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 Rabbi Andy Bachman lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Rachel Altstein, and their three daughters, Audrey, Lois, and Minna. Andy and Rachel have lived in Brooklyn since 1990.
Born in 1963, Rabbi Bachman was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Educated in public schools in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, he studied history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college he developed a deep interest in pursuing Jewish scholarship and service due to the influence of two teachers: the European cultural historian George L. Mosse; and Irv Saposnik, who directed the UW Hillel in the 1980s and 1990s.
During those University years, Rabbi Bachman spent a year at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem. In addition to coursework, he was privately
tutored in rabbinic literature by Rabbi Hank Skirball, director of NFTY
in Israel. It was Rabbi Skirball who first formally suggested HUC-JIR,
where Rabbi Bachman was ordained in 1996.
As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Bachman served as Educator at
Congregation Beth Elohim, overseeing the Religious School, Adult
Education, and working as Student Rabbi. After his ordination in 1996,
he served as Rabbi Educator until 1998, when he became Executive
Director of the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life:
Hillel at NYU.
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 Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein joins Congregation Beth Elohim with her husband Jason Epstein, their son Amichai (1) and their dog, Duffy.
Born in the Bronx, Rabbi Epstein was raised in a large and boisterous family in New Milford, CT and has lived in New York City for almost ten years. After years of public school, she attended Wesleyan University, studying Religion, Political Thought and Theater. As an undergraduate, she also attended Hebrew University and the Wesleyan Program in Israeli and Palestinian Studies in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Rabbi Epstein received her rabbinic ordination, MA in Hebrew Letters, and MA in Religious Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She wrote her rabbinic and education thesis under the guidance of two of her mentors, Rabbi David Ellenson and Dr. Lisa Grant, entitled, "Towards a Liberal Zionist Philosophy and its Impact on Jewish Education." She has also studied at Machon Hartman in Jerusalem.
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 A native of Chicago, Rabbi Bronstein was ordained at HUC-JIR in 1996 and presently serves as Congregational Scholar at Congregation Beth Elohim.
Rabbi Bronstein has lectured at many synagogues and taught in a variety of forums, including the Association for Jewish Studies, the Center for Jewish History, and at the the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he is completing his Ph.D in Jewish history. He is also a published writer in popular and academic settings, including The Forward, JEWCY, the Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal, and is also a contributor to the three volume Jews and American Popular Culture and the forthcoming Cambridge Dictionary of Jewish Religion., History and Culture.
Rabbi Bronstein's works focus on the historical development of American Judaism and intra-Jewish releations, as well as the study of popular culture with particular emphasis on Jewish American comedy.
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Sari Fensterheim.
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 Gerald I. Weider served 28 years as the Rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim. He joined Rabbi Eugene J. Sack in 1978, just as the Brownstone Revival movement hit the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Rabbi Weider sparked the revitalization of Congregation Beth Elohim through innovative programming and services which met the needs of urban Jewish families. Under his leadership, Congregation Beth Elohim grew to become the largest and most active Reform synagogue in Brooklyn.
Rabbi Weider is a native of the Bronx. While growing up in the Bronx he attended Yeshiva Zichron Moshe.
During his teen age years, while living in Fort Lee New Jersey, Rabbi
Weider became an active participant in Young Judaea, the Zionist Youth
Movement sponsored by Hadassah. It was this involvement that ultimately
lead Rabbi Weider to the Rabbinate. While in Young Judaea, Rabbi Weider
lead local clubs, regional programs and attended numerous national
camps and institutes. In college, at Rutgers University, Rabbi Weider
continued to work for Young Judaea, becoming the President of their
college age program and eventually representing Young Judaea at the
World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem.
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