Temple Emanuel-El Clergy and Staff
Cantor Vera Broekhuysen
Spiritual Leader and Senior Clergy
CantorB@Templeemanu-El.org
Cantor Vera Broekhuysen has served as cantor at Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill, Massachusetts, since June of 2016 and is delighted to begin serving the Temple as its spiritual leader in July of 2018.
As an educator, Cantor Broekhuysen brings guitar and drum into the classroom to infuse Hebrew language learning with music. Cantor Broekhuysen is also passionate about the beauty and vocal connectivity of early music and folksong and brings her experiences with Village Harmony (Vermont, international tours in the Caucasus Republic of Georgia) and Studio Sixteen (Toronto) to her cantorial work.
Cantor Broekhuysen deeply values opportunities to pursue both spiritual enrichment and social justice in interfaith environments. She is a member of the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association and a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Sanctuary Network, which came together in the spring of 2017. While in cantorial school, Cantor Broekhuysen led an interfaith, cross-campus singing group (through the Center for Inter-Religious & Communal Leadership Education at both Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological Seminary) and co-created a series of events and workshops exploring the female voice in relationship to text and spiritual authority within Judaism and Islam.
Cantor Broekhuysen is a member of the New England Board of Cantors, where she currently serves as secretary. In March of 2018, she helped organize, and performed in, “From Out of the Storm: Cantors Respond to Devastation,” a successful benefit concert on behalf of the Jewish communities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands who were impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Jose. This event was cosponsored by Temple Beth Zion of Brookline, MA.
Cantor Broekhuysen completed her undergraduate studies in music history and theory at the University of Toronto and was ordained by Hebrew College in June of 2016, when she also earned her Masters Degree in Jewish Education. She lives in North Andover, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.
As an educator, Cantor Broekhuysen brings guitar and drum into the classroom to infuse Hebrew language learning with music. Cantor Broekhuysen is also passionate about the beauty and vocal connectivity of early music and folksong and brings her experiences with Village Harmony (Vermont, international tours in the Caucasus Republic of Georgia) and Studio Sixteen (Toronto) to her cantorial work.
Cantor Broekhuysen deeply values opportunities to pursue both spiritual enrichment and social justice in interfaith environments. She is a member of the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association and a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Sanctuary Network, which came together in the spring of 2017. While in cantorial school, Cantor Broekhuysen led an interfaith, cross-campus singing group (through the Center for Inter-Religious & Communal Leadership Education at both Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological Seminary) and co-created a series of events and workshops exploring the female voice in relationship to text and spiritual authority within Judaism and Islam.
Cantor Broekhuysen is a member of the New England Board of Cantors, where she currently serves as secretary. In March of 2018, she helped organize, and performed in, “From Out of the Storm: Cantors Respond to Devastation,” a successful benefit concert on behalf of the Jewish communities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands who were impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Jose. This event was cosponsored by Temple Beth Zion of Brookline, MA.
Cantor Broekhuysen completed her undergraduate studies in music history and theory at the University of Toronto and was ordained by Hebrew College in June of 2016, when she also earned her Masters Degree in Jewish Education. She lives in North Andover, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.
Rabbi Rachel thrives at growing Jewish community by building meaningful relationships with those she is serving. She loves nothing more than the challenge of meeting a congregant where they are, and doing all she can to facilitate the congregant’s growth in connection to whatever aspect of Judaism interests them—be it text, tefilah, or tikkun olam.
Rabbi Rachel is originally from the Bay Area where she had an eclectic Jewish upbringing. Her family was involved in both a Reform congregation and Berkeley Chabad House. Rabbi Rachel completed her undergraduate degree at U.C. San Diego, lived in Israel for a couple of years, and then embarked on a career in public interest law. As a Legal Services lawyer, Rabbi Rachel represented domestic violence survivors in their family law cases. While representing clients was very satisfying, she spent most of her free time on spiritual pursuits including yoga, meditation, and Jewish learning. When she was ready to change careers, studying in a pluralistic setting made the most sense and she matriculated at Hebrew College.
