Meet the Team

We are Temple Israel!

Get to know us!

Clergy

Temple Israel’s clergy enjoys a proud legacy of involvement in the Memphis community, taking leadership roles in interfaith activities and on local agency boards. They are involved regionally and nationally in the work of the Union for Reform Judaism , as well as in their respective professional organizations, the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the American Conference of Cantors, making Temple Israel recognized throughout the country.

**Senior Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein, D.D.**

**Emily Groff Heilborn, M.Ed, Music Director**

Senior Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein, D.D.

Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein—regarded as ”everyone’s rabbi”—is a fixture of Memphis’ greater faith community and the national Reform Jewish movement, having served and embodied the mission of Temple Israel, Memphis’ historic 170-year-old congregation, for over three decades.

As Temple Israel’s eighth senior rabbi, Greenstein’s tenure and legacy live through intergenerational engagement and relevance of Reform Jewish values, which sustain Temple’s position as Tennessee’s oldest synagogue and the largest in a four-state region.

Reflecting Temple Israel’s commitment to serving the greater good, Greenstein was recognized as Memphis Magazine’s first “Memphian of the Year” (2013).

Greenstein was also the first rabbi in history to preach at the Washington Cathedral on a Major State Day for Tennessee (2005). Rabbi Greenstein has served on the National Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and represented the Reform Movement in the World Zionist Congress. He continues to mentor Israeli Reform Rabbis and guided the dedication of the first non-Orthodox synagogue in the City of Shoham outside of Tel Aviv. Presently, he serves on the International Advisory Council of the Israel Movement for Reform Judaism. Greenstein is a member of the founding Board of The College for Contemporary Judaism, established to provide the most innovative and highest quality education for tomorrow’s rabbis and scholars.

He is a two-time past President of the Memphis Ministers Association, an instrumental interfaith alignment in the aftermath of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. For 25 years, Rabbi Greenstein instructed future ministers at Memphis Theological Seminary and has been teaching Jewish Studies at Rhodes College since 2020. Rabbi Greenstein publishes a monthly column on religion in The Daily Memphian and has preached 25 consecutive years in the renowned Calvary Lenten Preaching Series.

Greenstein emceed the global commemoration of the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination (2018) and was named “Top 40 Change Makers for Memphis” (2019). He has served on the national board of the NAACP and both the Executive Committee and Board of the National Civil Rights Museum.

Rabbi Greenstein is a proud alumnus of Cornell University, Harvard University, and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. He was named a Cornell National Scholar, Kennedy Fellow, and received his Doctor of Divinity in 2016.

Greenstein and his wife, Sheril, of 35 years, are proud parents of Cara (Alex), Jake (Leora), and Julia, and grandparents to Ava and Hudson, named after his great-grandfather of blessed memory, Rabbi Howard R. Greenstein.

To connect with Rabbi Micah Greenstein, please contact clergy assistant Jan Klein at 901.937.2771 or email her at [email protected].

Rabbi Leah H. Sternberg, Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Leah Sternberg joined Temple Israel in July 2025 as an Associate Rabbi. Rabbi Sternberg was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, where she developed a deep passion for the Jewish community. She received her B.A. in History and Jewish Studies from the University of Michigan in 2014, and was ordained at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion’s Los Angeles Campus in May 2019, where she received her Master’s in Hebrew Letters in 2017 along with a certificate in Jewish Nonprofit Management from the Zelikow School at HUC-JIR in 2018.

While at HUC-JIR she had a diversity of experiences: serving congregations as a Rabbinic Intern from Colorado to Santa Barbara, California, as a Chaplain Intern at the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, and as the Rabbinic Intern for the Southern California region of the Reform Movement’s Youth Program (NFTY). During her time in Los Angeles, she worked as the manager of Jewish Engagement and Advocacy for the Jewish Center for Justice.

Since ordination, Rabbi Sternberg has served as an Associate Rabbi at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ, with a focus on strategic congregational engagement, deepening social justice and tikkun olam experiences for the community, as well as ongoing pastoral and pulpit responsibilities.

She is a member of the Core Team of RAC-NJ and a board member of the Jewish Center for Justice. Additionally, she participated in the Israel Policy Forum’s Bronfman Conveners program and Jewish think tank CLAL’s START program in spiritual entrepreneurship.

Rabbi Sternberg works each day to help members of the community create authentic connections with one another and with Judaism—from our youngest early childhood learners to the most seasoned of members. She is passionate about advancing Jewish life through innovation and justice, using tradition as a tool to navigate our ever-evolving and ever-challenging modern world.

