The Narberth Havurah is led by a group of dedicated volunteers who are committed to ensuring that the Havurah thrives in an ever-changing world. We are committed to balancing our Jewish traditions and culture with innovation and creativity.
executive committee
2024-25
Liz Gordon, President
Samantha Levy Green, Vice President / Membership
Karen Stern, Treasurer
Georgette DuBois, Secretary
STEERING committee, chairs and leaders
Amy MacNelly, Member-at-Large
Cathy Levin, Tikkun Olam/Social Action
Jim Speer, Chesed
Amy Nathanson, Membership Database
Matt Morgan, A/V and Tech
Rose Isard, Family Programming
Sara Schuh, Band Manager
We are a lay led community, led by members for members! We also have a collaborative relationship with Rabbi Simcha Zevit, who joins us for services and events throughout the year, and can be available in certain circumstances (such as preparing for B'nai Mitzvah, a death in the family, or a need for pastoral care) for our members.
Rabbi Simcha Zevit was ordained through Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Her path of learning and teaching is one of connecting the inner Torah of our own hearts and souls to the written Torah and teachings of our tradition. “There is a teaching in a core traditional text that speaks of prayer, stating that it’s better to do a little with great kavannah (intention/meaning), than to do a lot without kavannah. As a rabbi, I want to help people find the inner spark of meaning and connection to the outer words, prayers, holidays, and actions (mitzvot), fanning that spark into a flame that shines brightly.”
She embraces people of all backgrounds, belief, and disbelief, encouraging them to learn, and experiment in how to create meaningful, personally relevant, and joyful Jewish lives, while balancing their unique needs and understandings with those of the community, and with our age-old tradition. “We cannot travel this path on our own. Engaging in a Jewish community means that we all have a responsibility not only for ourselves, but also for each other, and for the world we live in.”
Rabbi Simcha brings many years of experience as a Jewish educator, working with adults, teens, and children in a variety of settings. She is a ritual-maker and facilitator for traditional and creative life-cycle celebrations and transitions, an inspiring prayer leader, and in addition to her teaching, community building, and life cycle work, she served for over a decade as a chaplain to people of all faiths in hospital and hospice settings.
Rabbi Simcha is also a certified mindfulness meditation teacher, and a life and leadership coach. In addition to being our rabbi, she works with individuals and teams in a variety of settings, using a positive psychology approach to coaching and training that supports holistic well-being, lives and work in alignment with values, meaning, and purpose, and effectiveness in achieving individual and team visions and goals.