As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Rachel served numerous communities including the Center for Small Town Jewish Life, Bowdoin College Hillel, Beth Israel Congregation in Bath, Maine, and Boston College. She completed a unit of clinical pastoral education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and also held several positions at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University, including scholar-in-residence and academic advisor to undergraduate and graduate students who were conducting research on gender and Judaism.
Rabbi Rachel is deeply committed to making Jewish practice as widely accessible as possible. Towards that end, two years ago she created “All Genders Wrap,” an innovative series of tutorial videos with Jews of all genders demonstrating how to put on tefillin. These videos are currently being used by religious schools and youth programs across the country.
Rabbi Rachel lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters. When not working or pursuing her own Jewish learning, Rabbi Rachel enjoys hiking, reading, practicing yoga, and writing.
Rabbi Rachel is originally from the Bay Area where she had an eclectic Jewish upbringing. Her family was involved in both a Reform congregation and Berkeley Chabad House. Rabbi Rachel completed her undergraduate degree at U.C. San Diego, lived in Israel for a couple of years, and then embarked on a career in public interest law. As a Legal Services lawyer, Rabbi Rachel represented domestic violence survivors in their family law cases. While representing clients was very satisfying, she spent most of her free time on spiritual pursuits including yoga, meditation, and Jewish learning. When she was ready to change careers, studying in a pluralistic setting made the most sense and she matriculated at Hebrew College.
As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Rachel served numerous communities including the Center for Small Town Jewish Life, Bowdoin College Hillel, Beth Israel Congregation in Bath, Maine, and Boston College. She completed a unit of clinical pastoral education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and also held several positions at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University, including scholar-in-residence and academic advisor to undergraduate and graduate students who were conducting research on gender and Judaism.
Rabbi Rachel is deeply committed to making Jewish practice as widely accessible as possible. Towards that end, two years ago she created “All Genders Wrap,” an innovative series of tutorial videos with Jews of all genders demonstrating how to put on tefillin. These videos are currently being used by religious schools and youth programs across the country.
Rabbi Rachel lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters. When not working or pursuing her own Jewish learning, Rabbi Rachel enjoys hiking, reading, practicing yoga, and writing.
Ira L. Korinow, DD
Rabbi Emeritus
RabbiK@TempleEmanu-El.org
Rabbi Ira L. Korinow has served as spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El since September 1981. A native of Newton, Massachusetts, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Religion magna cum laude from Boston University and continued his studies at the Rabbinic School of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where he received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Literature in 1976 and was ordained a rabbi in 1978. In 2003, Rabbi Korinow was awarded the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by his rabbinical school in New York. Prior to joining Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Korinow served congregations in Glencoe, Illinois, and Laconia, New Hampshire.
Rabbi Korinow is a past president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, which is the organizational body of all (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox) rabbis in the Commonwealth. In 1996, as president, Rabbi Korinow traveled with several Catholic and Protestant clergymen and community leaders to visit and bring aid to burned churches in the south. He is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the organizational body of Reform rabbis in North America, and served a two-year term on its National Board of Trustees from 1999-2001. For several years, he was also an associate member of the Rabbinical Assembly, the organizational body of Conservative rabbis in North America. Rabbi Korinow is a past president of both the Northeast Region of the CCAR and the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association. He also served as chaplain of the Haverhill Police Department from 1995-2002. Rabbi Korinow has served on the Executive Board of Action for Soviet Jewry in Waltham, Massachusetts, and on the Board of Directors of the National Conference for Soviet Jewry in New York. Rabbi Korinow was also co-chairman of the Rabbinic Action Committee of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews in Washington, D.C., which he represented at a private meeting with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in March 1985. To keep the plight of Soviet Jews in the public eye, Rabbi Korinow was arrested in an act of civil disobedience while protesting in front of the Soviet Embassy in Washington in October of the same year.
