Take a few moments to get to know our North Fork Reform Synagogue Clergy.  Rabbi Bennet and Rabbi Levy will share the responsibility of leading our congregation during the coming year.

Rabbi Debra Bennet

Rabbi Debra Bennet was born and raised in New Jersey.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and
Women’s Studies. She attended Hebrew Union College –
Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) from which she received
rabbinic ordination in May 2007. During her time at HUC-JIR,
Rabbi Bennet served in a number of communities including:
North Fork Reform Synagogue, Anshe EmethMemorial Temple
in New Brunswick, NJ, and Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ.
She was also the intern to the Associate Dean and on the committee of theHUC-JIR Soup Kitchen. HUC awarded her The Rabbi Herbert Hendel Memorial Prize (Awarded for General Excellence) and The Rhoda Malino Memorial Prize in Modern Hebrew Literature.

After ordination, Rabbi Bennet served as the Rabbi Educator at Temple Beth Torah. In addition to leading the religious school, shaping new curriculum and planning exciting learning opportunities, Rabbi Bennet worked to create a new,
innovative high school program bringing together experiential and more formal opportunities for learning.

Rabbi Bennet participated in the Second Cohort for the Leadership Institute forJewish Educators. With educators from around the tri-state area, Rabbi Bennet delved into the study of educational principles, leadership development and pedagogic
skills and created new programming for religious schools.

At Chaverim, Rabbi Bennet is proud to have worked, with her fellow clergy and staff, to create Tuesday Night Live, the teen experiential program for 8th-12th graders. For the last 7 years, TNL has helped our teens explore who they are as Jews, participate in acts of tikkun olam and strengthen their identities as Jewish adults.

Rabbi Bennet serves as the Treasurer of the Long Island Board of Rabbis

Rabbi David E. Levy

My route to becoming a Rabbi was certainly not a straight line! My first step was on Masada at 5:30 am on my 2001 Birthright Israel trip. As I watched the sun rise out of the Dead Sea, I felt connected to the Jewish people in a way I never had before. That moment catalyzed a trajectory that culminated three years later in a call to HUC-JIR from my cubicle at GE. In between those two moments, yes I got my Bachelors degree in Information Systems, but more importantly I fell in love with the wisdom of the Jewish tradition, and helping individual Jews and Jewish communities thrive. That passion has only grown over these past twenty years as I continue to invest in my own learning and growth, and create opportunities for communities and individuals to do the same. I live in Westchester, NY with my wife Kate, our three sons, Benji, Micah, and Ezra and our dog Gizmo.