Rabbi Michael Singer is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he earned his B.A. in Psychology and Hebraic Studies. In 2003, he was ordained from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York with a double concentration in Pastoral Counseling and Talmud & Rabbinics.
Rabbi Singer has a deep passion for Jewish learning with congregants, and inspires students of all ages. His many classes are lively, stimulating and thought-provoking. His Temple office is warm and welcoming.
Together with his wife Alexis and their school-age son and daughter, Rabbi Singer came to Bethlehem from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. There, he was spiritual leader of Temple Beth David for nine years and helped build an innovative and dynamic Conservative congregation.
In Florida, Rabbi Singer sat on the board of Kolot – Jewish Family and Children’s Services’ Domestic Violence Task Force. He supported the Jewish Federation in Florida and now supports the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.
In addition to his pulpit experience, Rabbi Singer is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) and has served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
In 2008, Rabbi Singer was one of only 14 rabbis throughout the country to be awarded the Legacy Heritage Rabbinic Enrichment Initiative Fellowship from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He also had the privilege of being selected as a rabbinic proof editor for the new Rabbinical Assembly High Holiday mahzor, Lev Shalem. Rabbi Singer continues to be active in the work of the national Rabbinical Assembly and the Conservative Movement and was elected in 2011 to the Assembly’s national nominating committee.
Allen Juda was the rabbi of Congregation Brith Sholom for 39 years (1975-2014). He was named rabbi emeritus in June 2014.
A native of Fall River, Massachusetts, Rabbi Juda earned a B.A. in history from Columbia University and a B.H.L. (Bachelor of Hebrew Literature) from the Jewish Theological Seminary before entering rabbinical school. He earned an M.A. in rabbinics in 1973 and was ordained in 1975 by the Jewish Theological Seminary.
After arriving in Bethlehem, Rabbi Juda was active in a wide variety of Jewish and general community activities. For 19 years, from 1986 – 2005, he was a regular contributor to the Spiritual Journeys religion column, first in the Bethlehem Globe Times and then in the Easton Express –Times. In June 2010, Rabbi Juda became one of the regular religion columnists for The Allentown Morning Call. Rabbi Juda was involved in the founding of the Pastoral Care Department at St. Luke’s Hospital in 1976. He served for decades on the Professional Consultation Committees of the St. Luke’s University Hospital Network as well as the Lehigh Valley Hospital Network. Rabbi Juda was the Jewish chaplain at Allentown State Hospital for over 30 years, until the facility closed in 2010.
Rabbi Juda was a member of the Day of Dialogue committee of the Institute for Jewish–Christian Understanding from 1996 and served as its chair for several years.
In the Jewish community, Rabbi Juda was involved in organizing the Bethlehem United Jewish Appeal campaigns. Following the creation of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Federation, he served in various capacities and has been the main solicitor for clergy pledges for over a decade. Rabbi Juda served for many years as the co-chair of the Beth Tikvah Nursing Home Committee and on the Education Committee of the Jewish Day School. Rabbi Juda was the fundraising co-chair for the community mikvah that opened in 2006. He was twice the president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Region of the Rabbinical Assembly and the co-chair of the 2000 International Convention.
In 1995, Behrman House published Rabbi Juda’s Leaders Guide to “It’s A Mitzvah!”
In retirement, Rabbi Juda served on the board of the Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley for nine years, five of them as president. Currently, he is the president of a nonprofit, Friends of the Jewish Cemeteries, in Fall River, Massachusetts. It raises funds for the long-term maintenance of two small Jewish cemeteries where many family members are buried.
Rabbi Juda is married to the former Toby Keller, and they have three children: Adam, Tamar, and Aaron, who is married to the former Danielle Metson. Danielle and Aaron are the proud parents of Kayla Rose, Asher Eli, and Juliette Ella.