In 1994, Rabbi Korinow participated in a peace mission with other rabbis meeting with political, academic, and business leaders in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. He is a member of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America, working for the humanitarian needs of people around the world. In November 2007, Rabbi Korinow participated with the Rabbinic Cabinet of the JFNA on a special mission to New Orleans where he helped rebuild a home damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Rabbi Korinow was the prime organizer and serves as the current chairman of the Greater Haverhill Civil Rights Commission, which he began in response to the appearance of the Ku Klux Klan in Haverhill and surrounding communities in 1990. In 1993, he received the B'nai B'rith Award in Haverhill. In recognition of his work in the area of civil rights, Rabbi Korinow was presented the Liberty Bell Award by the Haverhill Bar Association in 1999. Rabbi Korinow was also a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Citizen Award presented by the Yankee Clipper Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Rabbi and his wife, Gail z"l, received the Spiritual Leadership Award from the Solomon Schechter Day School of the Merrimack Valley (later known as the Kadima Community Day School) in 1993 in recognition of the role that they played in helping to establish the first non-Orthodox Jewish day school in the Merrimack Valley. The Rabbi was also the recipient of the "Healer of the World" Award presented by the Kadima Community Day School in May 2008.
In January 2008, Rabbi Korinow was elected to the board of Friends Forever, a non-profit organization working out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which is dedicated to bringing Catholic and Protestant teens from Northern Ireland and Jewish and Arab teens from Israel to the United States where they engage in a program to help build trust and respect for each other.
In February 2008, Rabbi Korinow traveled to Israel and met with Arab Rotarians from Nazareth and the Arab village of Ein Mahil to help obtain sponsorship for the group of Israeli Jewish and Arab teens that visited here in the fall of that year.
In addition to being an ex officio member of the Temple Emanu-El Board of Directors and a member of the Board of Directors of the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation, the Rabbi is a member of the Haverhill Rotary Club, for which he served as President in 2009-2010.
In June of 2017, Rabbi Ira retired from Temple Emanu-El after serving us and the community for 36 years. We celebrated his retirement with a wonderful Gala!
Rabbi Korinow is a past president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, which is the organizational body of all (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox) rabbis in the Commonwealth. In 1996, as president, Rabbi Korinow traveled with several Catholic and Protestant clergymen and community leaders to visit and bring aid to burned churches in the south. He is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the organizational body of Reform rabbis in North America, and served a two-year term on its National Board of Trustees from 1999-2001. For several years, he was also an associate member of the Rabbinical Assembly, the organizational body of Conservative rabbis in North America. Rabbi Korinow is a past president of both the Northeast Region of the CCAR and the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association. He also served as chaplain of the Haverhill Police Department from 1995-2002. Rabbi Korinow has served on the Executive Board of Action for Soviet Jewry in Waltham, Massachusetts, and on the Board of Directors of the National Conference for Soviet Jewry in New York. Rabbi Korinow was also co-chairman of the Rabbinic Action Committee of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews in Washington, D.C., which he represented at a private meeting with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in March 1985. To keep the plight of Soviet Jews in the public eye, Rabbi Korinow was arrested in an act of civil disobedience while protesting in front of the Soviet Embassy in Washington in October of the same year.
In 1994, Rabbi Korinow participated in a peace mission with other rabbis meeting with political, academic, and business leaders in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. He is a member of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America, working for the humanitarian needs of people around the world. In November 2007, Rabbi Korinow participated with the Rabbinic Cabinet of the JFNA on a special mission to New Orleans where he helped rebuild a home damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Rabbi Korinow was the prime organizer and serves as the current chairman of the Greater Haverhill Civil Rights Commission, which he began in response to the appearance of the Ku Klux Klan in Haverhill and surrounding communities in 1990. In 1993, he received the B'nai B'rith Award in Haverhill. In recognition of his work in the area of civil rights, Rabbi Korinow was presented the Liberty Bell Award by the Haverhill Bar Association in 1999. Rabbi Korinow was also a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Citizen Award presented by the Yankee Clipper Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Rabbi and his wife, Gail z"l, received the Spiritual Leadership Award from the Solomon Schechter Day School of the Merrimack Valley (later known as the Kadima Community Day School) in 1993 in recognition of the role that they played in helping to establish the first non-Orthodox Jewish day school in the Merrimack Valley. The Rabbi was also the recipient of the "Healer of the World" Award presented by the Kadima Community Day School in May 2008.