Rabbi Sternberg and her husband, Jordan Vaughter, recently welcomed their first daughter, Renni, and look forward to their upcoming move to Memphis.

Rabbi Ross Z. Levy, Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Ross Z. Levy was born and raised in Nashville, TN, where his Jewish journey began as a sixth-generation congregant at The Temple Congregation Ohabai Sholom. After his active involvement in BBYO at the chapter, regional, and international levels, Rabbi Ross earned his B.A. in Religion from George Washington University, where he accepted invitations from the Theta Alpha Kappa Honors Society for Religious Studies and Theology as well as the Phi Sigma Tau Honors Society for Philosophers. During his time at GW, Rabbi Ross was also an active member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, performed with The GW Troubadours a cappella group, and spent a semester studying in Granada, Spain. Another highlight was the summer he spent interning at the NAACP Washington Bureau through the URJ Religious Action Center’s Machon Kaplan Program.

Rabbi Ross achieved a Master’s of the Arts in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic Ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, OH in 2021. While at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Ross participated in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Yearlong Seminar for Rabbinical Students, served as the student rabbi of Temple Shalom in Lafayette, LA, and earned a Master’s Concentration in Israel Education from the iCenter for Israel Education. In spring of 2021, Rabbi Ross was awarded the Rabbi Morris H. Youngerman Memorial Prize for the best sermon preached in the Scheuer Chapel during the academic year.

Before moving to Memphis, he served two years as the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, CA. Rabbi Ross is deeply committed to providing members of the community with the tools to navigate Jewish tradition and craft their most meaningful way of living Jewishly. Whether it is engaging with our sacred texts or joining together in worship, Rabbi Ross hopes to open diverse avenues of connection to all. He is also a rodeph tzedek, a “pursuer of justice”, who always strives to apply the ancient teachings of Jewish tradition to social action and social justice efforts.

Emily Groff Heilborn M.Ed, Music Director

Emily Groff Heilborn
901.937.2768 | [email protected]

Emily Groff Heilborn joined the Temple Israel clergy team in the Fall of 2022 as the Temple’s Music Director. Born and raised in Miami Beach, Emily moved to Tennessee to study at Vanderbilt University, earning a Bachelor of Music and Master of Education in Instrumental Music degrees. Before coming to Temple Israel, Emily taught music in Metro Nashville Public Schools. She also led services and other music programs in the Nashville Jewish community, including the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, JCC, Vanderbilt University Hillel, and Jewsic City (a monthly Shabbat experience for young adults).

Emily has always been passionate about creating and nurturing community through music, especially Jewish music. As a camp and youth song leader in the Reform Movement, she has mentored and taught young musicians in camps, youth conferences, and communities. Through her teaching, song leading, and songwriting, Emily seeks to make music accessible to everyone – listeners, creators, and performers. She released her debut EP “Breathe” in 2021 and has written several camp theme songs.

She and her husband, Nick, are thrilled to be in Memphis and at Temple Israel.

Harry K. Danziger, Rabbi Emeritus

Harry K. Danziger, Rabbi Emeritus, served as Assistant, Associate, and then Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel from 1978 to 2000. He was selected by Memphis Magazine as one of “Who’s Who in Memphis” and continues to be active in our congregation and in the Memphis community.

Rabbi Danziger has been President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the conference of Reform/Liberal/Progressive Rabbis in North America and beyond. He is a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and serves on the boards of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Rabbi Danziger is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity at Rhodes College in 1984 and at HUC-JIR in 1989. He and his wife, Jeanne, have three children and three grandchildren.

Contact Rabbi Danziger: 901.761.3130 | [email protected]

John M. Kaplan, Cantor Emeritus

John M. Kaplan, Cantor Emeritus, served Temple Israel from 1981 to 2014. As Cantor, he was a driving force behind both the adult and youth choirs and worked passionately to assist congregants in need as the clergy liaison to Temple’s “God’s Unfinished Business”. He is a member of the American Conference of Cantors and has served on its Executive Board and as Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Appeals.

Kaplan received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas, his Cantorial Certification and Investiture from HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music in New York, and his Master of Arts in Religion from Memphis Theological Seminary.

In June 2015, he received Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbinical Academy of America and now Rabbi-Cantor Kaplan serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Israel in Jackson, Tennessee. He and his wife, Linda, have three children and four grandchildren.

Contact Rabbi-Cantor Kaplan: 901.761.3130 | [email protected]