For over thirty five years, Rabbi Lester Bronstein represented Bet Am Shalom’s communal personality with his blend of scholarly insight, wit, and compassion in his teaching and his interpersonal relations.
He arrived at Bet Am Shalom in 1989 with his wife, Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller, and became a catalyst for our spiritual development and congregational growth. His searching intellect never overwhelmed his ability “to connect” – to create an intellectual and haimishe backdrop for our congregational life. He took personal joy in our s’machot. He provided heartfelt warmth during moments of need. He encouraged our questions and participation.
Beyond Bet Am Shalom
Rabbi Bronstein has been a leader in local and national Jewish and civic circles.
Rabbi Bronstein is a past president of the New York Board of Rabbis and the Westchester Board of Rabbis, past chair of the Westchester UJA Rabbinic Roundtable, and an active member of the White Plains Religious Leaders Association. He served as co-chair of T’ruah – The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, as well as serving on the following boards: Plaza Jewish Community Chapel; Hillels of Westchester; Hiddush – For Religious Freedom and Equality in Israel; and the J Street Rabbinic and Cantorial advisory committee. He was the national chair of the Jewish Federation of North America Rabbinic Roundtable and a long-time board member of the UJA-Federation of New York. He served for many years on the boards of the philanthropic group Myriam’s Dream and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
For over twenty years, the rabbi and cantor performed with Beged Kefet, a musical ensemble dedicated to new Jewish spiritual compositions and the promotion of dignity for the elderly and disabled. Rabbi Bronstein was a founding member of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). He has recorded Torah commentaries for the Reform movement’s Torah Tapes series as well as musical renditions for the Reconstructionist movement’s Kol Haneshamah home prayer book. His articles appear in numerous books and periodicals.
The rabbi regularly studies in Israel at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is an alumnus of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality program for rabbis. Rabbi Bronstein is renowned for his weekly study group with White Plains rabbis from four different streams of Judaism. The group has met regularly for over twenty-five years.
A native of Houston, Texas, Rabbi Bronstein has a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a Master’s degree in Education from Boston University (where he also became a die-hard Red Sox fan). Before entering the rabbinate, he was Educational Director at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, working with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; and Educational Director in Commack, New York with Rabbi Mark Winer.
Rabbi Bronstein was ordained in 1987 at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Before joining Bet Am Shalom, Rabbi Bronstein was Assistant Rabbi of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan under Rabbi Harvey Tattlebaum.
He lives in White Plains with his wife, Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller. They have three adult children, two granddaughters, and a grandson.