In January 2008, Rabbi Korinow was elected to the board of Friends Forever, a non-profit organization working out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which is dedicated to bringing Catholic and Protestant teens from Northern Ireland and Jewish and Arab teens from Israel to the United States where they engage in a program to help build trust and respect for each other.
In February 2008, Rabbi Korinow traveled to Israel and met with Arab Rotarians from Nazareth and the Arab village of Ein Mahil to help obtain sponsorship for the group of Israeli Jewish and Arab teens that visited here in the fall of that year.
In addition to being an ex officio member of the Temple Emanu-El Board of Directors and a member of the Board of Directors of the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation, the Rabbi is a member of the Haverhill Rotary Club, for which he served as President in 2009-2010.
In June of 2017, Rabbi Ira retired from Temple Emanu-El after serving us and the community for 36 years. We celebrated his retirement with a wonderful Gala!
Nancy J. LaFleur
Executive Director
Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org
Nancy LaFleur began working at Temple Emanu-El as the administrative assistant in August of 1998. She was promoted to administrator in July 2007, and in April of 2016 was named executive director.
Nancy oversees the inside and outside of our facilities, manages the office, maintains membership records, handles donations, coordinates the production and distribution of the bulletin, maintains the calendar, processes receivables and invoices, schedules b'nei mitzvah, and prepares the Temple for the High Holy Days. Nancy sits on both the Executive Committee and Board of Directors and is the liaison with the Dues Committee and Temple members.
If you are seeking Temple membership, want to schedule a tour, or have any questions about Temple Emanu-El, give Nancy a call (978.373.3861) or email Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org--she will be glad to help.
Nancy oversees the inside and outside of our facilities, manages the office, maintains membership records, handles donations, coordinates the production and distribution of the bulletin, maintains the calendar, processes receivables and invoices, schedules b'nei mitzvah, and prepares the Temple for the High Holy Days. Nancy sits on both the Executive Committee and Board of Directors and is the liaison with the Dues Committee and Temple members.
If you are seeking Temple membership, want to schedule a tour, or have any questions about Temple Emanu-El, give Nancy a call (978.373.3861) or email Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org--she will be glad to help.
Debra L. Levasseur
Religious School Director
Debbi@TempleEmanu-El.org
Debra L. Levasseur (Morah Devorah) is a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts. She attended Lowell State College (now University of Massachusetts, Lowell) where she graduated with a double major Bachelor Of Arts degree in elementary education (Kindergarten to grade 8) and art specialist. She received her religious education from the Lawrence Jewish School. Debbi has been active in the Jewish community of the Merrimack Valley for most of her life. She worked in temple administration and taught Hebrew school for many years at Temple Emanuel in Andover in addition to thirteen years here at Temple Emanu-El. Debbi was the Arts and Crafts Director of Camp Hadar for twenty-five happy summers. Most recently, Debbi taught general and Judaic studies for twenty years at the Solomon Schechter Day School, whose home was here at Temple Emanu-El. In recognition of her dedication and valuable service to the Jewish community, Debbi was a recipient of the Solomon Schechter Award in the 1990s. Her thoughtful, giving, and caring manner has been an inspiration to many students over the years.
Debbi's goal for the religious school is to make it a place not only where children come to learn in a happy, comfortable atmosphere, which encourages questioning and critical thinking, but also one where parents can partner with their children for religious learning and activities.
Click here to visit our Religious School page.
Debbi's goal for the religious school is to make it a place not only where children come to learn in a happy, comfortable atmosphere, which encourages questioning and critical thinking, but also one where parents can partner with their children for religious learning and activities.
Click here to visit our Religious School page.
Cheryl Hill
Religious School Administrative Assistant
RSAdminAsst@TempleEmanu-El.org
Cheryl Hill joined us as the Religious School Administrative Assistant in September 2010. Her previous work experience was in customer service within the electronics manufacturing industry. She currently works as a REALTOR licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Cheryl raised two daughters and is currently a grandmother of four. When her children were young, she volunteered as a nursery school teacher at her church and spent several years as a Girl Scout leader.
Cheryl enjoys walking, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.
Cheryl enjoys walking, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.