Clergy
Rabbi Kenneth A. Stern, Interim Rabbi
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Rabbi Kenneth A. Stern, a first-generation American, is a graduate of Bronx High School of Science. While his family‘s congregational Hebrew School provided him with strong synagogue skills, he sought a more rigorous Jewish education. This led him to enroll in the dual-degree program at Columbia University and The Jewish Theological Seminary. Initially planning to take a few Jewish studies courses, his passion for Judaism deepened, and he fully committed to the rabbinate. Stern received his rabbinical ordination in 1981, the same year he married Suzanne (Suzi) Rose, who was entering medical school at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). At Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights he found his true calling: connecting with people—helping congregants navigate religious life, teaching children, guiding them in times of joy and sorrow, and fostering a sense of community. To enhance his counseling skills, he earned a certificate in pastoral care from CWRU.
A hallmark of Stern’s rabbinate has been expanding synagogue programming. At Park Synagogue, he launched numerous social and religious initiatives, established a five-year Hebrew High School program, and significantly grew Camp Ramah participation from two to over 30 campers. At Beth El Congregation of the South Hills in Pittsburgh, he encouraged the congregation to “think big“, leading a major facility expansion and developing a cohort of “shul kids” proficient in Shabbat services and Torah reading. As Rabbinic Consortium President, he strengthened ties with communal organizations and guided the community through the aftermath of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.
At Park Avenue Synagogue, he helped transform a large, formal congregation into a more welcoming, family-centered community, spearheading a successful Family Education program and fostering a cohesive clergy team. At Congregation Gesher Shalom JCC of Fort Lee, he guided two merger votes, seamlessly integrating members while strengthening advocacy for Israel, leading delegations to the annual Policy Conference, and engaging in critical discussions on Israeli policy. On receiving an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary, his citation praised him for making “a lasting spiritual and emotional impact, always going the extra mile for his congregants.” Stern and Rose are proud parents of two and grandparents of three.
Their children maintain kosher homes, and all are (or will be) Ramahniks and Day School-educated. Stern loves reading, walking fast (like a New Yorker), schmoozing, and Caribbean vacations. He and Suzi reside in Center City, where they are members of BZBI.
Rabbi Abi Weber, Associate Rabbi
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Rabbi Abi Weber was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2021, where she also completed a master’s degree in Bible. She came to BZBI after serving as the Slifka-Nadich Rabbinic Intern at the Center for Jewish Life of Princeton University, where she built a new community of Jewish seekers among young faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows. In her previous role as a Rabbinic Fellow at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City, Abi developed programming around prayer and spirituality, facilitated the 20s/30s group, and participated in the clergy team.
Rabbi Abi was born in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. She graduated from Pomona College in 2011 with a degree in anthropology. Before starting rabbinical school, she worked as an Employment Preparation Trainer for people experiencing homelessness and poverty, served as a Leadership Fellow at Mishkan Chicago, and spent time working in the ski industry in Colorado. Rabbi Abi is a proud alum of Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, SVARA: The Traditionally Radical Yeshiva, and Moishe House Chicago. She lives in Center City with her wife Diana and their adorable daughters, Yara and Raz.
Rabbi Ira F. Stone, Rabbi Emeritus
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Ira F. Stone served as Rabbi of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in center city Philadelphia from 1988 to 2015, at which time he became Rabbi Emeritus.
Before coming to Philadelphia he served as spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, Washington for nine years. Rabbi Stone is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a BA in Religious Studies. He attended the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and graduated from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1979 with a Masters of Hebrew Literature and was ordained as a rabbi at that time. Prior to attending rabbinical school, Rabbi Stone worked for the Jewish Family Service of Long Island as an outreach worker in crisis intervention with drug abusing Jewish youth and also developed and implemented a pioneer project for brain injured children with emphasis on integrating them into a total day camp and winter recreational program at the YM/YWHA.
Ira Stone’s poetry has appeared in various journals and he is the author of two volumes of poetry: “The Really Perfect Poem Has An Infinitely Small Vocabulary” (Mellon Press) and “Sketches For A Book of Psalms (Xlibris.)
He served as the Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellow at Harvard University for the Spring 2005 semester.
In addition to his work in the pulpit, Rabbi Stone has written articles on theology and rabbinics for various journals including Conservative Judaism, Wellspring Journal, Middlebury College Magazine and Kerem. He also authored “Seeking the Path to Life” which was published in 1992 by Jewish Lights Publishing and “Reading Levinas/Reading Talmud” which was published in 1997 by The Jewish Publication Society. “A Responsible Life: Mussar As A Spiritual Path,” was published by Aviv Press in the Fall of 2006. The Jewish Publication Society also published Rabbi Stone’s contemporary commentary on Mordechai Kaplan’s translation of Messilat Yesharim by Rabbi Moshe Hayyim Luzatto.
Rabbi Stone served as lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and adjunct and visiting lecturer in Modern Jewish Thought at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Rabbi Stone is married to Annie and they are the parents of Tamar, Yoshi and Shuli.
