richman and Joan Nathan in “Beyond Bubbie: 6 Word Memoirs.”
Cantor Ginsburg serves on the Jewish Partisans Education Foundations Young Leadership Board, is an annual panelist on the Gerecht Institute for Conversion, and teaches Holocaust studies in middle and high school classrooms across the five boroughs as a founding member of 3rd Generation Holocaust Survivors program “We Educate,” in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves. She also mentors and coaches cantorial students at Hebrew Union College.
Email Cantor Ginsburg at cantor@eastendtemple.org.
Staff
Director of Education – Mindy Sherry, RJE
Mindy was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Her passion for working with people led her to a B.S. in Social Work from Florida International University. Mindy has worked in congregational life for over 18 years starting as a preschool teacher. Most recently, she has served Director of Youth and Family Engagement at Union Temple in Brooklyn. Mindy is an active member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE) and holds the distinction of Reform Jewish Educator with two M.A.s from The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in Jewish Education and in Jewish Nonprofit Management.
Email Mindy Sherry at: educator@eastendtemple.org.
Temple Administrator – Sharon Shemesh
Sharon joined East End Temple’s professional staff in the Fall of 1997 and officially assumed the position of Temple Administrator in April 2006. As the Temple Administrator, Sharon facilitates, coordinates and manages organizational matters of the congregation, facility and office, working closely with clergy, educators and the Board of Trustees. She addresses and resolves membership matters, and her door is always open for both congregants and community inquiries. Sharon is a senior member of NATA (National Association for Temple Administration).
Email Sharon Shemesh at: sharon@eastendtemple.org.
Administrative Assistant – Elyssa Mosbacher
Elyssa Mosbacher has spent much of her career working in the Jewish world, as a teacher and program coordinator, journalist, freelance writer and editor, and summer camp counselor and unit head. (She also taught rock climbing for many years, which made her mother very nervous.) She has a BA in government from Cornell University, and a master’s in comparative government from the London School of Economics. A native of Wisconsin, Elyssa is married to Joel and the mom of Ari and Lev.
Email Elyssa Mosbacher at info@eastendtemple.org.
